David H. Crean’s Post

Interesting to learn more about how the investment community finds the right companies in which to invest. Thanks for the post, Bruce.

More Ideas on Navigating the Biotech Fundraising Landscape: Psychology, Truthfulness, and Objections The biotech sector is currently experiencing a significant slowdown in venture creation. Recent data from Pitchbook indicates that the first quarter of 2024 saw the lowest rate of new biotech startups in eight years, with just over 60 companies securing their initial financing—a dramatic decrease of 50-60% from the industry's peak in 2021. As the fundraising environment has grown more complex, securing meetings with the right investors has become more challenging. To boost your chances of success in these critical interactions, it is important to understand investor psychology, maintain a commitment to transparency, and proactively prepare to handle objections. Fundraising Insights: ·      Understand Investor Psychology: Recognize that investors are inherently inclined to look for reasons to reject a pitch. While they may show initial interest by agreeing to a meeting, their primary focus during the discussion is often to identify reasons to decline. ·      Transparency with Weaknesses: Investors seek the truth and appreciate honesty about a company’s flaws. Discussing your startup's limitations can build trust and encourage support, particularly in risk identification and mitigation. ·      Catalog Potential Objections: Create a comprehensive list of potential investor objections. This exercise is key to refining your pitch and strengthening vulnerable aspects of your business. ·      Proactively Address Objections: By anticipating potential concerns, you can develop effective responses and strategies, enhancing the persuasiveness of your pitch. ·      Empathy is Crucial: Put yourself in your investors' shoes to understand their concerns and motivations. This insight allows you to tailor your pitch to directly address these points, significantly boosting its impact. ·      Leave No Room for Doubt: Your goal is to present your business so convincingly that investors have no reasons to hesitate. Thoroughly addressing all potential objections emphasizes the viability and promising future of your startup. #privatebiotechfundraising #fundraisingstrategies

Another excellent post and insights from Atlas’ Bruce Booth! As a tenant rep broker, I have been commenting to landlords and brokers, who often ask what I’m seeing on the ground. I have noted that company formation and demand feels way off. The typically active segment of 5-20,000sf tenant demand is unusually thin- and my gut is that Bruce’s 8 yr record low relates - I’ll ask JLL research to dig into it. Also, looking at the XBI has been a pretty good bellwether for tenant demand and you would find that the recovery that everyone was pointing to in Feb/Mar seems to be receding. Our sector overall and outlook is great, but the macro economy and global instability is a contagion we can’t ignore. Anyhow, read Bruce’s summary and take notes. Being educated and prepared will help us all succeed inspite of the headwinds. I would add that the flight to quality continues- note our amazing clients Mirador, Avenzo, and Endeavor, to name a few- all big raises and oversubscribed (by a lot!). Happy Friday! ; )

🚀 30-Day Tech Update Challenge: Day 18 🚀 Hello, everyone! I’m Vaibhav Bhardwaj, a second-year college student, back with Day 18 of my 30-day challenge where I share daily updates about the latest trends and news in the tech world. Let’s dive into today's exciting update! Day 18: 100X.VC Invests $2.7 Million in 17 Startups 🌟 Empowering Innovation: 100X.VC, a prominent venture capital firm, has made a significant investment of $2.7 million in 17 startups as part of its 11th cohort. This move brings the total count of its portfolio companies to an impressive 161. Here are the key details: Key Highlights: 🔹 Investment and Mentorship: ·      Each startup received Rs 1.25 crore along with mentorship to enhance their product development and go-to-market strategies. ·      The firm utilizes iSafe notes, a convertible instrument, for its investments. 🔹 Diverse Sectors: ·      The 17 startups span various sectors, including B2B SaaS, API, health tech, climate tech, food and beverage, and pet tech. ·      The startups include: Anyway.ai, Baylink, Deepvue.tech, EasyReplenish, Futr Studios, GoCodeo, Hummsa Biotech, Kroto, Openleaf, Origgo, Orbit Wallet, Pet Chef, Pettle, The Naturik Co, Whitetable, Zircle, and Zafo Technologies. 🔹 VC Pitch Day: ·      The pitch day in Mumbai saw over 400 investors, including high net worth individuals, family offices, venture capital funds, and corporations. 🔹 Vision for the Future: ·      Ninad Karpe, founder and partner, emphasized the transformative potential of India's early-stage startup ecosystem. “The startups in Class 11 exemplify these promising opportunities,” he said. 🔹 About 100X.VC: ·      Established in 2019, 100X.VC is a SEBI-registered CAT I Alternate Investment Fund focusing on early-stage startups. ·      The firm is backed by Mehta Ventures, the family office investment arm of angel investor Sanjay Mehta. Why It Matters: ·      This investment highlights the vibrant potential within India's startup ecosystem, showcasing innovation across diverse sectors and fostering entrepreneurial growth. Source: https://lnkd.in/gDmWHnav Stay tuned for more updates in my 30-day challenge! Let’s connect and discuss the future of startups and venture capital in India. 💬 #30DayChallenge #TechUpdates #Startups #VentureCapital #Investment #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TechNews #FutureTech

