Joy Joseph Abisaab

The most important fundraising KPI: 1st pitch → 2nd meeting conversion rate Is yours low? (< 30-50%) Something is wrong. Here's how to diagnose your issue and fix it: There are two types of potential problems... 1️⃣ Investor targeting 2️⃣ Pitching 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is targeting the wrong investors. Usually you're reaching out to investors that focus on a different stage or industry. Do some research on the investors that didn't convert to a second meeting. The most important resource: their portfolio page. Ignore the "about" section, or their blog. That's mostly about marketing to potential investors in their fund. Instead, look at what they've actually invested in and the stage at which they invested (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, etc.) Remember: trust the portfolio, not the thesis. __ The other main issue is unclear outbound messaging. Investors think you do one thing (industry, business model, tech, etc.) but you actually do something else. I recommend sending your outbound email template to 5+ friends that don't know anything about your startup. Ask them: • What kinds of customers do you think we serve? • What benefits do you think we provide for them? • What product features do you think we have? • What technologies do you think we use? If more 20% of your friends answer these questions incorrectly, you need to write new outreach emails. 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is just that your pitch is weak. Usually because you aren't telling a story. You're just sharing disconnected data. The best pitches are stories that foreshadow the only possible outcome: your startup's tremendous success. It feels inevitable. The easiest test to figure out if you're telling a story: try connecting the main idea of each of your slides with "but," "so" or one of their synonyms. If the natural link between slides is "and" or if you can move the order around, you don't have a story. Chronology matters in storytelling. Go back to the drawing board and try to write your inevitable success story. __ Maybe your overall pitch isn't weak. But VCs may still be spotting a red flag when you pitch. It turns them off right away. If you think this might be your issue, it's important to start asking questions. Most pitches have time for you to ask questions at the end. Here's my go-to to diagnose this issue: "What would you need to see in order to get excited about investing in <<STARTUP>>?" If they tell you a primary KPI that you need to improve, then you've probably identified the issue. The other possibility: They try to avoid giving you a specific answer. If they're evading your question, you NEED to dig in to get to the bottom of it. Your fundraising success may depend on it. —— Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders!

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Does being a great VC = being a great manager ? Basically no.  Because the two are very different things.  (It’s not me, Kyle Harrison is saying so!) What's important for a VC can be summed up like that : "The two most important things are (1) performance, and (2) teamwork. But if you don't have number 1 then nothing else matters." Being a good VC is making the right investments to have a solid track record. The currency in VC is getting credit for getting deals done. This leaves little room for investors to train newcomers (ie. Associates/Analysts) because you don’t get recognition from that. So being a good manager isn’t valued as much as being a good investor. But problem is, building a solid track record is very different from building a long lasting investment firm, which can only be done by training associates and so being a good manager. David Haber compare the way VC are working with the way Chicago Bulls won championships in 1991-92 meaning winning on the back of 1 or 2 players (1 or 2 good investors) So the structural incentive rewards only deals getting done leaving on the side building a team that knows how to work together. Everything outside track record could be considered pointless. And that’s why VC can’t be considered as an apprenticeship business. But the the positive thing is, a lot of smart VC (ex: Sequoia Capital (US) or Serena (FR)) already know that training new generations is equally important as having a great track record if you want to survive on the long run. So remember as a VC, find great deals but don’t forget to find a great Associate that can succeed you ;) PS: I’m not going to say it but I could: Automate as much as possible to have time for your Associate. Many thanks to Kyle for this interesting piece! Link in comments 👇

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We just launched our new Fundraising Co-Pilot on top of our existing network that makes it 25x faster and more efficient for founders to identify, research, and target their most ideal investor profiles. And we're giving 2 months of it away for free to 1 founder... But first, here's how the product itself works ⬇️ 1️⃣ M.L. Investor Matching: The backbone of our platform is a network where investors interact with startups. We use the tens of thousands of unique data points that we have on our network to find the most relevant investors for your startup using a proprietary algorithm based on their thesis, the firm's thesis, their portfolio, real time activity, and much more. 2️⃣ A.I. Research Agent: The most effective outreach is well-researched and personalized. Our research agent aggregates all relevant information about an investor to supercharge your outreach so the process takes seconds as opposed to 30 minutes. 3️⃣ Getting connected: Warm intros are often the best way to get in touch with the right investors. We help you find the best way to get in touch with the right investors (warm intros or cold messages), and then help you build the actual message. 4️⃣ Tailored outbound message generation: Messages have to be highly curated in order to stand out. We've built a model that is trained on successful outreach messages, combines all the right pieces of your information and theirs (from the research agent) to help you catch the eyes of any investor. It also learns to sound more and more like you the more you use it. 5️⃣ Status management and CRM: With our integrations, we make it easy to track the status of the raise and get insights into the startup's performance. You're also fully a part of the network and can track how organic investors engage with your startup. 🚀 The coolest part of all of this is you can try it for yourself in 10 seconds. We've built it into our landing page so all you need to do is put your website link in here https://theorcanetwork.com and watch the magic happen. Customers have been loving it in the 2 days since it has launched, so we decided to have some fun with a little giveaway: 🤑 Any founder who tags another founder in the comments gets entered into a raffle where the winner will win 2 months of the Co-Pilot plan for free. That's 9 days, 17 hours, and 20 minutes saved. Tag fellow founders below to be entered! As Charlie Wehan alluded to in his post, the fundraising co-pilot is just the tip of the iceberg in regard to the future of ORCA. A lot more to come with the power of the data we're collecting and the models we're building. Stay tuned 👀

