July Edition 2024

39 • Create a compelling pitch that highlights the problem you’re solving, your solution, market opportunity, traction, and team. • Show early traction while highlighting key achievements that validate market demand and execution capability. • Strong team and advisory board, emphasize the expertise and experience of your founding team and advisory board. Investors often invest in people as much as in ideas. • Show the market opportunity and the unique value proposition, highlighting what sets your product or service apart from competitors. • Provide realistic financial projections, outline your business model, revenue streams, pricing strategy, and customer acquisition costs. Successful financing structures: Convertible notes or SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity): Debt instruments that convert into equity upon a future financing round, typically with a discount or valuation cap, simplify the process and reduce legal complexity. An online venture investing platform such as OurCrowd: Raises funds from a large number of investors through a network. Venture Debt: Secure debt financing tailored for startups, this option is more relevant to growth companies due to a more strict requirements. Each startup’s success in attracting and securing seed or angel investors often involves a combination of these strategies and financing structures, tailored to their specific industry, growth stage, and market dynamics. Which types of startups and sectors are most successful in securing early financing, and what factors contribute to their success? Can you share examples of startups whose growth you have particularly enjoyed watching? The most successful types of early-stage startups in the current climate are SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and AI (Artificial Intelligence). The leading sectors are Cybersecurity, Fintech and Enterprise Software, which often attract early-stage investors due to their scalability and potential for disruption. Startups focusing on renewable energy, sustainability and environmental solutions also appeal to investors interested in both financial returns and social impact. The key factors would be strong technical team, disruptive technology,

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