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John A. Hime,
a partner in seedstage.com, is arguably the most prominent investor in high tech
startups in Austin. Here are his criteria for deciding to invest or not to invest
in a company.
Why It's Important
Individually, investors
have different backgrounds and interests, as well as different business models for
investing. Collectively, however, investors think alike. You will find they share
the same concerns about startups and about balancing the risk and their return on
investment.
How It Works
Let's begin with why an investor might decline to invest in a company. Here's how
Mr. Hime sees it. At this time, among the many possible reasons not to invest, these
are the major ones:
- His background and interests
don't match with the company, and
- Critical management team members
-- especially the CEO and sales/marketing -- have not been identified.
Finding a quality management team
is probably the most difficult part of starting a company these days, and is the
essential test an entrepreneur must pass before he will consider investing.
Now here's
a summary of what it takes to make Mr. Hime decide to invest in a company.
In general, you
will see:
1) Internet focus: e-commerce, infrastructure or meta-ware,
2) concept stage: two- to four people involved,
3) rough draft business plan and lots of market research,
4) at least two potential major customers identified,
5) demo version of product,
6) Mr. Hime invests $100,000 for a 5- to 10% equity stake.
In particular,
you must offer:
1) a match for Mr. Hime's interest and experience,
2) a management team: CEO, sales/marketing, engineering,
3) a big market opportunity -- rapid growth to $1 billion+,
4) a scaleable concept -- $100 million+ revenue in the fifth year,
5) a concise and convincing differentiation,
6) a compelling business model.
In the end, you
will receive:
1) runway money - to get your company off the ground,
2) advice on management-team structure and hiring,
3) advice on business strategy and marketing issues,
4) guidance on writing your business plan and presentation,
5) introduction to venture capitalists,
6) counseling on venture capitalists' terms and pricing.
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