Super Angel Funds:Lots of Little Bets & Accelerators
aka “MoneyBall for Startups”
• VC Evolution: Physician, Scale Thyself (Aug 2012)• MoneyBall for Startups, 500 Startups Investment Thesis (Jul 2010)
Slidedeck adapted from Dave McClure - StartUp Grind (Jan 2013)
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Early-Stage Startups: “Due Diligence” Is An Illusion(Better approach = write a quick, small check then wait ~6 mo’s)
• Problems in Early-Stage Due Diligence:• You Might Be Able to Detect Idiots & Liars, but…• Not much history, product, customers, or revenue (yet), so…• You probably can’t figure out Winners (yet).
• The New Due Diligence = Incremental Achievements• “Due Diligence” = Trusted Referrals + History (Ideation)• “Great Team” = Functional Prototype + Usage (Acceleration)• “Size of Market” Evidence = Customers, Revenue (Incubation)
• The Odds Are: We’re Wrong, They Sink, • We’ll Be Wrong 4x out of 5x. (If We Don’t Suck).• In 6 Months, You’ll Know If They Don’t Stink.• In 1-2 Years, You’ll Know If They’re Awesome.
Think Different.
Changes in Tech Startups• LESS Capital required to build product, get to market
• Dramatically reduced $$$ on servers, software, bandwidth• Crowdfunding, KickStarter, Angel List, Funders Club, etc• Cheap access to online platforms for 100M+ consumers, smallbiz, etc • A few big IPOs @ $1B+, but LOTS of small acquisitions (<$100M)
• MORE Customers via ONLINE platforms (100M+ users)• Search (Google)• Social (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)• Mobile (Apple, Android)• Local (Yelp, Groupon, Living Social)• Media (YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr)• Comm (Email, IM/Chat, Voice, SMS, etc)
• LOTS of little bets: Accelerators, Super Angels, Small Exits• Y Combinator, TechStars, 500 Startups, GAN• Funding + Co-working + Mentoring -> Design, Data, Distribution• “Fast, Cheap Fail”, network effects, quantitative + iterative investments
Web 2.0 + Lean Startup
1. Startup Costs = Lower.
2. # Users, Bandwidth = Bigger.
3. Transaction $$$ = Better.
Building Product => Cheaper, Faster, Better Getting Customers => Easier, More Measurable
Iterative Product & Marketing Decisions
based on Measured User Behavior
Early-Stage Risk Reduction
• 1st Mtg: Crazy, Idiots, Liars or Crooks? • Product: does it work? (crappy, not perfect)• Market: are people using it? (not their mom)• Revenue: will people pay for it? (just a few)• Growth: how will it/they scale? (online? offline?)• Finance: what will it cost?
• Q1: cost to get a customer? • Q2: how & when do you make money?
