by silvia | Mar 14, 2019 | Startups, Uncategorized
When your startup is looking for investment there are a lot of things you should consider. We break down the steps to take to meet investors the right way.
1. Look for the Right Investors
This is easily the most important part of the process. If all you need is money, then a bank is the easiest way to go. If you’re looking for an investor that means you’re looking for a long-term business partner. When looking for investors, take the time to consider what kind of investor you are looking for:
- Sector: Are you looking for an investor that focuses on your particular sector of business?
- Investment patterns: What type of investments does the investor usually make? Seed, or series A/B? Does it match the phase your startup is in, or what you’re looking in the future?
- Region: Are you a global startup, or are you focusing on a region? Is the investor also focused on a particular region?
- Are you looking for someone with experience and contacts in a particular sector that you want to reach?
This will help you have a better understanding of what kind of investor you’ll need and how do you know if you’re a match.
2. Do some healthy stalking
After you considered and defined all the point in the previous step, it’s time to look for people who fit your criteria and preferences. Don’t be lazy and do your research! Do not approach investors randomly – research their past ventures and investment portfolio, and try to understand if they are a good fit with your company.
Approach leaders and connections within the sector you’re working on and ask for recommendations.
3. Network
This one is pretty simple – to meet investors you need to be where they are! Join the same events, participate in roundtables and join conversations about the industry.
Certain events, like the Lisbon Investment Summit, happening in Lisbon on June 5-6th, are the perfect setting to join discussions and meet the right people.
Don’t forget the 6 degrees of separation – meet as many people as you can and engage in conversations with them. You might meet someone who can introduce you to an investor that might be a great match.
4. Be considerate of the person
Most investors won’t take cold emails, so make sure to get an introduction within your network. Also, don’t spring your business plan on them – take the time to get to know them and understand what they usually work on and what are they looking for at the time. Make you sure you are bringing something valuable to the table.
5. Build a relationship
Let’s be real: no one invests in a complete stranger. You have to understand that an investor is investing as much in you as in the business. So make sure to let them know you are a reliable person, who accomplishes what he sets out to do. After initial contact, if there’s interest, keep them posted on your work and the results of the business.
Keep joining the conversations the sector is having and show that you are an expert in what you do.
In the end, it’s important to realize that there must be a match between the interests and goals of the entrepreneur and the investor. Don’t be shy to say what you want from them (mentorship? introductions?), and what you can offer in return. None of you should ask for something they’re not willing to bring themselves – it should be an equal partnership that is mutually beneficial.
by silvia | Mar 4, 2019 | Corporates, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
We’re getting excited about Lisbon Investment Summit and the awesome people we’re bringing to speak, inspire and connect on the 6th and 7th of June.
We’re proud to welcome some top investors and speakers to our event, so here’s a little peek at some of the confirmed speakers.
Katz Kiely
Katz is an award-winning serial entrepreneur and pioneer. She built the first open-innovation platform for HP, re-architected the way a UN agency does business and designed a behavior change platform with Intel that connected mobiles, big screens and data.
Currently: She is the founder and CEO of beep: the Behavioural Enterprise Empowerment Platform. beep is an enterprise-level, decentralized, AI software that empowers employees to innovate for efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.
Itxaso del Palacio
Itxaso del Palacio is the current Investment Director at Notion.
Previously, as the VP of Capital at Lepe Partners, she was responsible for building the portfolio of Lepe Capital, through the due diligence to execute the investments and working with the companies in the portfolio. Before Lepe, Itxaso worked as an early stage investor at EC1 Capital, responsible for deal flow across sectors. For the past ten years, Itxaso has worked with startups in London, Silicon Valley, Spain and Latin America.
Past Investments: Unbabel, Onfido, Leaf.fm, Evermore Health, Trouva, BridgeU
Sean Seton-Rogers
Sean is a partner and co-founder of PROfounders Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund located in London that invests in and support digital companies. Over a decade of venture capital experience, including stints at with Benchmark Capital Europe and Commonwealth Capital Ventures.
Past Investments: Tweetdeck, OneFineStay, LeapMotion
Board of Advisors: wundertax, NDGIT GmbH – Next Digital Banking
Ricardo Sequerra
Ricardo is the principal at Cherry Ventures.
Previously, he spent several years gaining experience as an operator as well as working closely with founders in the roles he held at Faber Ventures, Seedrs and Seedcamp. Ricardo is especially passionate about businesses building competitive advantages through data and addictive products able to change people’s habits.
Cherry Ventures’ Investments: Auto1 Group, Lesara, Quandoo, Flixbus, Amorelie, Tourradar, Move24 and Joblift
Tobias Schirmer
Tobias is a managing partner at Join Capital.
With previous experience in venture capital, entrepreneurship and financial markets, he believes his entrepreneurial drive, team spirit and empathy have helped him to achieve his professional goals. Specialties: Venture Capital, Corporate Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, Startups, Enterprise Software, SAAS, Industry 4.0
Join Capital’s Investments: German Bionic, Prodsmart, Proxyclick, Codacy
Member of the Board: Proxyclick, Prodsmart, German Bionic
These are just some of the kick-ass venture capital speakers we’ll have on stage at #LIS19. Investor Full Access and Investor Ultimate early-bird tickets are already sold out, so hurry up and don’t miss out – get your tickets for #LIS19.
by silvia | Mar 1, 2019 | Corporates, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
It has been noted lately that even though founders do not decide where they base their company on investment flows, but that investment flows adapt to the popularity of cities chosen by founders – and it’s already showing in the city of Lisbon.
