I spent today at the 27th Angel Forum in Vancouver. It was a well-attended event, though not as popular as some of the previous ones. At least that is what I overheard some regulars saying. As a first-timer, I thought it was a great event.
The main purpose of the forum is for investors to get quick introductions to young companies looking for venture capital. The companies vie for an opportunity to present; usually only one in four gets the nod. Today we heard from 18 companies–some hardware, some software, and a couple with consumer products.
The day opened up with a top-notch speech from BDC Venture Capital’s Kalle Radage. BDC seems to be financing a lot of tech projects these days.
Kelly ran through the main things you’ve got to have if you expect them to take you seriously. It is an excellent guide for all emerging companies looking for capital.
MUST-HAVES
- Strong management: a team to build the dream
- Serious competitive advantage: Will they buy it?
- Big market, big opportunity
- Sound business model: Do the numbers make sense?
- Reasonable valuation
- Clear exit strategy
NICE-TO-HAVES
- Protected IP
- Been-there, done-that management
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Ray,
Good to hear that BDC is active – my impression is that Vancouver VCs have been pretty much AWOL for over a year. Hopefully that is changing.
I would be interested to hear of your view of the state of financing here after listening to the presentations and the responses to them.
Nicely designed blog by the way.
this post is very usefull thx!