Exploring Seed Funding: The Initial Boost for Your Startup Journey What is Seed Funding? Seed funding, often referred to as seed capital or seed money, represents the initial investment provided to startups in their early stages of development. This funding is typically sought after during the ideation phase or shortly after the launch of a new business venture. It serves as the catalyst that propels startups from concept to reality, enabling them to validate their ideas, build prototypes, and take crucial first steps toward growth and success. Characteristics of Seed Funding: - Early Stage Investment: Seed funding is injected into startups at their earliest stages when they lack a proven track record, revenue, or significant traction in the market. - Risk Capital: Investors providing seed funding understand the high-risk nature of early-stage ventures and are willing to take calculated risks in exchange for potential returns on investment. - Equity Financing: Seed funding is typically provided in exchange for equity stakes in the startup, granting investors ownership shares and aligning their interests with the long-term success of the company. Sources of Seed Funding: - Angel Investors: High-net-worth individuals, known as angel investors, often play a significant role in providing seed funding to startups. These investors offer not only financial support but also valuable mentorship, industry connections, and expertise. - Venture Capital Firms: Some venture capital firms allocate funds specifically for seed-stage investments, focusing on promising early-stage startups with high growth potential. - Startup Incubators and Accelerators: Incubator and accelerator programs provide startups with seed funding, workspace, mentorship, and access to resources and networks in exchange for equity or fees. Advantages of Seed Funding: - Early Validation: Seed funding enables startups to validate their business ideas, test market demand, and gather feedback from early adopters before scaling their operations. - Accelerated Growth: With initial capital infusion, startups can accelerate their growth trajectory, build scalable products or services, and capture market share more rapidly. - Access to Expertise: Seed investors often provide more than just capital—they offer valuable industry insights, strategic guidance, and networking opportunities to help startups navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. - Enhanced Credibility: Securing seed funding from reputable investors or firms enhances a startup's credibility and attractiveness to subsequent investors, customers, and partners. Seed funding serves as the lifeblood of early-stage startups, fueling innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. #SeedFunding #StartupFinance #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #AngelInvestors #EarlyStageInvestment #BusinessGrowth #StartupEcosystem #FundingOptions #Innovation #MarketValidation

🗣 Announcing our Cashwalk Premium Partner: coparion We're thrilled to have coparion, a renowned venture capital (VC) firm with a proven track record of backing game-changing startups, and fueling the future of tech and innovation, as a valued partner for this exclusive pitch event! coparion accelerates the growth of young tech firms with a €275 million fund. With a keen eye for potential, Coparion seeks out innovative startups demonstrating early success and possessing exceptional teams. Operating exclusively within Germany, Coparion collaborates closely with private investors to provide funding across all sectors of the technology industry. Their flexible investment model, which can reach up to €15 million per company across multiple funding rounds, empowers startups to scale and innovate sustainably. What makes coparion a valuable partner? ⤷ Early-stage expertise: coparion has a keen eye for identifying innovative startups with the potential for rapid success. ⤷ Exceptional team focus: They recognize the importance of strong leadership and invest in companies with talented individuals at the helm. ⤷ German market knowledge: Their deep understanding of the German tech landscape allows them to provide targeted support and connections. ⤷ Flexible funding strategies: coparion empowers startups to scale at their own pace. coparion is the right investor for your startup because they: ⤷ are data driven and analytical early on in order to support you on your journey towards growth and prepare you for fundraising late stage rounds. ⤷ offer honest advice, strategic guidance, and a powerful network, but in the end, you call the shots, and ⤷ their portfolio, track record, success stories and references from founders speak for themselves. 3 things that grab coparion's attention in a startup, are a: ⤷ complementary and receptive team with a clear vision and strong execution skills. ⤷ category defining product or business model. ⤷ strong sales growth potential in a big enough market; which can be either be just huge or an uncompetitive niche market. Join coparion at Cashwalk! This exclusive investor pitch event offers access primed to take your portfolio to the next level. Secure your spot → https://t.ly/lm3rW today. Don't miss this chance to unlock a world of investment possibilities, connect to 30 pre-vetted startups and potentially co-invest alongside Coparion, as they leverage their data-driven approach, and flexible investment model to back promising tech startups with exceptional teams. See you there! …….. #coparion #Cashwalk #HTGF #Investment #Startups #Innovation #partnership #startup #tech #entrepreneur #founder #vc #invest #funding

