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Clarity

Erika Jose

Founder of Privat Lux, Venture Capital Reporting, Investment Analysis

$8.33/min

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Fundraising Startup Consulting Venture Capital Bootstrapping your business Cash Flow Forecasting

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How Do I Find Investors for My Startup? Events, Cold Pitching/Emailing/LinkedIn

Should I raise funding from angels investors or VCs? How do I find the right investor for my startup?

If you're wondering where to start with finding investors for your startup, there's alot to consider.

It depends on the amount of funding you need for your startup...

How soon should I raise money for my startup?

That also depends on whether your startup is investment worthy or not. I've analyzed 1000s of startups (thanks to my AI/ML skills).

I offer actionable advice on how to find venture investors for your startup.
I also offer advice on making the transition from bootstrapping to fundraising.

How do I work with formal venture capital investors or Angel investors?

How do I raise money from friends and family for my startup?

How do I split equity between founders, first employees and other stakeholders? How do I calculate my startup's burn rate, cash flows and P & L.

How do I estimate the amount of funding needed for my startup.

You have the questions, I have the answers! Happy to have a straight up, no chaser call.

Cheers!
Erika

How Do I Choose My Startup Co-Founders?

We went to school together 20 years ago...
We've been neighbors for 10 years...
We met at a networking event...

Can you guess which of these startup co-founders will breakup within the first year of their startup?

I'll give you a guess....knowing someone for X number of years doesn't increase your odds of staying together as co-founders.

In fact, I've seen those types of relationships fail the fastest.

When you're considering your startup co-founders, it's critical to know how business savvy they are, rather than what a "great person" they are.

I'm a strong advocate for hiring professional co-founders, preferably entrepreneurs within hiring your startup's first 10 employees.

Which roles should my co-founders fill? The answer has alot to do with your product/service, your target market, and your own background to figure out who you need to fill the gaps.

Happy to help you figure out how to choose your startup co-founders on a no BS call.

Cheers!
Erika

Is Founding a Startup Right for Me?

Passion, Drive & Ambition....they're not enough! How do you really know if founding a startup is right for you?

Do you envision leading a scrappy team of 3 misfits? Worrying about covering payroll this month? Or better yet, considering taking out a second mortgage to fund your startup?

Of course not!

But this is the REALITY of 9 out of 10 startups (bean bag chairs sold separately)

I've seen what it takes to not only found a startup (that's simple enough)...but what it also takes to make that startup succeed (Keyword: succeed=makes money)

If you've been considering founding a startup or have recently founded one and are wondering, "is founding a startup right for me?"

Let's get on a call. I'm a straight talker, with no fluff.

Cheers!

Erika Jose

How Do I Choose a Startup Idea?

It's like the Uber for toothbrushes...
It's the next AirBnB for cats...
It's the Google for nerds (oh wait, sorry @DuckDuckGo)

How do I know my startup ideas are any good?

There's a long-standing myth that ideas on their own aren't valuable ("it's all about the execution")

Some are even bold enough to say that great execution on a bad idea will still lead to success!

Well let's step back and define an idea....a good idea:

A startup idea is a thought or suggestion to a possible course of action.

So it all starts with the idea.

The mistake however, is in thinking it all ends with the idea, or that the idea is one-dimensional (ie, I have an idea about starting up a mobile ice-cream delivery service)

Have you thought about who your customers are? (who wants ice-cream delivery in the first place?)

How about your startup market? (where am I going to deliver the ice-cream?

What about startup expenses? (how will I deliver the ice-cream, will I use a motor vehicle, go door-to-door, visit offices, do I need to hire delivery people?...)

The key is to explore your startup idea THOUGHTFULLY so that once you take action, it's in the right direction!

If you'd like help choosing a startup idea, I'm happy to help!

Cheers,
Erika

How Do I Found a Startup?

Is founding a startup hard? No
Is founding a startup difficult? Not at all
Is founding a startup the right way important? Absolutely!

