Category: Apprentice VC

Pitch Decks

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Just like raising money – there is no ONE way.

If you are always searching for the trick or the hack, when it comes to these subjects I suggest moving on.

Deal flow is alive and well, which means I get lots of PDF’s sent in email and/or lots of meeting requests. I am not complaining in the slightest – I am fortunate enough to be in this position and grateful enough to know that having folks email or come in and meet me is a privilege.

I have some tips though. Take them or leave them. It’s up to you since I am an apprentice but I can always share what makes me tick.

I am all for a deck but the main thing to remember is you are telling a story. If you can emote the story without a deck. Cool. If you can use the whiteboard, a flip chart or even some play dough then cool. Whatever tool helps you tell the story is fine by me. I am interested in the story as much as anything.

Tips as a list:

– stay human and share the journey

– talk about the team earlier – don’t save it to the end

– a roster of advisors and investors is only interesting if you can explain the relation or how they help

– explain the problem you are solving – if there is no problem to explain then that should tell you something

– explain the solution – and then touch on how tech is used for the solution

– explain the various ways you might make money and who might be interested in paying for it 

– touch lightly on what might happen if you can’t make money or the main plan doesn’t work

– discuss what the funds will do to help you – be explicit

– leave plenty of time for discussion – do not have the goal of getting through the slides just because you made them. It is more important to cover the topics and have a healthy discussion. 

Storytelling…

Have fun. Enjoy the telling. Ask questions. Leave an impression.

Most of the details, fact finding and business modeling discussions will most likely happen in follow up meetings anyway. The main point of your first meetup or virtual deck is to leave a positive impression while you convey the story.

As always – it is a marathon. Not a sprint.

Raising money

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

I get asked a bit from friends and from people in my network about how to raise money or checking in on is A better than B when it comes to raising money for your startup.

When I came across this article today,  it resonated with my usual reply to people – anyway you can that works for you is the right way to raise money.

In other words there is no one way or the perfect way. The goal is to raise money in some reasonable fashion that allows you to reach your goals. Maybe it is an accelerator, maybe an incubator, maybe you bootstrap, maybe you get some from your family or maybe – you take some from a VC. 

Point is – only you can determine what works for you and don’t let anyone tell you it is wrong or not the normal way – there is no normal way.

Find a path that makes you happy.

Doing versus saying

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Lately been getting back into Seth Godin’s blog. Always a nugget or two in there.

Amazing his daily consistency.

We just came off a 3 day offsite at Jungle and we had some great, even heated discussions. As a new team we have a lot to learn about each other and we have much to discuss about our future. 

In my own life and work journey I keep thinking about my impact and my mark.

Realizing more and more that people love to talk – love to tell you about stuff but more and more I feel like talk is cheap. I am not saying this about just other people either – I am saying this about myself as well.

When I think about SeedPlus and what we are working on I realize that all I, or the team can do, is be able to look back after some periods of months, maybe years, and use our portfolio to speak for itself. 

It’s a scary thing to think about it but it is true. It’s a long game.

So stay tuned for portfolio announcements but note that it will take many moons to see the fruits of our work.

Choose wisely…

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

If you don’t already follow Suster on snapchat then I’ll give you a chance to go get that done now – that is if you use snapchat. 😉

I always appreciate when he writes though – here is one of his latest posts.

There is so much in it to dissect. Much of it I think is a phenomenon unique to the USA given the startup climate there and the proliferation of funds. When I look at Singapore and the regions I am focusing on, this type of frenzy doesn’t really exist yet except for a few deals. However there is a lot to learn from what Mark is saying.

I am going to pause here for a few disclaimers. I am totally new at what I am now working on which means I approach it with a beginner’s mind and with the realization that going slow is perfectly acceptable. I have a new craft to learn and it would seem that being in a hurry would just amplify my mistakes

I plan on blogging more as I share lessons from my new craft and as I try and explain what it is we hope to accomplish at SeedPlus. I am also not speaking for my team here since SeedPlus is a team effort. 

Just a reminder on our launch here.

Another post here on my personal journey.

Given all these disclaimers, I would like to share some of my own personal beliefs. When we launched SeedPlus the initial reaction was that this is just another seed fund. I have been hesitant to retort this much since I believe that actions speak louder than words. I am also trying to listen more, learn more, speak less and perfect my craft.

