Vivek Kumar’s Post

Objection, dear Johannis! While I agree on most of what you said and this aligns very much to what I expect from a valuable business angel, I disagree on the clearcut no with respect to sweat equity. While there are horror stories with respect to advisors taking enormous amounts of equity for the occasional call (we had such an offer when we started frents GmbH more than a decade ago, 8% for an advisory position) as well as stories about business angels taking disproportionate shares for small amounts (have seen quite a few offers where the investment/valuation relation would have killed the startup right away), I do believe in the value of advice even if it does not and can not come with money. We do take a small amount of virtual equity for running our Founder Institute Berlin / Germany program (no secret, 2,5% in the form of a warrant to buy shares) which belongs in small junks to everyone who contributed to the very cohort the founder was in (over 60 individual mentors and directors). From what I have heard in accelerator models, this is the most logical as the relationship does not end when the accelerator ends. It gives the founders a strong and incentivized network of mentors right from the start for a very small (and of course, I am biased, fair) amount of equity and someone to call when unfair players are knocking at the door. We do also recommend to our founders to build a small, but good advisor network from the get-go. With the same intention, having someone on your side to reach out to when in doubt / additional network is needed. With fair shares... There is even a public and free (US) template that details out possible equity / commitment couples available: https://fi.co/fast

Bootstrapped founders enjoy an automatic 3x-30x exit multiple compared to their VC-funded peers! "A smaller piece of a bigger pie" is the common refrain convincing founders to take VC money. But how much bigger does the pie really have to be? The answer is astounding. Up to 30x! And that's ignoring typical VC terms like liquidation preferences, participating preferred, and investor anti-dilution. These can result in founders getting literally ZERO even if the pie were infinitely bigger! How is this even possible? The math is simple. Here is a slide from my presentation at the Charlottesville Entrepreneurs and Espresso event yesterday explaining this shocking but little known gotcha for founders. #bootstrapping #startups #vc #entrepreneurship

😇 Not every angel is a good one.... 👿 As an angel investor, our role extends beyond mere capital infusion. It's about being a supportive partner in the entrepreneur's journey, offering valuable feedback and sharing our experiences to help navigate the often chaotic startup landscape. It's important to remember that we are not here to run the business or make decisions for the entrepreneur. Our expertise should empower founders to make informed choices, fostering an environment of growth and innovation. However, not every business angel embodies these principles. Beware of those who demand consulting fees or seek sweat equity as a precondition for their support. Genuine angel investors invest their resources and knowledge because they believe in the potential of the business and the vision of its founders, not for immediate personal gain. Choose your partners wisely. Surround yourself with those who truly want to see you succeed and are committed to providing genuine, no-strings-attached mentorship. What is your experience? My angel list of people I can 100% recommend: Tony E. Kula, Christian Reichert, Björn Jopen, Björn W. Schäfer, Stefan Menden, Süleyman Acar, Matthias Storch, Jan Dzulko, Jens Lapinski, Robin Haak, Georg Schwarzkopf, Manuel Bönisch, Laura Raggl #AngelInvesting #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Mentorship #BusinessGrowth #StartupFunding #InvestWisely

Be honest. How many start-up founders get pissed off when Corporates & Investors take an age to reply? We share a similar amount of heartbeats, but we expend them at different rates. Although it’s frustrating, it’s also advantageous. Instead of waiting, develop more. Instead of getting upset, fail at something until you get it right. Maybe we won’t need them after all. If we still do, we are more prepared when they want to share their heartbeats. #founders #startups #investors #entrepreneurship

This is a great post from Roei Samuel. Experienced investors like Richard Harpin back founders who can lead. Their chances of success are much higher than founders who can’t. He sets out what he’s looking for and what predicts success- and it’s a great list. At the core of it is humility and a growth mindset, mixed in with the resilience to overcome the many challenges that they will face. If you want to understand how to work on these qualities then check out my recently published book Founder’s Legacy - Fifty Game-Changing Leadership Lessons for Building a Great Business. (https://lnkd.in/eieuEwsQ) I have helped many founders to develop these qualities - and captured that experience in the book. If you want to change something, the first thing you have to do is work on yourself. #founder #leader #leadership #entrepreneurship #founderslegacy

Second time founders are most valuable because of who they know more than what they know. Unproductive time kills companies. Bad hires takes the most time. Second time founders have a network of talent they have worked with and know that they leverage to prevent lost time. #Founder #funding #business #investing #vc #venturecapital #entrepreneur #startup

The startup ecosystem will become much better if VCs start speaking openly about the mess founders create and figuring out legal ways to throw them out ruthlessly to protect great ideas. I know so many founders who raised millions of dollars lying to their VCs shamelessly and I have witnessed many VCs foolishly taking all the BS simply because they were never operators who could see through the founder's bullshit. #founder #VC #entrepreneurship #startup

The Essentials of a Killer Pitch Deck by Hustle Fund VC.  The five most essential parts of a great Pitch Deck are - Team - Problem - Solution - Market - Traction   ~~~~~~  Fazlur Shah Click my name + follow + 🔔 Reposts, Comments, and Likes Are Appreciated #startups #entrepreneurship #venturecapital

#pitch #startup So many Post´s about how to make pitch decks. Here is my AI-supported, on the basis of my input, example of headlines. (I think AI can be helpful, but it cannot stand alone) The Bridgetempo startup project is describe here: https://techbridge.dk BridgeTempo App - Elevator Pitch: 1. Team: We're bridge geeks who built a bridge app for bridge lovers like you! 2. Problem: Tired of fumbling with scorecards and spending ages adding things up? 3. Solution: BridgeTempo scans the table and magically scores the game for you! Plus, it helps avoid confusing bidding situations by keeping everyone on the same page. 4. Market: Whether you're a casual club player or a tournament pro, BridgeTempo is your new bridge buddy. Millions play bridge and noone has this novel service 5. Traction (or Validation): Bridge clubs and players are loving it! Just wait. Bonus: BridgeTempo is more than just scoring - it's about making bridge smoother, faster, and more enjoyable for everyone

What makes a good investor? Someone who respects how hard it is being a founder, ideally through first-hand experience. Doing it more than once helps. Perhaps once with an exit and once where it all crashed and burned 🔥 Why? Those investors have empathy, operational value add and the experience to pick winners in the first place. What else? Alex #vc #founders #entrepreneurship #startups #venturecapital #morethanmoney