Nice work Andrew Wegrzyn ??????
It was a pleasure to speak on a pannel at the InsurTech NY November demo day at Rise, created by Barclays in NYC. The founders' energy, their technology, and the companies they are building in the insurance space really left me hopeful about the future of early stage investing across #MGA, #group, #claims, and #benefits. I really enjoyed sharing the stage with David Gritz and Karl Stark as well - who both shared great insights for founders and investors in the room. We were asked to provide some insights for founders when raising early stage #venturecapital and how founders can set themselves up for success when raising capital. A couple ideas I shared are below. Nothing earth-shattering, but they may help you save some precious time when connecting to early stage #VCs. ?? Transparency -- It's human nature to "always be closing" when presenting one's company or work. And in a sense, a founder is always selling whether to customers, investors, or broader stakeholders, etc. What's important though is to be upfront and honest about the state of the company in a very real sense - blemishes and all. Be clear about your customers and the work you're doing with them. In order for your investors to know how to assist you best, they have to have a clear and real sense about where to deploy their resources. If you're opaque with investors they won't be able to help you. ?? Connectivity -- If you needed another reason to be transparent in addition to the above, the investors, buyers, and incumbents in this industry are very tight knit. Insurtech is a small world. If you say you're selling to entity X, there is a VERY good chance the investors you're speaking to know X personally and will ask them about it. Leverage this to your advantage with investors you meet, even with those who don't write you a check right away. Can they connect you or assist you with their network or introductions (and can you do the same for them)? This type of mindset builds our ecosystem over time. ?? Focus on the Buyer -- These days buyers are unlikely to be moved by a "nice to have." Are your buyers desperate for what you are selling? How does it change their world? Market demand is almost not enough in this environment - you need to have market desperation for what you're selling. SixThirty Ventures Tony L. Jeremy Epstein Marie-Christine Razaire Brian Gong Kendall M. Crocker #insurtech #seed #seriesA