House of Bull Ventures’ Post

If you are in a startup or thinking about it, then you will probably get a lot of value from following Clive's posts.  He once told me that he has four basic requirements: a management team that can execute; early customers who would be horrified by the thought of losing the product; cost of sales well under CLV, and a large addressable market.  These are good things to bear in mind when writing a pitch deck. 

Meet Venture Crafters, a micro venture capital (micro VC) firm where ex-founders are looking to redefine early-stage investing in South and Southeast Asia. In this candid conversation with founding partners Abhinav Krishna, Ayush Bharti, and Ivy Huq Russell, we get an inside look at how their experiences as entrepreneurs shape their unique "founders first" investment approach, everything Micro VC, how VC makes investment decisions, raising money, and building successful companies. This interview is particularly valuable for: Early-stage founders looking to understand what investors care about beyond the pitch deck Entrepreneurs in South and Southeast Asia seeking insights into raising capital at the earliest stages Anyone interested in the idea of micro VC and how the micro VC model is evolving to fill critical gaps in startup funding The partners share refreshingly honest perspectives on everything from Venture Crafters thesis to common founder mistakes to their hands-on investment philosophy to what separates successful companies from the ones that fail. You'll learn how VCs generally make investment decisions, the most underrated founder traits, what makes a great pitch, what VCs look for in startups, why the future belongs to AI-native companies with lean teams, why they're not afraid to get calls when things aren't going well, and how they're democratizing access to angel investing. What makes this conversation special is the distinct position of Venture Crafters partners. They're not just investors writing checks, but former founders who've been in the trenches themselves. Their insights provide a deep understanding of both sides of the table, offering a unique lens on building successful startups in emerging markets. Please enjoy our conversation with Abhinav Krishna, Ayush Bharti, and Ivy Huq Russell.

Entrepreneur lessons from a venture capitalist- The 5 Things Investors Require in a Startup A great investment requires the following: 1. A Viable Exit Strategy It’s not enough to build a successful, growing business, or even a highly profitable one. It doesn’t matter if the valuation increases. For investors to make money, there needs to be an exit. 2. Revenue Potential At Least $100M If the projections don’t show the startup reaching $100 million within 5 - 7 years, there won’t be a high-value exit, and this won’t be a good investment. There’s no need to look at anything else on the deck. 3. Founding Team With Both Technical and Business Chops Find the right team and they’ll figure everything out. But that requires the founders possess a lot of different skills and experience: Deep domain expertise: understanding customer needs and industry dynamics Business leadership: ability to market and sell a new product. It’s not easy. Technical expertise: a technical product requires an expert, experienced CTO to build it. Startup experience: does the CEO know how to scale a business from 0 to $100M and reach an exit? 4. Customer validation Until there’s actual customer validation, money put into a startup is more of a donation than an investment. Your uncle and your varsity roommate will invest in your vision. For the rest of us, we need to see customer traction. Investors invest in businesses rather than ideas. We need to interview users and hear their pain points directly, quiz them on the other solutions they’ve tried and why those failed, hear that your product solves their problem, and find out how much they intend to buy. 5. Attractive Valuation It should go without saying that we’re investing to make money. That means finding the best investments. Higher valuations mean lower returns and we have a lot of options. You’re not only competing against all the other startups pitching us, but against investing in Nvidia stock or real estate. Lastly, there can’t be any show stoppers. If you lie about your customers or revenues, that’s the end of the conversation. If you’re offering common shares rather than preferred, or raising on an uncapped note, I don’t know who will investing, but it won’t be me. So make sure you have a deal we can actually invest in before pitching investors. If you’ve thought through all these details, the pitch should be a snap. Rather than explaining the problem and solution in gory detail, successful pitches focus on telling the story of why investing in your startup will be the best investment they’ve ever made.

