20 Lessons from Two Months of Startup Events

This fall, Tech AF attended events all over Atlanta Innovation Month, Denver Startup Week, and– inspiring beyond words– the Women’s Venture Summit in San Diego. Truth be told, we were incredibly inspired by the founders, investors, Chief Marketing Officers, and ecosystem builders we met. If you ever have a chance to attend any of these events, please do.

We learned many things, but here are a few lessons from which we think all female founders can learn.

Fundraising

1. Find the capital before you need it. This came up a lot. Network and build your relationships before and between fundraising rounds– this way you can cultivate a meaningful connection without being in a state of desperation. Because that stinks. ??
2. Find authentic alignment with investors so they’re likely to say yes. Every venture capital firm, angel investment group, grantmaking agency, and individual investor baddie has an investment thesis. They have done rigorous self-assessments to determine factors like what they value, how much they want to invest, and how quickly they want to see their returns. Save everyone time and precious energy by doing the research to help you determine who is in authentic alignment with your company’s goals. This can include reviewing their website and meeting with portfolio companies.
3. If you have a co-founder– well, first, consider yourself extremely fortunate, Second, one of you should focus on fundraising and the other on day-to-day business operations. Whomever carries the title of CEO is the person who should be doing the fundraising and they should be improving every day through pitch practice, receiving feedback, and taking educational courses.
4. If an investor wants to talk to you, cancel all else.
5. When you’re determining if an investor is a good fit for you and your business, interview their portfolio companies. Make sure to ask how this investor shows up in moments of crisis.

Pitching Your Startup

1. During your pitch, investors are looking at: (1) How thorough and prepared you are, and (2) How quickly you can think on your feet. If they come up with a good question, don’t run away from it. Take a deep breath, give yourself a moment to consider, and answer to demonstrate adaptability in the face of new information or innovation.
2. Lead with data and numbers so investors are more ready to listen. This is counter-intuitive to the approach we’ve often been taught: open with a compelling story. The truth is that investors are less receptive to women founders, so you want to make it easier for them to see your company as a viable solution. We saw this approach come through– and trust us, an emotional story to punctuate the end is powerful, too.
3. If there is research to back up what you’re doing, then make a slide with the data and lean on the authority of the research institution logos. It’s impressive to see a giant Harvard or Stanford logo, especially when 40% of investors went to one of those two universities.
4. Women are 70% more likely to get asked “Prevention [of failure]” questions, and men are more likely to be asked about “Promotion” or all the possibilities. When you are inevitably asked a small-minded “Prevention” question, employ the “bridging” technique to bring them back to your main points. For example, “Yes, of course, we’re thinking about XYZ, and I would love to talk about the market potential…”

Business

1. In the beginning, focus singularly on the one major impact you’re seeking to make. Trying to focus on every metric (environment, social, governance, etc.) slows growth too much and you’re not a nonprofit. Thematic investing is the new impact investing and it is replacing the models of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) metrics.
2. Build a trusted board of advisors from the beginning. This will get you out of the weeds, help you learn from other people’s expertise, help you raise capital, give you strategic partnership during challenging moments, and expand your network.
3. Product Market Fit. Do thorough customer discovery at the beginning and forever more. There is no better way to reach product market fit than sitting down and speaking with your customers, asking them open-ended questions, and listening like your life depends on it. The companies that stay a head above the rest, continue to do this throughout the entirety of their lifecycle. Check out our YouTube tutorial to learn how to do customer discovery well.

Marketing & Sales

1. Before you invest in the top of the funnel or flywheel, examine where currently interested prospects and customers are getting stuck now. Increase conversion at each stage to optimize flow before bringing more people in.
2. Utilize paid ads only to pour fuel on what’s already working. Test messaging, storytelling, and branding. When something succeeds organically, invest to boost that advertising.
3. Pick your moments. When will your company be the most relevant throughout the year/month/week? Send your best piece of creative advertising at that moment (email, paid ads, organic ads, SMS).
4. Entertain, then sell. Loyalty is created through meaningful interactions and relationship building. Prioritize delighting your audiences and providing entertainment and value in their lives, transforming their day. Then sell, if you even need to by then.

Being a {Female} Founder

1. Lean into what you’re naturally good at because of your social conditioning, e.g., building relationships and being collaborative.
2. Spend time and resources upskilling and educating yourself in your subject, finances, leadership, markets, and more– and still hire to fill in the gaps. Seek advice from founders who are one or two steps ahead of you.
3. When you’re burning out, everyone around you sees it. They want you to take responsibility and take care of yourself because that is true leadership. Invest in self-care routinely so you don’t crash and burn.
4. 79% of investors said their “impact investments” had higher returns. Most women we know are building products that have a positive impact in the world and are solving systemic problems. Investing in women is good business. Don’t let them ever forget it.