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I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

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Yesterday I had a great conversation with Alexandre Wibaux , Alex Ferrara and Christopher Britton in a panel discussing common myths for European scale ups seeking to crack the US market. Three ‘myths’ we discussed particularly resonated with me based on our journey at Beamery : 1️⃣ Myth: You need to be a scaled European success story before launching in the US. Reality: Many successful EU companies launched in the US very early in their journey. At Beamery we launched our first commercial team in the US - a team of 5 in Austin - when our global team was just 14 people (most of whom were engineers). 2️⃣ Myth: You cannot hire the best technical talent in Europe. Reality: Top talent exists all over the world, with Europe increasingly becoming one of the best places in the world to build engineering teams - at Beamery we have found this to be particularly true in the AI focused space we operate in. 3️⃣ Myth: US is a very different market to sell and operate in and requires a different commercial and regulatory approach. Reality: While there are lots of differences between each market and country, in our experience at Beamery the majority of market specific nuances have converged over the past 10 years. In B2B SaaS in particular it is now far easier both for US companies to launch in Europe and for European companies to launch in the US, as well as to take a more global approach at an early stage : commercial , regulatory and hiring barriers are all becoming easier to navigate. Nonetheless, early stage companies and founders have to be very mindful of the many challenges of expanding to new markets - some that may be specific to their business model, others (such as building a global culture and operating across time zones) that are universal. For those reading this that have experienced any other challenges of operating in a globally scaling start up, I’d love to hear from you - please reach out or comment below P.s. Thank you Lazard for inviting me to this great panel and for hosting such a fantastic T500 conference!

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Question for all the founders in my network: What tools are you using for your customer waitlists? 💡 I've seen everything from simple one page websites to more developed integrated engagement/management platforms. Keen to know what people think is good! #founders #vc #startup

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🚀 Calling all institutional investors who are interested in Pre-seed to Seed stage startups! You might have heard about London’s Largest Demo Day we hosted in April, where we had 100 pre-selected Pre-Seed to Series A stage #startups  #pitching to hundreds of #investors . We managed to gather high-quality startups to pitch on the day with the help of our 40+ investor partners. 🙌 We’re doing it again on the 14th of October and are expanding our investor partner list. This will help us rate the applicants and raise event awareness. In return, each investor partner gets early access to the deal flow and a couple of complimentary tickets for the event! 🎟️ If you’d like to join other investors and support us, please fill in the form (link in the comments). The form also includes more details on the process, expectations, and timeline. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿: • VCs • CVCs • Family Offices • Angel Syndicates 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲? • 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁: Driven mainly by applications and ratings, but we are aiming for full representation in hardtech, deeptech, and fintech. • 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁: All applicants will take a psychometric test designed by ETA Technologies to assess their team’s potential for survival. The results will be available to investors post-event. • 𝗦𝗣𝗩 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: We plan to create an SPV to invest in the top 2-3 companies, decided by the investor committee. • 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: We will host “The First Money In” pitching event for pre-selected founders who have undergone due diligence. Individual angels can commit up to £100k with a £1k ticket. We hope to have you on board with us. We will be announcing our investor partners next week. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 (𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀). Looking forward to your applications! 🚀 Each application will be manually reviewed before it is approved.

