In recent years, international expansion became easier than ever for companies across the board — particularly, for startups.

Startups that provide digital services and do not rely on logistics or a physical presence have it easier than their counterparts. And, with the internet facilitating cultural, academic and professional exchange, some of these businesses were built by international teams and stakeholders.

Born-digital, born-global startups might be a few steps closer to international expansion than their counterparts. But this does not mean that they should not have a plan.

Born-global companies still need to conduct market research and strategise for specific locales. They still need to bridge specific cultural gaps.

They still need to understand local regulations. And they still need interpreting, localisation and business translation services. Especially, if they will be looking for strategic partnerships in these new markets.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: SOSV’s mobile-only accelerator MOX reveals 10 startups from 8th cohort

But, how do we know when a startup might be ready for international expansion? Whether your products are physical or digital, whether you sell design services or mattresses, you should look out for these four signs:

Good financial health

Expansion is costly. But, when done well, it can have an amazing ROI. Of course, doing it well demands some initial investment. If your company is just getting by capital-wise, it might not be the right time to expand.

While startups selling physical products might need to assign a larger budget to their expansion project, a digital company’s expansion budget can’t be a handful of loose change.

Expanding your product will involve adapting your code for internationalisation, exploring international payment systems, and hiring a localisation team to get your product ready for your new market.

Make sure you’re in a position where you don’t have to cut corners. And remember that recovering from a failed expansion attempt can be more expensive than assigning it enough funds to do it right.

A strong and stable team

Due to the way startups grow, job instability is very common. But, when you have found the right people, and they’ve reached and surpassed goals consistently, you might be ready to embark on bigger challenges.

Also Read: Afternoon News Roundup: Singapore budgets US$215M to support deep-tech startups 

Consider that, as your company grows, you will probably be in need of new hires. Especially, you will need people who understand your new market. Are you ready for that? Do you have effective and dynamic hiring processes in place? And, last but not least:

Can you afford new talent?

A solid position in your home market

International businesses thrive thanks to a certain versatility that makes it possible for them to get over the way things are done in their home market. But, if you’re not seeing good results at a local level, you are not in the place for expansion yet.

If your company is still struggling in its home market, international expansion will only make things worse. If this is the case, fix what is wrong and achieve your local goals before you strive for intentional business. Otherwise, you will be reproducing mistakes at an international and more expensive scale.

Market with growth potential

As Uber’s former Head of Product, Mina Radhakrishnan says:

“You do not turn on every corner of the world overnight. Rather, you work your way through different geographies in some priority order. I have suggested countries as the geographical unit because it is large enough to allow for expansion but small enough to be targeted — this may vary depending on your company model.”

To win at an international level, you should win locally several times. And companies win a favourable market position by understanding where they are, what customers need, what is expected of them and how to meet and surpass expectations.

Also Read: Is Indonesia killing its local talents’ potential with the new proposed law that allows startups to make more foreign hires?

You cannot do that for every country on earth, all at once. Especially because not every country on earth might have the right market conditions for you to thrive. Having local knowledge was key for Uber to grow because, as the company’s former Head of Driver Growth, Andrew Chen explains:

“Uber is ‘hit a button and a car comes,’ but from a business standpoint, it is a vast collection of hundreds of hyperlocal marketplaces in nearly 70 countries. Each marketplace is two-sided, with riders and drivers, has its own network effects driven by pickup times, coverage density, and utilisation.”

Some criteria to evaluate a company’s potential for growth in a certain market are almost universal. Set your own, depending on your specific industry and business model. Then, carefully research and assess potential target markets. Aside from general market conditions, study your competitors carefully and analyse how favourable or disfavourable your position would be, compared to theirs. What are you seeing that they are not?

To assess whether your business is ready for expansion, make sure you have a strong and stable team, capacity to hire specialists and enough funding. You should also consider whether your company might have internal problems to solve before going internationally and if it is serving the local market properly.

A foreign market with growth potential and a clear need for your product is an international expansion essential. Do not skip in-depth market intelligence and craft a holistic, data-driven strategy.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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Not long ago, a real estate agent in Singapore pocketed US$132,800 of a client’s money and used it to renovate his own home. He was caught and jailed for it, but such cases have, unfortunately, occurred more than once in the city-state’s property landscape.

This is obviously a cause of concern with genuine homebuyers. If one wishes to transact through an agent, how would clients find a trustworthy broker?

