I.Match Panel How to Pitch Angel Investors

© 2009 Felicis Ventures LLC

i.MATCH Effective Pitching to Angels & Selecting Angel Investors

Aydin Senkut Founder & Managing Director

twitter.com/asenkut www.felicisvc.com


Aydin Senkut – Felicis Ventures Bringing operational excellence & scaling experience to funding start-ups

Acquired by Google

Acquired by Twitter

Mixer Labs

Acquired by Shanda Games

Acquired by AT&T

Acquired by Intuit

Acquired by IAC

Acquired by Google

Acquired by Microsoft

  First Google Product Manager & Head of International Sales

  Angel Investor with 50+ investments, 11 exits

  Among the top 25 Tech Angels according to Businessweek (March 8, 2010)


Angel Investors in VC Ecosystem

Friends, Family or Grants

Rev

enue

/ E

BIT

DA

Individual Angels / Groups / Boutique VCs

Venture Capital Funds

Investment Banks & PE Funds

Acquisition Stage / IPO / Mergers

Idea Start up Intro Rollout Growth Expansion Maturity

Angel Investors $10k – $1MM

Grants of up to $1MM

Inv. Banks / PE $10MM - 100MM+


Finding Angel Investors …with a “POSITIVE BIAS” towards your company

Timing Areas of Interest

Referral Source Domain Expertise

Strong Connection To YOU or Your Domain


How to Select Angels ?

Professional

“Money” “Hobby”

“Expert”

Family &

Friends

Different Types of Angels


Targeting the Right Angels Consider your stage and capital needs

  Angels or Angel Syndicates most effective when round is less than $ 1M

Lead / Anchor Investor   Find the lead investor (usually financial lead as well)

  Help determine the terms / watch the deal

Angel Syndicate   Make sure targeted [angel] investors are:

  Active

  Have domain expertise

  Are interested in your field / company


Getting to First Meeting

Introduction / Referral   Sending “Cold” emails are likely to be unproductive

  Referral from a “known or trusted” source is best (university, previous company, lawyer, etc)

  Meet target investors in action (ie Conferences, Events, Activities)

Follow up Material / What to Send   Brief summary in email (shorter the better – ideally one paragraph)

  Executive summary (1 page)

  PowerPoint Deck (shorter the better)

Become a “known quantity” – Referral is key


The Pitch – Part I

1. Funding Risk   How much of the round is spoken for ? Who else is investing ?

2. Team Risk   Is this the right team to do it ? Who is missing ? What is the track record ?

3. Execution Risk   Confidence in the team’s ability to execute the vision, on plan, on time, efficiently

4. Market Risk   Is this the right market ? Does the product fit a major pain point ? Is it the right time ?

5. Exit Risk   Potential for this company to be acquired or an IPO

For Successful Pitch, Minimize the 5 “Perceived Risks”


Suggested Contents / Outline for a Good Pitch – Top 10 Points to cover*:

1.  What do you do? What customer need do you address? (business card rule)

2.  Who is on your team? How are they relevant? Who is missing?

3.  Introduce the product and the benefits

4.  How big is your market? Why is the market ready now?

5.  What is your go to market strategy?

6.  Where are you now? How much traction do you have?

7.  How do you grow fast ? What is your vision to become leader in your space ?

8.  What is the [realistic] competitive landscape?

9.  What will you use the funds for ? (Add financials & projections if you have)

10.  The Ask – how much do you want and where will it take you? Appendix: Anything you think will come up in questions

The Pitch – Part II Main Goal of Meeting 1 is: Get to YES or Meeting 2

*Thanks to Rebecca Lynn from Morganthaler Ventures for her input


VALUATION OF SEED ROUNDS* All amounts in millions

Valuation It’s Cyclical and Depends on Supply & Demand

*Source: NVCA


Tips to Remember

DO DON’T

Make it a monologue

Underestimate Risks

Miss Facts

Your Homework

Stand Out

ASK for Action

DOs and DON’Ts of Successful Pitches

I.Match Panel How to Pitch Angel Investors

Technology

Transcript of I.Match Panel How to Pitch Angel Investors