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Soooo pretty much how French VC has always been. VC firms suing each other. LPs firing GPs. LPs taking funds back. VCs suing entrepreneurs. It's always been a dramatic scene. 🇫🇷 🐓🍷🥖 https://lnkd.in/eK8JbgDA #vc #venrurecapital #startups #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurship #tech #technology #innovation #money #business

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I was very disappointed when I read this post. It’s an example of a core problem with raising from VCs——bullsh*t criteria filters. It’s lazy and arrogant investing at its finest. 1- Passing because of a “signal”. This is just a weak excuse to not speak with a founder. If there is one thing I’ve learned as an investor, it’s that decks rarely tell the story well. With all the dynamics of early stage company building, relying solely on “minor flags” to pass is just a cheap excuse to not speak with someone. 2- Founder not “paying attention to detail”. Attention to the correct details is important. This type of “detail” is ridiculous. As an outsider, you have no idea what their document management is like. They may have updated the document that very day. You’re getting upset about naming conventions like it means that they can’t possibly build a billion dollar company. It doesn’t matter. 3- Being butt hurt when you realize you weren’t the top of their list. This one makes me laugh the most. What an arrogant stance to take. “Oh, I wasn’t your first call? Go jump off a cliff.” It doesn’t strike people like this that it may have taken months to network their way into the person that he knew so they would get an introduction so this investor would take it seriously? Note, “I was sent a fund deck the other day” means that it was a referral, presumably from someone they know and trust. 4- Fundraising must be tough because you’ve been in market for at least two months. Cut me a break. It’s hard for every company in this environment. Most of the best performing VC investments in history struggled to raise money in their first few rounds. And most of the company who raised huge amounts with no friction end up Hindenberging. This is so lazy and biased. These investors also tend to be logo investors—eg who else is committed to the raise. 5- Saving time by not taking the meeting. A VC cannot possibly take a call with every deck that comes across their desk. However, especially when it comes from a referral, and things sound “pretty good”, give it the benefit of the doubt. Especially when it’s so hard to tell a story to hundreds of investors who all have different expectations for “the perfect deck”. Your obligation to your fund LPs means you turn over every rock. Make the time. Pass it to an analyst to hear the full story. Don’t look for weak excuses like this to pass. If you’ve experienced at fundraising, I’m sure none of this is a surprise to you. Fundraising is extraordinarily difficult. If you’re new to venture fundraising, this is just one example in a sea of irrational behavior exuded by VCs and the analysts that filter deals for them. Buckle up. **Thanks to Alex Dunsdon for sharing this investor screenshot with his network first.

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The impact of Airbnb on housing markets has long been debated, especially as cities worldwide crackdown on short-term rentals. EY’s recent study, however, reveals that Airbnb has limited influence on housing prices. The study points out that the real challenge lies in the UK's shortage of 5 million homes, while also highlighting Airbnb’s £5.7 billion economic contribution and the 75,000 jobs it supports. From reading the report, it seems clear that governing bodies have underestimated the economic benefits of Airbnb, and overstated its role in housing challenges. You can read the full report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/epXX28dt I’m interested to know others' take on this. Do you agree that this is a distraction from the real issue of housing supply?

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Slow down in Venture across the board in Emerging Markets! As predicted, VC funding and deal flow continues to decline across the Middle East, Arica and South East Asia. If you haven’t yet had the chance to access MAGNiTT's latest report on Q1 figures, then this article might just be for you: https://lnkd.in/duwpEqf7 My two cents based on MAGNiTT’s data: 1. Venture funding to remain flat until the US FED decreases interest rates (which I don't see happening before Q4 if at all) 2. Dry powder is available as funds make announcements regionally...but raising funds and deploying takes time. Unlikely to translate into active investments before Q4’24-Q1’25 3. Deal activity in SEA and MENA likely to converge at some point in line with global trends (CB Insights 8th consecutive decline in funding globally!) 4. Underdog industries might see some investment with healthcare, and energy, to report increases in YoY deal flow while star industries like FinTech and e-commerce may decline With VC funding looking more and more baron, and a continued focus on early stage over late stage, start up founders will need to remain vigilant and frugal. Interesting to see how Emerging Ecosystems will develop in the coming quarters with seasonal lulls and international interest. You can forecast and benchmark quarterly investment activities across countries and regions using our analytics tool accessible via subscription: https://lnkd.in/d2J6TdYQ #VentureCapital #EmergingMarkets #MENA #InvestmentTrends #Entrepreneurship

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2024 LAVCA Trends in Tech - LAVCA https://buff.ly/4dfL6Qf by @LAVCA sector and country-specific breakdowns, average round sizes across investment stages and the current role of global investors co-investing alongside local fund managers! #rafAIgual #vc #trends #investment #latam

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Why SanFran as city is unique + Europe can’t compete ? 300 000 millionaires & 80 Billionaires Even without capital raising, the probability of good knowledge transfer about how to build substantial (software) businesses seems to be working better on an order magnitude in that city, than in Europe as a whole