This is where proptech comes into play.

Digital brokerage models such as Redfin (United States), Lianjia (China), and Bluenest (Singapore) bring greater efficiency and transparency to their respective property markets. These platforms blend technology with the expertise of local real estate agents to organise workflows and reduce information asymmetry.

How proptech bridges the information gap in the market

For example, US-based Redfin displays data on their agents’ property transactions as well as customer reviews. This way, clients need not rely solely on the word of friends or family to gauge whether an agent would be a good fit for them.

Redfin also pioneered map-based property searches in the US, allowing buyers to view key data points about each property and even compare shortlisted units side by side.

Also Read: gojek-backer Samsung Ventures invests in Indonesian proptech startup Travelio, to focus more in Southeast Asian startups

Closer to home, Bluenest uses an AI platform to generate indicative price estimates for properties, giving buyers and sellers more accurate information to begin their transaction journeys. The agency has also come up with a commission model that pegs agent compensation to customer satisfaction, incentivising agents to work in their clients’ best interest.

What else does it bring?

At this point, property agents are independent contractors who have to handle the entire transaction process from start to finish. But up to 80 per cent of their time can be spent driving to different viewings, marketing properties, and sourcing for leads.

This is an inefficient process – and the costs are generally passed on to the end-users.

Proptech resolves this in a few ways:

Better data and control

By aggregating property listings on just a few platforms, digital real estate brokerages can provide more detailed metrics about the performance of property listings. Clients have easy access to this data, which grants them more control over the transaction process.

Also Read: Thailand’s proptech FazWaz secures pre-Series A funding from undisclosed Singaporean group

More choices

Instead of relying primarily on information passed on from their agents, clients have the freedom to browse through and shortlist property listings on their own.

Less time spent travelling

Virtual listings and 360° online tours enable users to view properties from the comfort of their own homes. This eliminates one of the major headaches in the house-hunting process: being stuck in traffic. Traffic congestion is a real problem in Southeast Asia, with one study finding that the average Filipino loses 16 days a year to it.

Greater exposure targeted marketing: By outsourcing marketing to the digital agency’s operations team, property agents can help their clients list their properties on all the major portals quickly and effectively. Agents can then focus on advisory, leading to a higher-than-average closing rate for their clients.

The end result? Agents help their customer’s close deals faster, and clients save a significant amount of commission.

Also Read: Proptech is changing the face of real estate in Asia Pacific

Such technology will take precedence over the traditional ways of doing things in the coming years. Internet penetration in Southeast Asia may only be at 65 per cent today, but we are expecting double-digit growth year-on-year.

New adopters will quickly adapt to existing tech in the property market, further leveraging on it to resolve issues such as:

• The fragmented real estate market (i.e. inaccurate or simply a lack of information). Good governance and support are required for a successful transformation to take place. Back at home, the Singapore government launched the Smart Nation Initiative, which includes a “Real Estate Industry Transformation Map.” This map established a workgroup to focus on creating and streamlining standardised processes by 2020, including the implementation of digitalised contract templates and checklists.
• Lengthy transaction times and inconsistent user experiences. Today, we can easily shop online and check out with a single click. In the same vein, we should expect the convergence of proptech so that customers can purchase their ideal homes with a few clicks.

With technology already revolutionising fields such as transportation, commerce, agriculture, and even construction, it was only a matter of time before the property scene caught up.

And it is sorely needed, too – consumers are becoming more and more discerning and will demand no less.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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When I meet with new startup founders, the one question I get asked about is ‘raising money’. This is smart of them as fundraising is an essential core competence of any startup. As much as I enjoy talking about funding, I rarely –almost never– heard from these entrepreneurs on ‘what does it take to get funded?’

Hence, I want to spend some time talking about a subject that has the greatest importance in what is called the “pitch deck” and what it should comprise of.

So, let’s start with the fundamentals!

What is a pitch deck and/or investor pitch?

The reason I want to talk about pitch decks is simple: I see too many that are simply not good or has missing information.

An investor pitch is a presentation of your business model that shows the potential for growth and viability. It is a summary of your business in 15-25 slides containing key information of your business idea.

Raising capital from investors is difficult and time consuming. It is key for a startup to get the  investor pitch deck close to perfection as possible by not forgetting to articulate a compelling and interesting story!

In this article, as an investor I am providing important advice for creating a strong, thorough, and engaging investor pitch deck, along with guidance on presenting to private equity and venture capital investors.

