Seeking funding can seem like a string of endless phone calls, networking events, pitch fests and presentations to would-be investors.
Coupled with intense competition from Australia’s growing startup community, securing the funding round your company needs to hire talent, expand into new markets and realise its potential, can be quite hard to achieve.
But it’s certainly not impossible.
In January last year, a fintech startup I started with four other co-founders, Airwallex, looked outside Australia and successfully raised $US3 million ($AUD4.1 million) from Chinese based venture capital firm Gobi Partners, to grow our cross-border payment platform that simplifies the foreign exchange process for businesses and consumers.
So how did we do it? We played to our strengths.
It’s important to play to your company’s strengths and seek investors that understand your product and can provide you with accurate advice, set you up with the right tools and act as a mentor as you build your company.
So, with that in mind, here are my top three tips that might just be the difference between a handshake “yes”, and a handshake “no thanks” at your next investor meeting.
1. Choose investors who know your industry
To appeal to investors, you have to think like an investor.
As a former investment banker myself, previously managing a fund in China, I knew that VCs have far more value to add to a business than just capital.
You’ll have a much more engaged audience if you’ve done your research and are talking with potential investors about how their expertise or network would benefit your business goals, as opposed to just their money.
You need to be speaking with VCs that get your business, understand the industry you operate in and the specific challenges that you face.
Ideally, they’ve helped other startups overcome these challenges before.
For a biotech company, you’ll want a VC that can help you navigate the clinical trials…