by maria | Apr 20, 2016 | Uncategorized
Impraise, the Lisbon Challenge alumni, who is also backed by Y Combinator, has raised 1.6 million dollars to abolish the annual performance review within companies, and replace it with their web and mobile app for timely and actionable feedback between co-workers.
During the last few years, the annual performance review has seen its decline within companies like Deloitte, Adobe or Accenture. According to CEB, faulty performance review processes can cost a company of 10,000 people up to $35 million in lost productivity while 95% of managers are unhappy with the way performance reviews are conducted.
So, to end this lack of productivity, Impraise has built an app that will allow companies to be more efficient when it comes to understanding their employees and take action according to the feedback given between co-workers.
This seed round of 1.6 million dollars includes investors such as Zenefit’s early investor, Palm Drive Ventures, China Growth Capital and HenQ. Coen Van Duiven, CEO of HenQ said: “We strongly believe in the vision that direct and peer-to-peer feedback will be the backbone of a platform which will create continuous improvement, progress and learning for people and organizations”.
This promising startup is already working with some big companies like Booking.com, Atlassian and M&C Saatchi, and they plan to go even further with this investment round.
According to Bas Kohnke, Impraise’s CEO, they’re “building Impraise to help every single professional grow and learn continuously with the incredible power of peer coaching”.
So, instead of exchanging feedback only once or twice a year, Impraise is designed to fit into people’s workflow, making it easy to exchange feedback after meetings or projects, or frequently on a monthly basis.
Since the company’s launch in late 2014 there have been over 300,000 feedback interactions on the platform. And, up until now, the companies that are using Impraise admit that save around 75% of the time that they would usually spend on the annual review. Not to mention that, with this web and mobile app, companies get much more analytics and are able to increase employee engagement.
With this seed round, Impraise will grow their team and further improve the product experience.
by ggomes | Apr 20, 2016 | Uncategorized
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“What’s the code?”
The 2-metre tattooed security guard whispers in the middle of a dimly lit alley. Three hours later, our character is seated at the final table of a card game, joined by some very unfriendly and scary gamblers. It’s his final play and all depends on the cards he’ll choose: either he wins and manages to pay his debts or the story doesn’t have a happy ending.
We all know at least one movie with this cliché, but there are other situations where suspense also reigns and where you must play your cards right in order to keep your startup alive.[/fusion_text]
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Seed Money
Fundraising is usually one of the main headaches for startup founders and for early stage startups it can sometimes feel like an endless loop: to raise money you’ll need traction, but to build a prototype and gain traction you might need money.
The goods news is that nowadays, there are more channels and different ways to find that initial investment that will provide the push that some of these startups need. Clearly certain types of funding are more adapted to specific types of companies but all these forms of funding are considered Seed Money: The necessary money to for your startup to take it up a notch.[/fusion_text]
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Love Capital
“Of course honey, you were always such a bright kid, how much do you need? You’ll pay us when you become a millionaire”
This is the capital entrepreneurs can ask their families or friends. It can be the easiest way… but also the trickiest one: Most of the time, it’s not easy for these people to understand the project or the context which may lead to false expectations which creates problems further down the road. It’s important to take the necessary time to explain all the risks involved and that maybe, according to the odds, they may never get their investment back.[/fusion_text]
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Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is usually done through a platform like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, whereyou expose your product and with some luck, collect the desired amount of money from a large number of people, in exchange for rewards.
You also have equity crowdfunding, see Seedrs, where instead of rewards you give small percentages of equity.
If well done, Crowdfunding can provide you with the necessary money, raise awareness and capture the interest of other investors. Not all products fit well into crowdfunding and remember you’ll always need to design a good strategy. Don’t assume this to be an easy option – it’s not.[/fusion_text]
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Angel Investors
Business Angels or Angel Investors are affluent individuals that invest a certain amount of money in your startup, usually in exchange for an equity stake. Though it’s different from the pressure a VC puts on your performance, this money brings more responsibility whereby the investor now also has a say in your decisions. One of the benefits is that these investors normally already have valuable networks and resources that can become really useful.[/fusion_text]
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This pretty much covers the short definitions of the three ways through which you can look for your first investment but you should go deeper. If you’re lucky enough to be reading this blogpost right now you can be one of the last few to get your early bird ticket(available until Saturday) for the Lisbon Investment Summit. This is your chance to get great insights on fundraising in a surprisingly informal and slightly unexpected startup conference.
[/fusion_text][fusion_text]Meet the 30 or so speakers here that have already confirmed and stay tuned for further exciting news.[/fusion_text][/fullwidth]
by ggomes | Apr 13, 2016 | Uncategorized
One of the hottest topics on Startup Fundraising is what you can do to raise the odds of being funded whilst identifying what are the red flags that scare investors. As this is a long-term commitment and you’ll need much more than just somebody with a checkbook, you should also ask yourself: Why would I choose them?
We know it’s not easy to refuse offers from investors but don’t let your urge to get your idea off the ground make you strike a deal with the first investor that makes you an offer without thinking twice. Whilst some investors will help you others can make your life more difficult.
You should be aware of investors that don’t have real experience in building companies and who fire away opinions about everything and anything without giving enough thought to really understanding your project – “VC Seagulls” as Mark Suster calls them:
“They would swoop in for one day to check on things, shit on you and then fly away. Seagulls.”
We know you’re short of time so here are 3 tips that you can easily remember when the time comes to look for and choose an investor:
– What are you looking for? (beyond the money)
Define your Goals: in what area(s) of expertise do you need help, what kind of resources and contacts do you need, what are your biggest barriers and main challenges you face?
– What can their Portfolio tell you?
Do your homework and look for other startups funded by the investors you’re talking to. Not just the ones they show you, the “successful” ones, but all of them – try to reach out to some of the founders in order to understand the reasons behind a successful relationship or a troubled one.
– Are you on the same page? You’ll be seeing your investor more than your own shadow and both are things you can’t run away from, so ask yourself a few questions. Are they aligned with your vision, culture and interests? Do you see yourself working with somebody like them? What does your gut tell you? – You’ll need somebody you can trust, who advises you on a regular basis and that doesn’t turn their back on you during hard times.
Extra tip: Joining an accelerator can be an important step in your fundraising efforts. Not only can you test, validate and improve different aspects of your Startup, but you’re also able to grow your own network (remember it’s always better to be introduced to an investor by someone than cold emailing) and some of these programs have already done some of the filtering for you, offering you the chance to meet of the best investors in the ecosystem.
2nd Extra tip: If you want to get great insights on fundraising in a surprisingly informal and slightly unexpected startup conference, see what we’ve got planned and who the The Top Speakers and Investors you’ll meet at LIS Summit,
whilst the early bird price is in effect. Do you have any other tips to suggest? Share your doubts or past experiences.
by ggomes | Apr 6, 2016 | Uncategorized
Most Startups need angel investors or VCs to succeed and when they’re struggling to raise money there’s often a gap between the stage at which the founders think they are (investment-readiness) and what VCs are looking for to invest.
Boris Golden has a strong background as an entrepreneur and is now a Principal in Partech, a venture capital firm that invests in Internet and information technology companies at seed, venture and growth stages. He’s also a mentor, focused on product, strategy, business model, go-to-market and growth.
Having been on both sides of the table and acknowledging that the roles or goals of a Vc are usually misunderstood he did a presentation to create a better understanding between entrepreneurs and investors.
He covers How VCs typically think, Entrepreneur disappointments, Why go (or not) with a VC, What VCs are looking for, Pitching to VCs and other relevant topics.