Also Read: Do farmers need pitch decks? The case for capital in agri-tech

Important Do’s and don’ts for investor pitch decks

Too many startups make a number of avoidable mistakes when creating their investor pitch decks. Here is a list of preliminary do’s and don’ts to keep in mind:

Pitch Deck Do’s

• Do catch the audience from the beginning, for example with a catchy slogan or intro.
• Be enthusiastic, be yourself. You have all information in your hands.
• Keep it short and concise (15-20 slides) and keep to the time-limit given for your presentation
• Take the time given and if possible, use less time than allowed, leaving room for questions and comments.
• Anticipate questions and prepare potential answers.
• Do practice your pitch and improve content and presentation style ongoing.
• Practice your pitch in front of a friend you can trust for rehearsal and who can – and will criticise you. And practice again and again and again.
• Dress up if the audience requires a more formal presentation.
• If helpful prepare a checklist what to bring along with you in order not to forget anything.
• Be well-prepared and double-check if you have everything ready for the presentation in advance.
• With all this, stay relaxed and be confident with your enterprise.

Pitch Deck Don’ts

• Don’t be anxious and do mind your body language (practice in front of a mirror, if needed).
• Don’t talk too much about obvious things.
• Don’t have too many wordy slides.
• Don’t rush through the slides.
• Don’t read your slides but speak freely and tell a story.
• Don’t provide excessive financial details, as that can be provided in a follow-up.
• Don’t have a poor layout, bad graphics, or a low-quality “look and feel.”
• Don’t try to cover everything in the pitch deck

Also Read: The perfect pitch deck

What are the key slides you want in your investor pitch deck?

You want your investor pitch deck to cover the following topics, roughly in the order set forth here and with titles along the lines of the following:

• Company Overview
• Mission/Vision of the Company
• The Problem
• The Solution
• Market Validation
• Market Size
• Competition
• Competitive Advantages
• Business Model
• Customer Acquisition
• Management Team
• Financial Projection
• Current Status/Milestones
• Ask
• Use of Funds

1. Company Overview
It is an overview of the most important points about your company. You can summarise it in several bullet points.

For example, here is what your “Company Overview” page could contain: A quick and easy way to understand your business, its products and services towards a potential investor.

2. Mission/Vision
A good Mission/Vision statement is a useful tool for a well-run business. It is the “why” of business strategy.

• It defines what the company does for its customers
• It defines what the company does for its employees
• It defines what the company does for its owners

The more concrete the story, the better. And keep that in mind for the actual mission statement wording: “The more concrete, the better.”

3. The Problem
The problem slide of your investor pitch deck or presentation is a key section of your investor deck the reason is that you really don’t have a business if you are not solving a problem. This slide gives you the opportunity to state the problem that exists.

It is always a great idea to make it as simple as possible.

One of the things you want to avoid, is having a wordy pitch deck, investors do not have the time to read every line, so you want to state the problem in one or two sentences.

And when you have several problems to state, it is best to use icons or text boxes to separate the different problems you are stating.

Also Read: Pro pitch deck tips for beginners

4. The Solution
In your investor pitch deck, having stated the problems that exist, the next slide gives you a perfect sequence to state the solution you are offering.

After stating the problem, it is advisable to use the same formula you used in stating the Problem, which is, to keep it short and simple using one or two sentences to state your main Solution point and if your Solution has different parts, make use of icons or text boxes to separate your Solution points if your Solution cannot be captured in one or two sentences.

Why now: The “Why now?” slide needs to focus on what is going on in your industry and society at large that makes the timing of your business so prescient. Try to include the “Answer” to “why now” on this section of your pitch deck.

5. Market Validation
When you look at AirBnB’s Investor Pitch Deck or Startup Pitch Deck, you would see that they have a market validation slide, while this slide is not a must-have, it is a good idea to have it in your startup pitch presentation or investor deck.

The market validation is where you put key market information to validate that your business solution really has a “market” or that it is viable.

This could be stating the number of products you have sold so far, or even putting profitable statistics of your competitors such as their annual revenue, products sold, etc.

6. Market Size
As a global standard, when stating your market size you want to have the previous performance and future expectation or projection of your market captured.

This would help the venture capitalist or angel investor that is going through your startup pitch deck; see the growth opportunity in your market.

