Wednesday 13 October 2010

Investors : Four key factors to look for in a startup by Mark Suster

I obviously don’t speak for all investors.  But in my experience as an entrepreneur and now spending my time amongst investors I can generalize that almost all VC investments in early stage technology & internet investments come down to just four key factors.  And they’re easy to remember because they all begin with an M: management, market, money and above all else momentum.
This post was prompted by an email exchange I had with a young entrepreneur.  It’s a conversation that creeps up from time-to-time.  This person had been introduced to me several times by angels and I was told that I’d be the perfect seed investor.  I was interested in learning more.  For a combination of reasons I didn’t end up talking with the CEO in time and the company quickly became over subscribed.  That’s fine.  It is probably the right thing for the stage of company.
So I wrote to the entrepreneur and said, “Congrats. Now that you’ve gotten the round done I’d love to get together at your convenience and learn more about your business so I’ll be ready well before you’re next fund raising event.  The CEO said, “Not taking meetings with investors for a while (hope you understand), so let’s connect again in a few months?”

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