End the Year with a Bang by Attending the Global Startup Symposium by Pismo Ventures. Event Dates: December 9, 10, 11, & 12, 2024 Target: Startups at the Stages of Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A Sectors: Life Science, AI/ML, DeepTech, & All Other Technologies We invite you to this year's 6th annual Global Startup Symposium as it takes on a new shape. Many of the companies that participated in the Startup Symposium events were able to raise funding due to the exposure they received. As with our previous successful events, the Global Start Symposium provides startups at the stages of pre-seed, seed and series A with a unique opportunity to connect, network, and engage with investors, angels, venture capital firms and family offices from all over the world actively looking for investment opportunities in companies that fit their investment thesis and needs. As has been the case with all Pismo Ventures events and Startup Symposiums, tickets and registrations go very quickly. If you are interested in presenting, register as soon as possible since we have limited spots for companies to present. Yes, limited spots because time is always of the essence. Startups and Investors Register Here: https://lnkd.in/ghMpf5vD Thank you to our sponsors and partners: Quan Nguyen at NTIP We welcome and appreciate the support of our investor community TCA Venture Group, TCA Venture Group Orange County, TCA Los Angeles, TiE SoCal, Okapi Venture Capital, MEDA Angels, Pasadena Angels, Expert Dojo, Cove Fund, NuFund Venture Group, David Friedman, Anshuman Sinha, Ashish Saboo, Larry Uhl, Thomas Richter, Grant Van Cleve, Mike Krebs, Ray Chan, David Friedman, Pat Hwang, Kyle Hudson, OSEA Angel Investors, Xandra Laskowski, Faisal Mushtaq, PeopleConnect Staffing, Scott Fox 🦊, Orange County OC Startup Council, This event will include opportunities for startups to connect with investors and for investors to partner with innovative startups over a 4-day period using many tools including: Text chat 1-on-1 with others or in a group setting Video chat 1-on-1 with others or in a group setting Initiate your own chat room and discussion topic Book appointments with other investors and founders Join virtual round tables with dedicated deep discussion topics Access before the event starts Access after the event ends Startups upload pitch deck Startups pitch to investors Access panels and webinars Access to live startup pitches Find the companies or investors you're looking for with ease Investors discover new deals and exciting opportunities Investors judge companies, speak or serve on panels Startups create a mini data room using our virtual exhibit booth Live 24-hour tech support during the event #startups #startups #entrepreneurs #angels #investors #VCs #capitalraise #investing #founders