VC funding is a high-stakes game that startup founders need to understand, as it involves managing investor expectations and aiming for exponential returns. 💼 Venture Capital 101: A VC fund is essentially a pool of money from Limited Partners (LPs) – think pension funds, family offices, and endowments. General Partners (GPs) are the venture capitalists managing these funds, investing in startups and aiming to generate significant returns. 📈 Money Makers: GPs earn through two key streams—management fees (around 2% annually of the fund size) and carried interest (carry), which is typically 20% of the profits. This creates a strong incentive to turn a $100 million fund into $500 million or more. ⏳ The Clock is Ticking: VC funds usually have a 10-year lifespan, with 3-5 years for initial investments and the rest focused on follow-ups and exits. GPs need to raise new funds every 2-4 years to keep the lights on and continue earning management fees. 🎯 High-Pressure Performance: The key metrics VCs are judged by include IRR (Internal Rate of Return), DPI (Distributions to Paid-In Capital), and TVPI (Total Value to Paid-In Capital). These determine whether LPs will back GPs in future funds, pushing GPs to pursue outsized returns. 🚀 Unicorn Hunting: The "power law" dominates VC strategy—where only 1-2% of investments are expected to return 50x or more. VCs seek out startups with the potential for massive market domination, not just profitable businesses. 🏆 What VCs Look For: Startups with huge market potential (TAM in the billions), a scalable business model (often in tech or SaaS), a strong founding team, and an innovative advantage are most likely to attract VC interest. 🔥 Growth on Steroids: VCs often push founders to raise another round within 18-24 months to increase their investment’s value on paper, making growth the top priority. While this can drive hypergrowth, it also puts immense pressure on founders to deliver rapid results. ⚖️ The Flip Side: If your company fails, it's not necessarily the end. VCs understand that many investments won't succeed, and if you've shown competence, they may back you again in future ventures. 💡 Is VC Right for You?: Before diving into VC funding, ask yourself if your startup can realistically meet the high-growth demands and massive return expectations. Taking VC money means not just capital, but also a commitment to fast scaling and frequent fundraising. #startups #venturecapital #growth 💸 High Stakes, High Rewards: VCs aren't looking for steady, profitable businesses—they're looking for unicorns that can grow fast and deliver outsized returns. 💡 Metrics Matter: Top VCs need to show strong IRR, DPI, and TVPI to raise new funds and keep LPs happy. ♻️ Repost if you enjoyed this post, and follow me César Beltrán Miralles for more curated content about leadership! https://lnkd.in/g7DbGwwS

Meet Venture Crafters, a micro venture capital (micro VC) firm where ex-founders are looking to redefine early-stage investing in South and Southeast Asia. In this candid conversation with founding partners Abhinav Krishna, Ayush Bharti, and Ivy Huq Russell, we get an inside look at how their experiences as entrepreneurs shape their unique "founders first" investment approach, everything Micro VC, how VC makes investment decisions, raising money, and building successful companies. This interview is particularly valuable for: Early-stage founders looking to understand what investors care about beyond the pitch deck Entrepreneurs in South and Southeast Asia seeking insights into raising capital at the earliest stages Anyone interested in the idea of micro VC and how the micro VC model is evolving to fill critical gaps in startup funding The partners share refreshingly honest perspectives on everything from Venture Crafters thesis to common founder mistakes to their hands-on investment philosophy to what separates successful companies from the ones that fail. You'll learn how VCs generally make investment decisions, the most underrated founder traits, what makes a great pitch, what VCs look for in startups, why the future belongs to AI-native companies with lean teams, why they're not afraid to get calls when things aren't going well, and how they're democratizing access to angel investing. What makes this conversation special is the distinct position of Venture Crafters partners. They're not just investors writing checks, but former founders who've been in the trenches themselves. Their insights provide a deep understanding of both sides of the table, offering a unique lens on building successful startups in emerging markets. Please enjoy our conversation with Abhinav Krishna, Ayush Bharti, and Ivy Huq Russell.

🚀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 🎯 Navigating the world of startup funding can be overwhelming, but with a clear understanding of funding stages and sources, founders can effectively scale their businesses. Here are 5 key insights from The Startup Founder’s Guide to Startup Funding: 1️⃣ Startup Funding Lifecycle: Funding evolves as your startup grows, beginning with bootstrapping and friends & family rounds, followed by angel investors, venture capital, and eventual exits. Each stage aligns with milestones like product launch or achieving profitability. 2️⃣ Funding Sources: Options include bootstrapping, angel investors, venture capital, crowdfunding, government grants, and bank loans. Each funding source offers unique benefits and trade-offs, and founders should choose based on their specific needs and goals. 3️⃣ Equity Investment Basics: Founders typically give up 10–30% of equity per funding round. However, owning a smaller piece of a larger, successful company often outweighs full ownership of a smaller venture. 4️⃣ Preparing to Raise Capital: Simplify your company structure, protect intellectual property, and develop clear operational and financial plans. Preparation and transparency are critical for building investor trust. 5️⃣ Real-Life Case Studies: Successful startups combine various funding strategies, such as bootstrapping, government grants, and strategic equity investments, to achieve growth and scale effectively. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

What Venture Capitalists Seek: A Guide for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Are you an entrepreneur looking to raise capital for your start-up business? Do you dream of receiving millions of dollars from venture capitalists (VCs) to transform your idea into the next big thing? Well, buckle up because the road to VC investment is far from easy. VCs face enormous risks when investing in untested ventures with little to no sales, no experienced management team, and sometimes just a simple prototype. They are taking on serious risk, which is why their investment dollars are tight. However, despite these risks, VCs do choose to fork out millions of dollars to these tiny, untested ventures with the hope of hitting a home-run on a future billion-dollar company. So, what things prompt VCs to pull out their checkbooks? Firstly, management is the most important factor. VCs invest in a management team and its ability to execute on the business plan. They are not looking for inexperienced managers; they are looking for executives who have successfully built businesses that have generated high returns for investors. Secondly, demonstrating that the business will target a large, addressable market opportunity is essential. VCs generally want to ensure their portfolio companies have a chance of growing sales worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Thirdly, investors want to invest in great products and services with a competitive edge that is long-lasting. They look for solutions to real, burning problems that haven't been solved before by other companies in the marketplace. Lastly, a VC's job is to take on risk, but they still want to know what they are getting into when they take a stake in an early-stage company. They try to measure and evaluate risks to reduce the riskiness of the opportunity. Before putting money into an opportunity, venture capitalists spend a lot of time vetting them, looking for key ingredients to success. So, entrepreneurs, make sure you have a solid management team, a large market, a great product with competitive edge, and a plan that reduces risk. If you can provide these things, you might just secure the investment dollars of a VC. Good luck!