7. Competition
Sometimes, there are entrepreneurs who do not like to admit that they have competitors; this is not a very good idea.

As a matter of fact, when you say you do not have competitors in your market, it shows two things:

• The business is not lucrative that is why others are not interested.
• The entrepreneur doesn’t know is market enough to know the competition.
• See, every business has competition; it could be direct or indirect. See more on the direct and indirect competition.

So, ensure you state your competition.

Also Read: An investor’s guide to creating a great pitch deck

8. Competitive Advantages
After establishing the competition, the next thing is for you to state in your investor pitch deck is your unique advantages over the competition.

• Is your delivery time faster?
• Are you offering a better service at a lower price?
• Do you have better technology?
• You want to be very clear in stating the things that make your solution better than what already exists in the market.

9. Business Model
A key slide that startup investors pay attention to is your business model slide. This is because; this is the slide in your investor pitch deck, where they expect to see how you make money. So, use this slide to state your revenue model:

• Are you operating a subscription model or one-off payment?
• If you are selling a product, what is the unit selling price and how many quantities do you project to sell per month, year, etcetera?

Make sure that your business model slide will not leave a startup investor or venture capitalist wondering how you make money.

Don’t mix up business model with business plan.

10. Customer Acquisition
Think about it, if you have a good product, and you do not have customers or people buying your product, that would result in zero sales!

In this slide, you want to show in your investor pitch deck or presentation, how you would acquire customers or clients, what strategies do you intend to employ?

State it! Ensure that your customer acquisition plan is actionable; it doesn’t help to state strategies that you cannot execute.

11. Management Team
Interestingly, most investors would tell you that investors invest in people first before they invest in ideas!

So, if you have a solid team behind your business, be quick to state it, and more importantly, you want to show their credibility; why they are a good fit for your business.

This could be by stating their previous roles, and key achievements.

But one thing you do not want to do is to use long sentences in stating why they are credible, it is better to use bullet points in stating the different achievements for each team member.

This makes it easy for one to see the highlights of their achievements.

Also Read: Save yourselves and stop making these pitch deck mistakes

12. Financial Projection
Okay! So how much do you project to make?

Well, the financial projections slide is where you want to give your projections.

As a standard, a three- or five-years projection is ideal! instead of stating you would make some big bucks overnight, state your financial projections in a way that it accommodates your business growth.

So, it is expected that your total revenue for Year 2 should be greater than the revenue for Year 1.

Do not forget to state your revenue, expenses, and profit/loss in this section.

Obviously, there is an art to presenting all of this information in a way that shows your business as the most compelling money-spawning creation.

13. Current Status/Milestones
This is yet another very important slide investors want to see when you are pitching your idea or business to them. Through the years, I have seen businesses fail to raise funds because they could not state their traction, either while presenting it physically or on their deck.

If you have already made some progress with your business, this is the slide to state; it is simply answering questions such as:

• Where are you currently?
• What have you achieved so far?

So, let’s say you have your prototype, active customers, you are already making a profit, and things like that, this is the slide you want to state it!

14. Ask
So, after stating all these amazing points in your slides and you have captured your reader’s attention, this slide gives you the opportunity to state what you want.

If you are seeking equity investment, how much is it and what is the percentage equity that you are offering in return?

Make it very clear in your investor pitch deck what you want. Now is the time to state what you want in your investor pitch deck or startup pitch deck and you know what? State it!

15. Use of Funds
It is important you note that the Use of Fund’s slide of your investor pitch deck can be merged with your ASK slide.

In this slide, you will want to articulate why investors should invest with you, how much investment you are seeking, and what you plan on using this investment.

Here are some of the questions you will want to answer in this slide:

• How much capital are you requesting in order to get your product to the next level?
• What is the breakdown of how you are planning to use this capital? (What are you going to spend it on?)
• Why is this a good investment for your potential investors?

Conclusion
Now that you have all the essential pieces to a great investor pitch deck, the last and final piece of the puzzle is being able to convey it in an easy narrative that anyone can understand. And the best way to do this is to create a story around your pitch.

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The article was first published on nfinitiv.

Image Credit: Campaign Creators on Unsplash

The post How to create a great investor pitch deck appeared first on e27.

Most startups will try to fashion their employee hiring programmes after big-name companies. After all, the reason they got so big is that they use tried and tested hiring techniques, right?

