In this episode, Hall welcomes Pedro Falcão, Managing Director of LC Ventures, the first global, hands-on, accelerator-investment vehicle in Portugal.

Pedro’s began his career in the 1980’s in roles ranging from programmer, to analyst, to strategic consultant (just to name a few). When he realized he wanted to work for himself, Pedro became an early-stage investor and, to date, has invested in over 100 startups. Helping startups is what makes him happy, and because he has experience across many industries, he has a wealth of knowledge to share.

You can find LC Ventures at Lcventures.pt

Pedro can be reached via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedromfalcao/

He can also be contacted via email at pedro.falcao@lcventures.pt

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

There are several approaches to Due Diligence. The most common is the “Thorough Approach” in which you review each aspect of the business and focus on the top items.

Main areas to cover in due diligence are:

Market

• What’s the market size -- Total, Serviceable, Beachhead?
• How fast is it growing?

Product 

• What is the state of the product both technical and market?
• Does it solve a burning need or add general value?
• What actually has been developed?
• What remains to be developed to go to market?
• Who has used the product and what do they say about it?  

Legal

• What contracts are in place?
• Are there any lawsuits?

Intellectual Property

• What patents have been filed/approved and when?
• What trade secrets do they have?

Financials

• What revenues have come in?
• What are pending?
• What is the burn rate?

Capitalization

• What is the capitalization structure?
• Who are the major players?

People

• Key players and their roles and responsibilities?
• What contracts are in place with each?

Of course there’s a checklist for each area to complete as well, but this gives an overview.


Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

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Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Most investors look for startups in which they can find a return on their investment.

In the diligence and funding process, what the investor really wants is to not lose all their money.

They want to reduce risk to zero.  

As a startup raising funding, you can help the investor find confidence by showing the risk mitigation you have put in place.

For each concern, show how you’ve mitigated the risk.  For example:

How do we know the team will execute -- respond with “we’ve demonstrated execution so far with these results.”

How do we know we can sell the product  -- respond with “we’ve sold this much so far and will continue using the same process.”

Remember where the investor is coming from and show how the risk has been reduced, even though it’s not zero.


Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

I once read a sixty-five page business plan that talked about the startups’ services and the benefits that came from it.

After reading it, I met with the CEO and said, “This is great. What is it?”

I couldn’t figure out exactly what they were selling. 

From your pitch, investors want to know what your product is, not just your technology or benefits.

It should come near the beginning of the pitch as some investors have difficulty focusing on what you’re saying until they know what the product is. 

It’s important to show the product and define it clearly so investors know how you will approach the market.

If it’s a physical product, show a picture of it.

Make sure the product has a name. This helps establish it as a real thing in the investor’s mind, even if the product is still in development.

I once had a startup bring the physical casing of their product to hold up during the pitch. The case was empty, but the fact that there was a physical device to show made it seem real.

Say what it does in five words or less so the investor gets a high-level understanding of it.

Even if the product is not yet ready for sale, treat it like it has form and function now, just so investors can grasp what you are doing.


Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In raising funding you need to build a relationship with the investor and communicate your story. 

Both take time. 

It’s a numbers game. You have to put yourself in places to meet people.

Once you’ve met someone, you need to build on it with follow ups in email, calls, and meetings. 

If you wait too long between updates, the investor will lose the thread of your story.

It takes seven touches to close a sale, so it will take at least seven touches to close an investor.

There will be a great number of ‘no’s, so look at a ‘no’ as a chance to improve your pitch and your plan. 

It takes time to build a relationship so give yourself plenty of time to do so on your fundraise. 


Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org


Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Investors look for some protection over the idea. Patents and trade secrets can help.

Half the value of a patent is for show, to investors.

In practice, it’s difficult to use patents as the sole means for protecting your business from the competition, but it can help.

If you have patents, investors want to know what was filed and when.  Was it a provisional patent, or a design patent, or a utility patent?

No one expects you to have awarded patents for utility or design patents, as the process typically takes over three years to complete.

If you don’t have any patents, it’s advisable to file a number of provisional patents so you can tell investors ‘we have patent pending technology’.

One advantage of provisional patents is that it gives you a year to figure out if patents can provide any reasonable protection and then file for a full patent.

You don’t have to pursue those patents if it doesn’t turn out to make business sense.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group