The entrepreneurial landscape continues to get more competitive with more and more innovators donning the founder hat. However, every founder needs a co-founder and a partner who can fund the evolution of a cutting-edge product or technology. 1 in 5 startups fails every year, with the inability to raise funds being one of the primary reasons. If you are a founder building a tech startup, you will always need a reliable venture capital partner to ensure a seamless cash flow.
In this blog, we discuss a 10-step approach to finding an ideal VC partner for your startup and fostering a long-term partnership with them.
Finding a suitable VC partner requires a solid understanding of the VC landscape. VCs expect equity and long-term growth in exchange for supporting high-potential businesses. They bring industry knowledge, connections, and expertise that can accelerate your startup's growth.
Before you embark on your search for a VC partner, you must define your funding needs and the goals that you seek to achieve through those funds. In order to decide your funding needs, you need to consider the stage at which your startup is, the size of your team and whether you need to hire more members, infrastructure costs, development costs, marketing needs, and goals.
The next logical step is to conduct thorough research to find investors. You should attend tech events, conferences and explore other networking opportunities to connect directly with potential investors. Alternatively, you can look for a potential VC partner on leading VC platforms, including Industry Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Atomico, and DNA Capital. Finally, create a list of potential partners.
Once you have a list of VC partners and investors that you think you can form a long-term partnership with, it is time to make the final list, following a more concentrated approach.
Consider the following parameters to narrow down your search:
VCs get hundreds of proposals regularly. Most businesses only have one chance at grabbing attention. Thus, you must create a powerful pitch deck to highlight your startup's value proposition, market opportunity, competitive advantage, team, and financial projections. Use compelling visuals and minimum text to make it short and sweet and maximize your chances of raising capital.
Finding the right VC partner could be a defining factor for the journey of your tech startup. The ideal way is to strike a direct conversation during events, webinars, or tech events and clearly communicate the value proposition while highlighting growth potential. Be professional, pitch something unique, and leverage networking.
Following a due diligence process is a prerequisite for profitable investments and fruitful partnerships. Due diligence works both ways. VCs may seek in-depth information about your product, market, competition, and financials to assess the growth potential. You must be ready with all the necessary information to ensure transparency.
Negotiation begins after a VC accepts your proposal and shows their willingness in investing in your startup. You must fix a meeting with the potential partners for negotiating deal terms. Here are a few key elements to discuss during the negotiation:
Relations with VC partners do not end after raising funds. In fact, it is the first step of a long-term business partnership. You must have an open discussion with your VC partner, keep them updated on key developments, have strategic discussions, and seek their advice to make them feel important and build trust.
Securing funds is one of the first benefits of having a VC partner. There's a lot more to gain from that partnership. You can take their advice to deal with roadblocks and expand. You should also tap into their networks to expand your network and forge valuable partnerships. This could also help you in expanding in different countries.
Running a tech startup is a tough job and securing funds is extremely important to scale your startup and meet your business goals. You need to define your funding needs, research and identify potential partners, create a compelling pitch deck, negotiate a deal acceptable to both, and leverage post-investment strategies to reap the benefits of partnering with top VCs.
Approaching so many VCs and communicating your value proposition with them is highly challenging. Blaze's social intelligence tool is a game-changer in having seamless communication with potential partners.