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What's the pertinence of "rent-now-pay-later"? It has to do with landlords asking for a year of rent in advance. Here's how Walid Shihabi, co-founder of Keyper, explains the problem and the solution Keyper is building: " Most of these rent payments happen via written, physical checks. This is a hassle: the landlords have to safely store these checks, physically cash them in… They don’t know if the check will bounce or not, which leads to the second problem: the restrictive nature of these payments. Since the process is so heavy, landlords in Dubai prefer to have rent paid a year in advance. This is a heavy burden for most tenants, who don’t have the cash on hand. Some downgrade the property quality they aspire to and often, take an interest-bearing loan to pay that one-year payment. Most people thought the problem was the financing of tenants: if only tenants could get better loan terms, surely the problem would be solved. Keyper chose to reinvent the process entirely. To fix the antiquated part, we built digital payment rails for rent payments. Tenants can now pay with their credit card or by direct debit, where the central bank directly pulls money from the tenant’s account and deposits it into the landlord’s one. Direct debit is exciting because there are no fees involved (unlike credit cards). This makes it nicely suited for the high ticket transactions that rent payments usually are. As the UAE works on open banking (opening consumers’ banking data to 3rd parties), this payment method will improve. To fix the restrictive part, we’ve built a rent-now-pay-later (RNPL) tool that enables tenants to pay their rent monthly instead of yearly, upfront. " Read Walid's full Realistic Optimist interview here: https://lnkd.in/gPkasR9n

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Its's a deal flow time! We are about to share the details of 637 start-ups who joined Rare Founders London's largest #demoday 2 weeks ago with all the investors (only verified ones) in our community. If you are a #founder who is #fundraising and want to get more exposure to investors (IT'S FREE) - submit your details following the link in comments. If you are an #investor interested in pre-seed to series A start-ups join our community (link in comments) to get access access to the monthly deal flow. Please tag #investors and #founders who this might be applicable for.

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I was struck by the Sifted research this week showing that a staggering 71% of founders feel that their relationships with investors are deteriorating, with many feeling their VCs are unhelpful. This trend raises the question: why are we sacrificing genuine connection for the sake of short-term business demands? Relationships are the lifeblood of our businesses, just as they are of our personal lives. Without strong, supportive partnerships, all the capital, planning, and strategy in the world falls flat. Toxic relationships can inflict deep wounds that impede growth and progress. In the wise words of J Krishnamurti, "the understanding of relationships is infinitely more important than the search for any plan of action." As we navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship, let's ponder this: when we look back on our lives, what will truly matter? The brilliant strategies we devised, or the meaningful relationships we cultivated and developed? After hosting the founders' retreat last weekend, I wonder how we can counterbalance the negative breakdown of relationships that seems to be happening across the investment and tech community. Do we need more spaces for connection, understanding and healing? #founders #investors #businessrelationships #reflection #retreat Photo credit: Thank you Sasha Graham for being a leader who understands the important of meaningful relationships in business. Sasha has taken on the CEO role at Equality Group with passion and dedication - modelling what it means to lead with your head and heart.

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Joining an Early-Stage Startup: What Should you look for: Deciding to join an early-stage startup is both exciting and challenging. Here’s what to consider and how I ticked the boxes when I joined Adneto: ⚫Vision and Mission Alignment: ➡What to Look For: Ensure the startup’s vision and mission resonate with your values and career goals. ➡My Experience: Adneto's mission to enhance customer engagement through innovative B2B solutions matched my belief in technology's transformative power. ⚫Market Potential: ➡What to Look For: Evaluate the market size and the problem the startup aims to solve. ➡My Experience: Adneto operates in the growing fintech sector, offering much-needed personalized customer experiences and cross-brand partnerships. ⚫Founding Team: ➡What to Look For: Assess the founders' expertise, experience, and vision. ➡My Experience: Adneto's experienced founders, my college seniors from IIT Roorkee, gave me confidence in the startup's potential. ⚫Company Culture: ➡What to Look For: A positive, inclusive, and dynamic culture. ➡My Experience: Adneto promotes open communication, innovation, and teamwork, aligning with my values. ⚫Role and Growth Opportunities: ➡What to Look For: Clear understanding of your role and potential for growth. ➡My Experience: As a founding member, I have the opportunity to shape Adneto’s direction and grow with the company. ⚫Financial Health and Funding: ➡What to Look For: Assess financial stability and funding status. ➡My Experience: Adneto is bootstrapped, which involves risks. However, the potential rewards and belief in our vision made it a worthy challenge. ⚫Product and Technology: ➡What to Look For: Innovation, scalability, and user-centric design. ➡My Experience: Adneto’s Gratify platform offers advanced, scalable solutions for personalized rewards and engagement. Joining Adneto was a calculated risk, but the excitement and hustle of the 0 to 1 journey are invigorating. I look forward to contributing to our success. #StartupJourney #CareerGrowth #Fintech #CustomerEngagement #Adneto

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