Yes – there are a lot of seed funds in the region. Is there room for more? Sure. Simply put – the region has so much growth in store for it that there is no end to the need for capital or for more successful startups to take the region to new levels. I feel there is no better time to work on global startups from Singapore starting from their seed stage.

Our goal at SeedPlus is to invest with conviction, bring our operating experience to the problem, and think about the long term potential of the startup. I know this a long game and it will take time to bear fruit. Therefore anything I say at this point is just sharing since the only proof of our work will come later. Given this, I feel quite strongly that we offer something unique to the region but again time will tell.

So just as the startups should choose wisely, at SeedPlus we also feel the same way about how we choose who to invest in. It’s a long game for anyone truly serious about creating a successful enterprise.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Finished the book off – Amazon link here

Tough one to write a review off or at least a short one. 

Before I try to post some thoughts on it – I will share this link from the buffet event since it fits a bit with the book:

“There’s been far, far, far more money made by people in Wall Street through salesmanship abilities than through investment abilities,” Buffett said, citing a simple Vanguard Group index fund that tracks the S&P 500 index of large American companies. He said that fund has beat a group of costlier hedge funds over time.

That quote fits well with one of the key premises of the book. Lots of folks making money on little more than trading but not really increasing the value of anything or making a difference in the world.

The root thesis of the book is that modern capitalism, technology, and the monetary systems are mostly making the rich, richer and creating platforms that tend to foster a winner take most or all strategy. That Uber, for example, is worse that say a taxi system. Or that Amazon and Walmart tend to ruin local markets and that the peer to peer notion of ecommerce is nothing more that a centralized system with Amazon making most of the money.

This is the first book I have read by Rushkoff and I will give him props for his thinking and his ability to craft a book of such notions but I also think like anyone trying to make a dramatic point he is also being a little over dramatic. When I talk to most Uber drivers in Singapore I find part time students paying for school, property agents using a rental car to make money while having a vehicle to take prospective buyers and tenants around, or I have seen people just driving enough Uber to pay for the monthly rental on the car so they have a car. None of it seems as bad as Rushkoff explains and I for one enjoy the cheaper mode of transportation in Singapore. Of course Uber is controversial and I don’t agree with all of their tactics but I have enjoyed the ability to travel to almost any city and summon an Uber versus deal with the local taxis. Especially in places like SEA region where Uber has made places like Kuala Lumpur actually enjoyable to visit again.

80% of the book is questioning the current grow and get rich mantra as being more important than anything else. Unified prosperity, the environment, health and any sort of long term capital appreciation takes a back seat to getting rich. I can’t argue with this premise but I don’t think the author did much to answer how it might be fixed. One sees this grow at all costs mantra with the current quarter of Apple and their stock drop off when they announced the iPhone sales dipped. The growth cannot go on forever and even so the company is incredibly popular and making huge strides in many other product areas. The stock markets are not rationale and tend to favor trading versus investing. It is a troublesome trend but not sure it is a new problem or not.

Fixing the monetary system, using local currencies, barter systems, co-ops, non profit companies and even alternative means of financing were mentioned as solutions but at an individual level – these are not easy to act upon. They are no doubt valid ideas and something to ponder but not sure how I can act upon them. I am thinking about it though.

There is also a damning section on tech, venture capital and how it is contributing to the demise of general prosperity versus enabling world changing tech. I am not sure that I entirely agree with it but again I think in any situation there are examples of both sides of any extreme. As an apprentice VC I think a lot about how one balances the desire to fund companies that have a positive effect on the world versus just creating an exit. I am not saying I have any answers to this but I do think about it.

The world has monetary issues, human health problems and massive environmental damage – I am encouraged by the tech and venture capital industry as a means to have a positive effect on these global issues.

The book is also somewhat plagued by out of date examples, sidecar versus Uber. Sidecar is toast. Not sure if this supports his thesis or not. There were a few other examples of companies that are gone or where a company was used as an example I just don’t agree with. 

Regardless, I am happy I read the book. It has me thinking about these issues more. That was probably the author’s intention since there are no easy answers to the problems in the book but bringing them to the forefront as a global discussion is valuable.

Here we go …

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

It’s holiday time.

Short break between gigs.

To all the folks at HOOQ – kick some ass. I will be watching and cheering. 

To the NWA crew – u know who you are, I love you guys/girls. Make me proud.

To everyone else. I will be doing something new. Starting over. Back to learning.

Formal announcements soon.

Peace. Out.