Founder-Turned-VC Investor Raised $150 Million for Her New Fund💰 Masha Bucher, ex-entrepreneur and founder of Day One Ventures, has raised $150M for her new VC fund. Founded in 2018, Day One Ventures focuses on early-stage startups, offering initial investments ranging from $1M to $2M. Notable companies in the firm’s portfolio include Worldcoin, legal services company DoNotPay Inc., and AI assistant You.com. 📝Diverse Investments and Real-World Impact Day One Ventures supports startups across various industries, with Bucher particularly drawn to founders tackling real-world challenges. “From profound wealth disparities to the urgent threat of climate change and the growing sense of social isolation, tech founders will be our lifeline toward a more abundant, diverse, and sustainable future,” Bucher stated regarding the new fund. 🏆The firm’s track record is impressive, with six of its investments achieving billion-dollar valuations and 22 companies either being sold or going public. This success highlights Day One's knack for identifying high-potential startups. 🎯PR Expertise and Strategic Growth Before transitioning to VC, Bucher founded a PR firm that managed communications for numerous tech companies. She has leveraged her PR expertise to coach startups on media strategies. “If you look at any business problem you want to solve and any business goal you want to solve, 90% of the business problems are communications problems,” Bucher explained on Bloomberg Television. “I think this is something we train founders on and something that we help them to do.” 📈Growth of Day One Ventures The new fund is Day One’s third and largest to date. Fund I, closed in 2019, was nearly $20 million, while the second fund in 2020 totaled $52.5 million. This latest fundraising effort saw contributions from US and European institutional LPs, as well as 14 of Bucher’s own portfolio company founders.💰 “When you are building a firm with value add and staying close to founders, you can attract a lot of capital from your own network,” Bucher said. Notably, she made a concerted effort to include female investors, securing backing from 9 female LPs. Significant in the male-dominated VC industry, where female founders received just 2% of the total capital invested in US startups in 2023, according to PitchBook.🤷♀️ 🤝New Investments and Future Focus Day One has already made 5 investments from its Fund III: Cradle, an AI startup focused on human longevity; Rainmaker, a Los Angeles-based company working on cloud-seeding technology; Affiniti; Astroforge; and Layer N.  🚀🌍 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #TechInvesting #FemaleFounders #StartupFunding #Innovation

This post distils the simple question of long-term vision perfectly. The point here is, that a VC investor does this calculation in the 10 seconds you spend on your GTM strategy. You can leave it for their imagination, OR you can 🔢 dig into your unit economics, 🏇 benchmark the competitors, 💹 investigate the fastest-growing market segments ... and identify how you can spin this insane growth ⭕.

The 2024 Big Book of Venture Capital for Startup Fundraising is Out I just finished reading this fantastic resource on the VC industry (thanks, Rohit Yadav, for sharing.) Packed with valuable insights, it is a must-read for founders and investors alike, especially the section on fundraising. While you go through the data, I'd also encourage you to think about: 1️⃣ The Fundraising Journey VCs are acutely aware that products pivot Sometimes, the startup team is more valuable than the product itself So, make sure you surround yourself with the right people Joe Vrankin, CEO of Puttshack, talks about that here: https://bit.ly/3yCdU5n 2️⃣ Deal Dynamics Building momentum takes effort Be prepared to meet with numerous investors before securing funds And don't underestimate the power of momentum Securing the first investor can very quickly accelerate subsequent deals 3️⃣ Negotiations Unless you're highly experienced, don't negotiate in real-time. Instead, take requests and seek advice from your partners, advisors, or legal counsel. Remember, while some deal terms might seem hectic, most VCs want a reasonable agreement. The VC landscape is a fast-moving beast. Take this opportunity to equip yourself for success with the latest insights on startup fundraising. 👇 Access the full report from Rohit for a comprehensive read in the first comment below. PS 🔔 Follow me for strategies and resources for startups and VCs! Looking to raise capital? 💸https://fundingstack.com/ for VCs and investors 💸https://foundersuite.com/ for startups At only $250/month: Fundingstack gets you access to 221,000+ global investors. Or you can send me a direct message with "FREETRIAL" and I'll give you a secret access link.