Techstars is one of the most active seed investors in startups in the world. Through its Techstars Accelerator Program, it has invested in over 3,000 companies in various sectors. In partnership with ARM Labs, in 2022 it launched ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, an accelerator based in Lagos, Nigeria. So far it has organised two demo days, with each participating startup receiving over $120,000 in seed funding.
At a Techbiz Webinar organised by the Eko Innovation Centre in July 2024, the managing director of ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, Oyin Solebo shared some advice for founders looking to raise money. For her it begins by answering the question, Are you investible?
“It has become harder to fundraise. The bar has become higher. But companies that are well-positioned can close their round. Are you what an investor is looking for?” she said.
See below her tips for founders that want to position to close their rounds:
A winning co-founder team
By that I mean you need to have a good founder-market fit. Are you uniquely positioned to succeed in whatever market you’re playing in? You can demonstrate this with domain expertise, showing that you have insights into your customer base. Ultimately, you want to leave the conversation with the investor where they feel like they have learned something about the market from you.
Well-structured team
All the main bases should be covered. Ideally, you should have a technical founder and a commercial founder and there should be clear responsibilities. If you’re working in a sector where domain expertise is really important they should be able to show that.
Well bonded team
We are looking for well-bonded teams. One of the most common reasons for startup failure is that the team breaks up. We want to see that the founders have a history of working together; that you know your strengths and weaknesses. If you're having co-founder issues don't raise. It's not fair to you, to your investor, to your team, or anyone that really relies on your business to succeed.
Founder experience
We are looking preferably for people that have prior experience of launching something. So, have you been a co-founder before? Or have you at least launched a product or a service or something else to show that you have things that you have learned from?
Strong character
And then we are looking at your character. Being a founder is hard and the relationship with your investor should be one that is treasured. So we're looking for founders that have execution bias, grit, and stamina. But also, ones that are really open and transparent because that suggests you’re going to have a good relationship with your investor.
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