On
Tuesday, August 20, the Chicago Connectory welcomed member, Nick Moran, general
partner at New Stack Ventures and founder
of the 1st Venture Capital Podcast (The Full
Ratchet), as
he hosted a workshop on How to Raise Capital.
The workshop
was focused on the strategy and the materials that every entrepreneur and
startup should think about before looking for investors. Nick advised to make a
list of all the cons an investor would say about your business. By doing this,
you are able to identify your weaknesses and how to overcome them.
During
the brainstorming session, all attendees were asked to list investor and
startup driven points (product, market, etc.) that could cause their business to
receive a “no” from investors. To overcome them, Nick suggested that startups
ask for advice and establish solid communication between customers to show
confidence to investors.
After sharing his strategy, Nick explained the importance of creating a
presentation and gathering the supporting documents you will need to convince
your future investor. The presentation deck will be a sales tool, and there
should be two versions of it - a long and a teaser one. Both presentations
should drive interest and intrigue. The narrative should be so simple that a 5th
grader could understand it. Lastly, Nick suggested to build a target list of potential
investors and analyze their profiles before engaging with them.
Thank
you New Stack Ventures for this great workshop. We look forward to the next
one!