Accelerator Criteria:
70% Capital
Quantitative Investing before Traction
100+ companies @ $15K avg. (1st check) - Assume high failure rate (up to 80%)
Double-Down after Traction20+ ‘winners’ @ $100K-$1M (2nd + 3rd check)
- - Target 2+ exits @ $100M+
Strategy: “Lots of Little Bets”*
1) Make lots of little bets pre-traction, early-stage startups
30% Capital
2) after 6-12 months, identify top 20% performers and double-down higher $$$
3) conservative model assumes- 5-10% large exits @20X ($50-100M+)- 10-20% small exits @5X ($5-50M)
*See Peter Sims book: “Little Bets”
Startup Accelerators & Metrics Lots of Little Bets. Most FAIL.(but a few succeed :)
Startup Investor Ecosystem
Angels & Incubators($0-10M)
“Micro-VC” Funds ($10-100M)
Smaller VC Funds ($100-500M)
Larger VC Funds (>$500M)
TrueFirst Round
AndreessenAtomico
Y-Combinator
TechStars
SoftTech (Clavier)
Felicis (Senkut)
SV Angel (Conway)
SequoiaGreylock
Union Square
Floodgate (Maples)
Foundry Group
Accelerator
Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C+
Bootstrap, KickStarter, Crowdfunding
500 Startups
Local Accelerator Opportunity (GAN)
Accelerator: Fast, Cheap, FAIL
• Accelerator = supportive startup ecosystem (+ angels, VCs)• Efficient use of investment capital ($0-100K)• High fail rate (60-80%) => large initial sample size
Accelerator: Education, Collaboration, Iteration
• Success based on:• MANY, small experiments• common platforms, customers, problems & solutions• physical proximity, open/collaborative environment• Domain-specific mentors & expertise• fast fail, iteration, metrics & feedback loop
• Incremental investment; high-risk, but high-reward
Provide:Education & Community• Mentors, Investors• Design, Data, Distribution• Platform Partners• Sponsors & Strategics• Marketing & Visibility
Look For:Hacker, Hustler, Hipster• Hacker: engineers & developers• Hipster: design & UX• Hustler: marketing & business
1. Build functional prototypes = (Ideation)2. Improve UX so people convert = (Acceleration)3. Scale customer acq & distribution = (Incubation)
To do 3 Things:
Process:Product, Market, Revenue• Product: assess functional use, improve
design/UX = (Ideation)• Market: test usage, distribution channels =
(Acceleration)• Revenue: test cust acq cost, revenue, *timing* =
(Incubation)
• Work on Pitch, Help Find Co-Investors, etc
The Super Angel Fund:Lots of Little Bets, Incremental Investment
Method: Invest in lots of startups using incremental investment, iterative development. Start with many small experiments, filter out failures, and expand investment in successes… (Rinse & Repeat).
• Accelerator: $0-100K (“Build & Validate Product”)• Seed: $100K-$1M (“Test & Grow Marketing
Channels””)• Venture: $1M-$10M (“Maximize Growth & Revenue”)
Investment Stage #1: Product Validation + Customer Usage
• Structure• 1-3 founders• $10-$25K investment• Accelerator environment: multiple peers, mentors/advisors
• Test Functional Prototype / “Minimum Viable Product” (MVP):• Prototype->Alpha, ~3-6 months• Develop Minimal Critical Feature Set => Get to “It Works! Someone Uses It.”• Improve Design & Usability, Setup Conversion Metrics• Test Small-Scale Customer Adoption (10-1000 users)
• Demonstrate Concept, Reduce Product Risk, Test Functional Use
• Develop Metrics & Filter for Possible Future Investment
Investment Stage #2: Market Validation + Revenue Testing
• Structure• 2-10 person team• $100K-$1M investment• Syndicate of Angel Investors / Small VC Funds
• Improve Product, Expand Customers, Test Revenue:• Alpha->Beta, ~6-12 months• Scale Customer Adoption => “Many People Use It, & They Pay.”• Test Marketing Campaigns, Customer Acquisition Channels + Cost• Test Revenue Generation, Find Profitable Customer Segments
• Prove Solution/Benefit, Assess Market Size• Test Channel Cost, Revenue Opportunity• Determine Org Structure, Key Hires
Investment Stage #3: Revenue Validation + Growth
• Structure• 5-25 person team• $1M-$10M investment• Seed & Venture Investors
• Make Money (or Go Big), Get to Sustainability:• Beta->Production, 12-24 months• Revenue / Growth => “We Can Make (a lot of) Money!”• Mktg Plan => Predictable Channels / Campaigns + Budget• Scalability & Infrastructure, Customer Service & Operations• Connect with Distribution Partners, Expand Growth
• Prove/Expand Market, Operationalize Business• Future Milestones: Profitable/Sustainable, Exit Options
Thanks
• Want more info? • Kelly Schwedland• 219-405-5723• [email protected]
• slidedeck adapted from Dave Mcclure’s StartUp Grind Mountain View, January 2013• http://slideshare.net/dmc500hats 500.co (@DaveMcClure)