11 Notes for tech founders [Part 1]

On founders that are looking to attract angel investors.

Eleven notes/lessons that I have captured during the last years. #PartOne

1. Have high integrity and transparency in your business (of course, also in your personal life). Don't try to hide any flaws or weaknesses, as they will be discovered eventually and can harm your chances of getting an investment. Nobody wants to do business with people who have major character issues.
2. Find your Product Market Founder Fit. A problem that is important for you and important for your customers to be solved. In this way, you will be motivated and passionate about solving it. You need to have a strong reason for doing what you do, especially when things go south and you'll have difficult moments. The Founder job is not an easy one.
3. Develop your founding team with complementary skills that can execute the business. Look for high integrity, high energy, and high intelligence. Without integrity, the other two are worthless. Eventually, that co-founder will leave when shit hits the fan or will cheat you.
4. Your pitch deck is important. Most of the time, your pitch deck is the first touching point of an angel investor with your startup. Make sure to have a clear and concise pitch deck, with obvious slides-deck highlighting your vision, strengths (traction, differentiators), and growth potential. I will write a detailed article on this subject.
5. Always test your assumptions: Develop an entrepreneurial mindset and constantly test your hypotheses to validate them with facts. Once you have enough validated facts, learn how to replicate your solution at scale. Your assumptions must be tested with low money/resources and as quickly as possible.
6. Facts sell 100x better than pompous words.
7. Gain relevant traction. 100 Participations at different pre-accelerators / accelerators programs won't make your startup raise or be attractive to angel investors. You must validate your product by selling it to your customers. Go out and sell it.
8. Be disciplined in delivering what you have promised. Become results-driven and focused on taking action. Show investors that you can deliver your promises and achieve your goals. You can lose their interest very quickly.
9. Asking is the beginning of receiving.?The most successful founders I have met are always asking for help/support from anyone they meet on their road, especially from investors.
10. Offer a fair investment proposal to angel investors. When searching for an angel investor, you want a motivated partner who will get involved when necessary and support you with his expertise and network. Ensure you have a fair business proposal when asking them to invest in your company.
11. Remember that a startup's goal is to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

When it comes to your pitch deck, it's essential to be clear and concise about your business. Use slides that are easy to understand and highlight the customer, vision, problem, solution, product, business model, market size, go-to-market strategy, unfair advantage, and current traction. Try to use as little text as possible and focus on synthesis, as investors will appreciate this well.

Summary

In summary, the key things investors look for in startups are a clear and concise pitch deck, high levels of integrity and transparency, discipline, a complementary team that can execute the business model, results-driven action, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a passion for solving real customer problems. Focusing on these things will increase your chances of attracting investment and building a successful startup.