AgTech Ecosystem - startup fundraising for AgTech startups will be the most challenging in 2024 and will get a little easier in 2025 and a little more easier in 2026, but not for reasons you might expect. I've been talking to a lot of startups and investors about the AgTech investing landscape as we enter Q2 2024. Here's my current perspective: 1) AgriFoodTech VC has already reduced by 68% from $50B in 2021 to $30B in 2022 to $15.6B in 2023. This means that there was a lot of capital flowing in the space 3 yeas ago (and even 2 years ago). A lot of startups that received those checks in 2021 and 2022 are going to be looking for another round of funding soon. 2) The limited partner (LP) funding into venture capital funds is also down, by a lot. So the VCs are not getting the checks they used to get and are having trouble raising new funds. This means two sets of people are sitting on dry powder - LPs are being more careful with their checks and VCs unable to raise new LP capital are slow rolling their checks. 3) The consensus among my network suggests that the most common expectation for 2024 AgriFoodTech VC is $12-15B (low end) to $15-20B (high end). None are predicting we get above $20B in 2024. Many are saying it might not get above $20B in 2025 because (1) IPOs are very unlikely (recent All In + BG2 podcasts suggest needing a clear path to $1B in revenue with good growth rates to IPO - well above old numbers); and (2) strategic investors in key segments (John Deere/CNH/AgCo in automation; Bayer/Syngenta/UPL in chemical/biologicals) are writing checks and doing partnerships, but not at an activity level high enough to create enough exits to bring VCs off the sidelines. So by now you should be asking "wait a minute, LPs aren't writing checks, VC funding stays flat until we see exits, IPOs aren't happening and the strategics aren't quite yanking the M&A checkbook out yet. I thought you said things would get better?" I did, and they will. Here's why - a number of the 1,200+ biological and 700+ automation startups are going to try and fundraise the next couple of years and will not be successful. Many will fail in the next 12-18 months. Sadly that's what happens to startups when segment funding contracts this much. So this means when 2026 rolls around there will be a limited pool of 2024 and 2025 investments looking for more capital and a number of 2021/2022 startups (the frothy period) that couldn't raise the next round. All of which is to say there will be a much smaller pool of fund raising startups chasing that already much smaller pool of AgriFoodTech venture capital. In short, it won't be easy to raise, but it will be easier because there will be less competition on the fundraising side for the reduced VC dollars. Audre Kapacinskas Sumeeta Salvador Rob Trice Adam Bergman Shane Thomas Rhishi P. Jennifer Marston Tim Hearden Carter Williams Damian Mason Todd Thurman #agtech #controlyourburnrate #fundraisingishard

How do TOP VCs evaluate startup technology? In our series “One question - Five answers,” the VC edition, we pick the brains of top venture capitalists behind Simon Capital, coparion, Cusp Capital, neoteq ventures, and Realyze Ventures as they dish on evaluating new tech compared to the old guard. From game-changing potential to real-world impact, get the inside scoop on what makes them tick when selecting NRW's 'TOP 24 in 2024' startups. This time, we asked: How do you evaluate a startup's approach to technology compared to established solutions in the industry? Kai Panitzki, Realyze Ventures: “We value operational relevance and alignment with industry needs. The technology must fit seamlessly into existing solutions to ensure stakeholder acceptance and usability. Groundbreaking innovations are not always necessary; we look for technological solutions that complement and optimize established processes,  e.g. to improve the energy-efficiency of existing buildings.” Tom Hackenberg, coparion: “We value technologies that solve a customer need and deliver measurable impact. Whether by challenging established solutions or tapping into unmet market potential, we look for ventures that, ideally, can redefine their categories."   Jan Sessenhausen, Cusp Capital: “As early stage investors we fundamentally believe in the power of the new approach – especially when it comes to technology. Our work is understanding the different approaches to solve a problem – along with what target clients really need. We only invest in new approaches by startups, but at the same time have tremendous respect for those already in a specific market. Ultimately this competition of new vs established solutions is what pushes markets and innovation forward.” Dr. Friedrich Droste, Simon Capital: “We evaluate a startup's technology approach based on its potential to change the market for the better, i.e., aiming for increased efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. In that sense, we prioritize startups pursuing disruptive innovation over incremental changes.” B.J. Park, neoteq ventures: “Technology is only the basis. The decisive factor is how well the product solves a problem for the customer, only then will a start up succeed.” Stay tuned for our last post of this series, get more insights and behind-the-scenes moments on the #OUTOFTHEBOXNRW journey to the Hinterland of Things Conference in Bielefeld! **The OOTB.NRW award was initiated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Industrie, Klimaschutz und Energie des Landes NRW MWIKE) and is proudly hosted by Founders Foundation gGmbH .**  #outoftheboxnrw #whatvcssay #ootbgoeshinterland

In all, 2023 is on pace to be the lowest for venture funding since 2018. Global startup investment in 2023 reached $285 billion — marking a 38% decline year over year, down from the $462 billion invested in 2022. https://lnkd.in/diMCdt4d #startuplife #startup #venturecapital #business #innovation