Toronto, June 17 -20 Next week at Enercare Centre, one of the biggest tech conferences will be hosting 40,000 attendees from 130+ countries, 1000 investors, and over 2000 startups. The 4 day event will host a line of speakers including: We are excited to announce that Ventioneers will be hosting mentoring sessions with the attending startups, on scaling and customer engagement. It’s not too late to get your ticket: https://collisionconf.com Hope to see you there!
Calling All female Entrepreneurs! View this post on Instagram A post shared by StrikeUP Canada (@strikeupcanada) StrikeUP has an amazing FREE (yes, you read that right) digital conference coming our way, on Thursday, March 2nd, 2023, from 10 am – 3 pm EST. Co-presented by Scotiabank Women Initiative, and EDC (Export Development Canada). A great opportunity to network, learn and gain strategic resources for your entrepreneurial journey to take your business to the next level. A day lined up with panel topics such as: The Venture Capital Journey, Marketing for Predictable Revenue, Strategies to Scale and Grow, Build a Sustainable Indigenous Business, Strategies for International Growth and Exports, and so much more. There will also be breakout rooms for networking opportunities. They have a great line up of fabulous speaker’s such as: Michele Romanow – Co-Founder & CEO of CLEARCO, Dragon at Dragon’s Den Bobbie Raceme – Founder & CEORead More »Digital Event: StrikeUP Conference
You always need to know your numbers. Investor’s need to know the KPI’s to decide whether or not to invest, and entrepreneurs need to know them in order to run a successful startup and to pitch to investors. What are KPI’s? KPI’s are key performance indicators, which measure the progress towards a goal versus an objective, such as financials, customers, process, or marketing, to name a few. In order to set out KPI’s, the goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. Types of KPI’s There are quantitative indicators, and qualitative indicators. Quantitative indicators is what comes to mind when the word “KPI” is discussed, they are objective and measured by a unit or value, and the results are reported in percentages, figures, ratio’s. However, qualitative indicators are far more subjective, but can give you a very different perspective, as they are coming from people’s experiences, suchRead More »Know Your KPI’s
The well known accelerators such as TechStars and 500 Startups have many branches worldwide, and there are also many more local accelerators you can apply to as well. We’ve listed some well known accelerators, with their application pages linked. USA TechStars YCombinator 500 Startups Plug and Play Mass Challenge SOSV Angel Pad Seed Camp Alpha Lab CANADA Founder Fuel TechStars 500 Startups Canada Jolt MarS Tandem Launch UK Seed Camp Ignite TechStars London EGYPT EFG EV FinTech Falak Startups Innoventures 1864 Accelerator Flat6Labs Cairo SAUDI ARABIA 500 MENA KAUST Innovation Fund Taqadam Riyadh TechStars Falak Business Hub Flat6Labs Riyadh Now go apply! Have your pitch deck ready, and we wish you the best of luck.
So you’re getting ready for that call or meeting that you lined up, and you want to make sure you put your very best forward. Let us help with the things NOT to do. TOP 5 MISTAKES: Not clearly articulating what you do, the problem, and/or your solution. Cannot answer questions regarding: addressable market size target customer revenue runway CAC (customer acquisition costs) monthly active users CHURN rate The Ask (the details, how much are you raising and what will it go towards). Talking badly about competitors. Why you? Does not mention the founding teams competitive advantage, such as the team members experience and credentials that will add to the success of the company. Remember a smile and good manners go a very long way. And if you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t make things up or beat around the bush, admit it, and say that you’llRead More »Top 5 Mistakes When Pitching to Investors
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE APPROACHING INVESTORS (Angels or VC’s) & RAISING CAPITAL If you haven’t already put together a pitch deck you can check out these posts to help you out: Build Pitch Decks Investors will Love, Top 5 Mistakes in Pitch Decks, and make sure you know your numbers and key KPI’s, they will ask you. Prepare and practice your pitch, so that it comes off the tongue with ease and clarity. If you don’t it will be obvious, and you can’t improvise with this one. Remember investors are looking for a return on their money, so that means an exit, such as an acquisition or IPO, so keep this in mind. Investors love large addressable markets, basically the bigger the problem, and the more frequent the problem the better. Investors are always on the look out for founder market fit, and startups with traction, so youRead More »Get Funded
A pitch deck is the first impression most will have of your business, and if you do it right, it could land you that funding to scale to new heights. The best pitch decks are concise, well organized, easy on the eye, conveys information through graphics, provides the necessary information, and leaves the person interested and engaged. Great pitch decks have: Also include the members of the advisory board if you have one. Also keep in mind your pitch to an investor will not be the same as how you pitch to your customer base. Refrain from using jargon, keep it simple, and avoid fluffy marketing language.
After reviewing hundreds of pitch decks, I can say that if it doesn’t leave me intrigued and informed, it’s a no from the get go. Most often the pitch deck is the first impression an investor will have of you and your company, so it needs to be a good one. If by the page 5 the investor cannot walk away knowing what your business does (the problem and the solution), the addressable market size, the KPI’s, the competition, how much are you raising and what the money will go towards, then something needs to change. TOP 5 MISTAKES: Not clearly articulating what you do, the problem, the addressable market size, and/or your solution. Very little or no KPI’s given, such as: revenue, including the growth MoM or YoY runway CAC (customer acquisition costs) active users CHURN rate Too wordy and unnecessarily long (think 25+ pages). The Ask (how muchRead More »Top 5 Mistakes in Pitch Decks
MENA Series showcases the overview of the startup landscape and trends for each MENA country. Saudi Arabia’s shift away from an oil dependent economy, with the ambitious Vision 2030 goals of doubling the GDP by 2030, by building a startup friendly eco-system, an investment hub, a budding tourist destination, as well as legal and financial reforms to foster such growth, it is understandably becoming the hotspot of the MENA region. Saudi Arabia is one of top 3 countries within the region in terms of their startup eco-system, along with Egypt and the UAE. (1) All having a youthful population of tech savvy consumers. KEY FACTS: The vital areas of investment and development are in the following 8 sectors, to achieve Vision 2030: With the tremendous growth of local accelerators/incubators, and VC’s, it is no surprise to see the rise of very successful startups. The region has witnessed the growth ofRead More »MENA Series: Saudi Arabia
Investing in startups is risky, so many countries have regulations in place to protect people from making risky investments that would put them in a very difficult financial situation should they lose most, or all of their capital. Most Countries Require One of the Below: High Earnings ($200,000 plus, or Spousal Income of $300,0000 plus each year) $1 Million Net Worth (excluding primary residence) Holds a Series 7, or Series 65 license *Insider tip, a series 65 is easier and cheaper, as the series 7 exam requires a referral, is a longer exam and more expensive READ: How do I Get Licensed? When you’re an accredited investor, you are able to invest in: Venture Capital Angel Investing Private Equity Funds Hedge Funds Real Estate Investment Funds Many investment platforms, such as Angel List, have a process to verify that you are eligible to be an accredited investor, before you canRead More »How to Become an Accredited Investor
YOU MUST READ THESE BOOKS If you read any books on business when working on your startup, make sure these are the first to read. The Ultimate Startup Guide – By Hogan & Broadbent Launch – By Jeff Walker Lost & Founder – By Rand Fishkin The Strategist – By Cynthia Montgomery Building a Story Brand – By Donald Miller