“I see many startup founders chasing 'AI pipe dreams'. I encourage them to focus on solving real customer problems and not trying to impress investors by showing AI on their pitch deck.”
Source: The 6 Startup Stages: How Non-technical Founders Create Scalable, Profitable Companies
“I am not saying that VCs are despicably evil (that would be investment bankers), but you would be better spending more time on building your business than building and polishing the pitch deck.”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“The world cries out for impactful ideas and ventures, and alas, most such ideas are not viable for the majority of financiers, who focus on investment returns rather than social impact—impact that aligns with the well-being of individuals and families. Ironically, that is simply rational behavior on their part. But you know this, right?”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“Yes, capital is the oxygen in the life of a startup. But then again, acquiring capital is not the purpose of your startup—just as breathing oxygen is not the purpose of human life. It’s almost comical how we chase investors, running around as if we’re in a game of musical chairs.”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“Sadly enough, while we all keep segregating ourselves into little tribes, passionately claiming our moral rights and neglected privileges to capital access, we overlook the fact that the real divide comes down to just two sides. Those of us with the desire and mental ability to build and innovate —or, as it's called in finance, the "sell-side." And then there's the "buy-side"—the folks who have some spare capital to invest. How did they get that extra capital in the first place? Good question—fair question.”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“I am not stating that every startup deserves to succeed or should get funding without effort. I am saying that the pitching arena should start shifting toward a reversed scene, where natural selection, in a Darwinian fashion, applies to investors pitching themselves—showing how they can help and contribute beyond just money.
Until that happens, our modern startup world can best be described exactly as Jennifer Lopez’s character put it in her 2019 hit movie Hustlers:
“We are all living in a gigantic strip club where you got people tossing the money… and people doing the dance.”
Source: No Limits: Modern Poetry For Modern People
“Simply put, we need plenty of risk capital flowing into the real economy—into real startups solving real problems. If we live in a world where small businesses—the true engines of the economy and job creation—are dying faster than they’re being born, it raises a critical question: What’s wrong with a financing system that’s supposed to provide the oxygen for new ventures?
Do you hear me, derivatives traders?”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“I believe that any meaningful change requires initiating the kind of conversations that make people uncomfortable. I believe in asking questions – and searching for the truth. I have questions and would rather “have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned,” paraphrasing Richard Feynman, a quantum physicist and Nobel prize winner who lived here in Los Angeles.”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“You live in an era where raising funding has turned out to be the most important skill of all.”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain
“Here, I must say that some terminology in the language of finance is slightly misleading. Uber’s “loss” largely means heavy investments in other businesses and stock-based compensation stemming from the company's initial public offering.
Unsurprisingly, Travis Kalanick, Uber’s co-founder, sold nearly $1 billion in company shares the moment Uber’s IPO lockup period (read: the timeframe when you can’t sell your shares) was over. Duh.
When a company files for an IPO instead of bankruptcy, the IPO should be renamed a bailout—because modern business solutions require modern business jargon. #sarcasm”
Source: Raise and Rise: Funding Sources for Your Startup in the Era of Digital Transformation & Blockchain