Pinaco & Co

WHAT WE ARE READING TODAY _What is a brand?

Don't miss our Senior Partner, Lwazi Ian Dlamini's interview with Eswatini TV today at 18:30hrs. In the interview, he shares wisdom nuggets and briefly discusses two of his favourite thinking tools; the red car and the domino effect theories. In case you miss it, a YouTube link will be shared later on. #EswatiniTV #YoungClimber #Startups #Leadership #VentureCapital

40 THINGS EVERY STARTUP SHOULD DO TO SCALE UP From the Book "Scaling up" by Verne Harnish

WORD OF THE DAY: ENTREPRENEUR

Securing investment isn’t just about having a great idea—investors look for warning signs that could make or break a deal. Even one major red flag during due diligence can send investors running. So, what are the most common red flags that make investors walk away? ❌ Inconsistent or unreliable financials ❌ Unrealistic growth projections ❌ Lack of market validation ❌ Weak or unbalanced founding team ❌ Legal or compliance issues ❌ High customer churn & lack of retention strategy ❌ Misalignment between founders & investors The good news? Most of these red flags can be fixed before you start fundraising. In our latest article, we break down these deal-killers and provide actionable solutions to help founders navigate investor due diligence with confidence. Which of these red flags do you think is the biggest deal-breaker for investors? Share your thoughts in the comments! #InvestorRelations #StartupFunding #DueDiligence #FundraisingSuccess #ZionVenturePartners

As a startup founder, have you ever thought of pitching to a venture capital firm? Sequoia Capital has prepared a guideline to assist you as you prepare your pitch covering company purpose, problem, solution, why now, market size, competition, product, business model, team and financials. #Startups #PitchDeck #Venturecapital #investments #entreprenuers

DID YOU KNOW? There are four exit strategies for startups; 1. Going public - A startup can exit through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), direct listing or Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) - what the Eswatini Stock Exchange does offer. 2. Outside the startups - A startup can also exit through a merger, acquisition or acquihires. 3. Within the startup - Another way is family succession, partner / investor buyout or management buyout (MBO). 4. Adverse exits - Whilst this is undesirable, a startup can exit through liquidation or bankruptcy. According to widely cited statistics, around 9 out of 10 startups fail, meaning that roughly 90% of new businesses do not succeed. If you are startup founder, how do you plan to exit your business (if you plan to)? Source: Startup Savant.

_Insight into the World's Most Advanced Startup Ecosystem Map - Powered by StartupBlink! Interested in exploring the world of startups, unicorns, startup exists, co-working spaces, and accelerators? Look no further! StartupBlink's ecosystem map is powered by more than 100 governments, corporations and global data partners. To view the ecosystem map, visit https://lnkd.in/gsGqhuW. You can also download the latest Global Startup Ecosystem Index Report. What's more: get full recording of the Webinar titled, “Unpacking the African Startup Ecosystem,” hosted by Pinaco & Co where StartupBlink’s Marcos Withington presented an in-depth exploration of the African startup ecosystem; key sectors driving growth, funding, innovation ecosystem as well as the role of tech hubs, government policies, and international partnerships. #StartupBlink #Eswatini #Startups #ecosystems

Out-of-the-box questions require out-of-the-box thinking. Out-of-the-box thinking requires out-of-the-box knowledge. Out-of-the-box knowledge requires a positive, global mindset. In this article, Pinaco & Co Senior Partner, Lwazi Ian Dlamini explores the application of the red car and the domino effect theories in developing Eswatini's entrepreneurial ecosystem through venture capital funding - augmenting a push from a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire. #VentureCapital #Eswatini #Startups

Learn and speak investors’ language keeping in mind that even after brilliantly answering their questions the answer could still be “no”. #startups #investors #venturecapital #africa