When asking yourself how do I found a startup, it's more important to think about who you're goinig to be serving with your product or service.

What need do they have that they will exchange money with you?

How does your product or service make a significant difference to the way people are currently addressing their needs?

For example, people use text messaging to communicate short messages to friends, family and colleagues...what does your new messaging service offer that's an improvement to what is already on the market?

Is it video messaging? (Snapchat, Periscope, Youtube)
Is it accessibility? (Facebook Messenger)
or is it speed of messaging? (Whatsapp, Telegram)

So to answer the question, how do I found a startup?...start with your target customer, then your product/service, then how your product/service is an improvement to existing methods.

Want to learn more? Let's have a chat, straight to the point, and figure out how you should found your startup.

Cheers!
Erika

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Answers

Erika Jose answered

I'm 16 and want to create a startup in the future - should I start it now or prepare first?

It's more important that you increase your skills and contacts because this is 80% of your startup success.

On another note, perhaps you don't have to found a "startup", but you could start a side hustle or small business online?

You could use any number of marketplace platforms to sell your next product/service without having to build a company of your own from scratch.

I know, it isn't as glamorous as being a "startup founder".

But at 16, you have plenty of time to realize your dreams in many different ways, with lowest amount of risks (no spouse, children, mortgage or groceries that rely on a steady income).

Happy to have a straight to the point talk on how you can continue building your skillset and contacts-- while working on your side-hustle, before you launch your next startup.

Cheers,
Erika

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Advice

Self Management

Youth Mentoring

Erika Jose answered

What should we do to secure more seed money for our startup?

First, congratulations on your startup venture! It's always a challenge just to get yourself out there and start.

In your question, you mentioned that you started a marketplace for diving experiences. The first thing that comes to mind:

How many people are actively searching for diving experiences?
How much revenue does each diver generate per experience?
How many of these experiences can you execute in one day multuplied by how many divers?

I asked questions because the number one thing you want to think about when you're starting your business is how much revenue can it actually and potentially generate.

That number of revenue is what's going to motivate people like partners, investors and even your other customers to take part in your venture.

Regarding your questions on what you should do next, I have a couple of suggestions that you may not be pretty....But given your current situation and running out of funding, might be more realistic and you could have a turn around really quickly, albeit at a smaller scale.

Happy to talk more!
Erika

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Fundraising

Online Marketplace

Seed

Erika Jose answered

We are interested in fundraising but do not find people who could advice us on how much, what people should we contact and how to do it

Hi there I'm happy I could answer this question hopefully you'll get some insight from it.

So I took a look at your website and I think you're your safety boxes are really beautifully designed...

-But the first thing that comes to my mind is what types of hotels or establishments would want to purchase these safes in bulk?
-What type of clientele do they serve?

For example, it seems like it's very ultra high-end. I've been to several five-star resorts and not once have I ever used the safe. And if, I did happen to notice the safe, it wouldn't have mattered if it was a standard metal box or one of your beautiful creations. But maybe that's just me?

So ultimately my questions to you are:

-Is there a demand for luxury high-end safes? Especially considering that these items are typically concealed and not shown off?

Answering these questions will really help you figure out how to navigate the fundraising world, because you're going to get theset question all the time.

Where is the demand? In other words, where is the revenue going to come from producing these luxury safe boxes?

I'd be happy to talk more and figure out a unique strategy for you on a call.

Cheers,
Erika

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Fundraising

Erika Jose answered

How can I increase my customers?

In Europe, there are a number of partnership sites for B2B as you're implying. You could use these sites to post your offer or search for other offers and hopefully make a match.

Another approach is considering hiring local distributors who specialize in your industry. The advantage here is local distributors will already have a strong network to promote your products/services. Furthermore, local distributors would have thorough understanding of the local market,language, and business culture to close deals.

If you find my answer helpful, I'd be happy to give you straight to the point call on how to find local distributors.

Cheers!
Erika

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Business Development

New Business Development

Product Development

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Member since October 2019