However, what works for established multinational organisations that have been existing for some time will not necessarily apply to a business entity that is just finding its legs. In Resumeble’s experience, it is a common pitfall of all startup founders to think like a big company from the get-go, especially when it comes to their hiring practices.

Most unfortunate of all, this mismatch of talent, demand, and understanding of what kind of employee a startup needs to look for to thrive, is one of the primary reasons why so many great ideas fail.

Numbers from the year 2014 from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that of all the small businesses started that year, only 80 per cent made it to the second year, and the numbers only got worse as the years progressed, with merely 56 per cent surviving to year five.

And though a lot of factors play into why many startups find success elusive, one stands out from the rest —a recent study published by CB Insight says that the inability to find the right talent is the reason for 23 per cent of small businesses’ failure to launch.

This reason is made all the more glaring by the fact that it is entirely avoidable and easily solvable. Evidently, these failed startups chose the wrong candidates.

Also Read: Dealing with fundraising problems? These three startups may have the answer

At the early stages of business, founders need to have a vision for the company and find the talent who has what it takes to realise that vision.

But how does one find the right person for the job? It all starts with knowing what to look for in your applicant’s resume.

Startup experience

When looking at an applicant’s job experience, many founders will favour those who have worked for big companies over those employed by startups in the past, for the obvious reason that big names have bigger, more widely known reputations than small ones. However, opting for the latter can be even more rewarding for those just launching their business ventures.

Generally speaking, work in large organisations is traditional, rigid and tightly controlled. At the same time, startups often require their people to be flexible with their hours and be willing to put in extra work frequently.

Reportedly, Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey had to put in 100 weekly hours at work at the beginning of his ventures, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk supposedly worked 120 hours a week early on.

Only someone who has worked at a startup before will understand that long hours are part of the job. Like an infant, your new business needs more nurture, care, and attention than usual. You need to know that the people you hire have got the character and tenacity to carry you through your company’s growing pains.

Also Read: Why working at a startup is a better way to launch your career

Provable tangible results

A results-driven applicant—one who will provide real, tangible value to the business—is a must for any startup, more so than any other business. You simply cannot afford someone who will just be ‘going through the motions’ day in and day out.

Thus, when looking at a candidate’s resume, you need to look at work achievements that are both measurable and unique to their position. Keep in mind that accomplishments are different from duties and responsibilities.

Resume accomplishments tell you that the applicant has the drive to go above and beyond the expected job requirements.

• Did the applicant help the company make or save money? How much?
• Did the applicant help the company reach its goals? How fast?
• Did the applicant exceed the company’s goals set for them? To what degree?

High quality work accomplishments are measurable, observable, and provable. Look at the specifics of how your applicant did what they claim to have done.

Culture fit

Statistics show that a company’s culture has a direct impact on employee turnover. According to a Gallup poll, 20.2 per cent of employees quit because of poor organisational fit.

You will want to make sure your new-hire is fitting in with your team, both now and in the future. Find someone who can share your vision and who understands that they have a massive role in making the company better. Investigate their passions, hobbies, and interests, and see if they align with yours or your existing team’s.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Malaysian food delivery startup Dahmakan raises US$18M in Series B

You also need to look beyond their resume and scope their online and social media profiles to get a sense of their personalities. During the job interview, discuss and ask thoughtful questions about their passions outside of work.

‘In it for the long haul’

Too many employees leave startups for big brands, which can devastate the entire enterprise. You certainly do not want to hire someone who will get up and go the moment a better opportunity presents itself.

While it’s hard to compete with the career advancement and promotional opportunities offered by other companies, find someone who respects the startup business model and shows that they want to grow with the company. Find the signs in your applicant’s resume that demonstrate they will be a good long-term asset.

While researching their employment history, verify how they work and who they are as a colleague. On that note, it’s best to avoid hiring employees who are still deciding on a career path.

Their cover letter should also contain statements that say they are willing to invest in the company’s growth. It should say something along the lines of “I’m willing to take on responsibilities that aren’t part of the job description.”

In closing

As a founder, the way you go about choosing your hires can make or break your newfound business. Though the ideal candidate will be someone who has all the qualities listed above, that’s not likely to happen.

The key is not to give up too fast, rush into closing the position, or hire someone just because they use buzzwords and famous names on their resume.

Also Read: Why you should never intern at a startup (especially e27)

Take your time, meet candidates both in a formal setting and invite them out for lunch, talk about things outside work and, most importantly, trust your gut.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page

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