According to data from Dealroom and Startup HeatMap, Lisbon has seen an increase in investment in 2018 of > 2500% comparing to the previous year. It’s an unprecedented growth, that makes Lisbon jump 17 ranks on the European Startup HeatMap, currently ranking 5th.
According to data, the sum of investments in Lisbon was €358M, the most noteworthy companies invested being OutSystems, Unbabel, Prodsmart, Undandy and Valispace, with a percentage of 60% of foreign investors.
Impressed yet? Get in on this action: join us at Lisbon Investment Summit, a slightly unexpected startup conference gathering the most promising startups, innovators and seasoned investors in Lisbon on the 6th and 7th of June.
Investor Full Access and Investor Ultimate early-bird tickets are already sold out, so hurry up and don’t miss out – get your tickets for #LIS19.
by silvia | Feb 4, 2019 | Corporates, Featured, Investors, Startups, Uncategorized
The Lisbon Investment Summit, also known as #LIS, will be back on 6th and 7th of June to our sunny city. The surprisingly informal and slightly unexpected startup conference will bring together the best startups and investors. Here are the top reasons why you don’t wanna miss it!
1. #nobullshit
This is the event’s motto and the main reason why you don’t wanna miss #LIS. This is not an event that appeals to vanity, there’s no fancy clothes, intro or awards – it aims for real content and people with valuable knowledge in their fields.
As Aptoide said: “#LIS is an environment where things happen. During lunch, we casually met a potential investor that ended up leading our Series A round of investment. This was a crucial milestone that ultimately helped us to reach over 3 billion downloads and over 140 million users.”
2. People
Lisbon Investment Summit is an event with a perfect mix of people: the most daring startups, seasoned and savvy investors and most innovative corporate executives. This makes for unique conversations and an open and collaborative mindset. At every corner you’ll have the chance to meet someone inspiring and innovative, and who knows? Maybe they’ll be your next business partner, or better yet, a friend.
3. Startup Pitch Competition
If you’re a startup, you’ll want to apply to the startup pitch competition. Even though the event has an investor-packed crowd, on the competition you’ll have undivided attention, and pitch next to the best and most innovative startups in the scene.
You’re eligible for the competition by purchasing startup tickets to attend – hurry up and get an early bird Founder 2×1 ticket – and filling out a form.
If you’re an investor, here’s the place to see all the up-and-coming startups in the same place.
4. Environment
Ask anyone who has attended previous editions – Lisbon Investment Summit has one of the best floors out there. It’s completely informal, and conversations (and business deals) just flow organically. The event prides itself on being a place where investors don’t hide their badges, and that’s because of the open and collaborative environment created by every person there. You don’t attend #LIS, you are part of #LIS.
5. City of Lisbon
Dinner with strangers in a trendy restaurant? Networking on a boat across the Tagus river with a view of the city? Hell, yeah! Part of the reason Lisbon Investment Summit has such a cool ambiance it’s because of its amazing backdrop: the lively and welcoming city of Lisbon. We’re not psychics but we predict sunny weather, warm temperatures, amazing sights, and exciting side events. Oh, and of course, a bustling and thriving startup ecosystem that you’ll get to know and connect with!
Excited yet? Claim your #LIS tickets here!
Or take a look at the dreamy photos of last year’s edition in the gallery below!
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by tombento | May 23, 2018 | Corporates, Investors, Startups
The Norwegian writer Erling Kagge describes boredom as experiential poverty. By that he means that, when we find ourselves either lacking or overstimulated from experiences (e.g. never going out vs going out every night for a week), our brain specifically tells us, and this is a technical term, “your life sucks”.
From my personal experience, this tends to happen with a lot of events. It’s either the same old “sit and listen” format, or an excess of lighting shows and music that makes you feel like you’re at a club at 11am on a Tuesday. I’ve been building and hosting events for a couple of years now and the truth is, I’m guilty of this as well. We all are. Building a sweet ass event that leaves people happy, inspired, hopeful and enthused, is hard. Like, really hard. And it takes time.
With this in mind, I woke up today thinking “if there were 3 really good reasons to attend the Lisbon Investment Summit”, what would they be? And could I put it in words? And why am I late for work already?
Anyway, here are 3 really good reasons for you to attend #LIS 18.
- Less Is More
There’s always immense pressure to put out the most content possible, to have a full room at all times and to deploy a non-stop experience. But this year we’re going to remove that pressure (which is mostly self imposed) by simply trimming down and focusing on what makes #LIS unique: an intimate, chilled, stress-free and sunny space for entrepreneurs, investors and executives to connect.
- We Bring Top Notch, Killer Speakers
If you look at our recent speaker rosters (2017 or 2018) you’ll see one common trend: these are some really kickass people. From the heads of some of the best VCs around, to rising star entrepreneurs and experienced innovators, we focus on bringing on stage the most interesting people out there. It’s just not people you’ll see on Youtube.
- Save Yourself a Sea of Trips
Are you based in Europe? Think about this: imagine you want to pitch Marvin Liao from 500 Startups. How much would a flight to San Francisco cost you, including a hotel? Or imagine you want to pitch Jenny Fielding from Techstars in New York, how much would that cost? By coming to #LIS, you can meet them and over 250 other investors and entrepreneurs, for a fraction of the cost. We’re literally saving you time and money.
If this got your blood pumping and the juices flowing, get a ticket now before prices go up (or we run out. We cap it at 2000 people).
I want tojoin #LIS 18
