Luca Cartechini

The most important fundraising KPI: 1st pitch → 2nd meeting conversion rate Is yours low? (< 30-50%) Something is wrong. Here's how to diagnose your issue and fix it: There are two types of potential problems... 1️⃣ Investor targeting 2️⃣ Pitching 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is targeting the wrong investors. Usually you're reaching out to investors that focus on a different stage or industry. Do some research on the investors that didn't convert to a second meeting. The most important resource: their portfolio page. Ignore the "about" section, or their blog. That's mostly about marketing to potential investors in their fund. Instead, look at what they've actually invested in and the stage at which they invested (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, etc.) Remember: trust the portfolio, not the thesis. __ The other main issue is unclear outbound messaging. Investors think you do one thing (industry, business model, tech, etc.) but you actually do something else. I recommend sending your outbound email template to 5+ friends that don't know anything about your startup. Ask them: • What kinds of customers do you think we serve? • What benefits do you think we provide for them? • What product features do you think we have? • What technologies do you think we use? If more 20% of your friends answer these questions incorrectly, you need to write new outreach emails. 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is just that your pitch is weak. Usually because you aren't telling a story. You're just sharing disconnected data. The best pitches are stories that foreshadow the only possible outcome: your startup's tremendous success. It feels inevitable. The easiest test to figure out if you're telling a story: try connecting the main idea of each of your slides with "but," "so" or one of their synonyms. If the natural link between slides is "and" or if you can move the order around, you don't have a story. Chronology matters in storytelling. Go back to the drawing board and try to write your inevitable success story. __ Maybe your overall pitch isn't weak. But VCs may still be spotting a red flag when you pitch. It turns them off right away. If you think this might be your issue, it's important to start asking questions. Most pitches have time for you to ask questions at the end. Here's my go-to to diagnose this issue: "What would you need to see in order to get excited about investing in <<STARTUP>>?" If they tell you a primary KPI that you need to improve, then you've probably identified the issue. The other possibility: They try to avoid giving you a specific answer. If they're evading your question, you NEED to dig in to get to the bottom of it. Your fundraising success may depend on it. —— Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders!

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💡 Helpful benchmarks for SaaS leaders to consider. Thanks for sharing Dirk. #saas #fundraising #corporatefinance #technology #startups

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Here are the full terms of our recent investment Round size: $61.500 (430.000 DKK) Equity dilution: 2% Valuation: $3.000.000 (21.000.000 DKK) Post Money Cap Pro rata: no Type: SAFE Round Stage: Angel For context: Alvas was founded 11 months ago We’re two founders, one highly technical, the other technical and highly commercial. We build product and get customers ourselves Early revenue with 12 clients and $3250 MRR Our product is simple to understand, solves a pain point for a smaller niche And we’ve shown how we create value for multiple big Danish brands 🦄 #investment #StartUp #founder #unicorn _________________ I’m sharing the journey of building a Unicorn We’ve recently received funding, and I’m sharing everything about the investment Tomorrow I will share why we raised, and what the money will be spent on Feel free to follow along

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☀️ Summer Update: Freshly announced VC funds - €4bn+ since April! ☀️ The VC market is back, great time to build great companies in Europe! 🚀 Due to PitchBook, "The venture capital market (globally) has already bottomed out, with signs that a gradual rebound is underway." (https://lnkd.in/e7G6cQEH) "The venture industry is more active than any time pre-2021. Q2 venture capital investment in Europe is up 14% on Q1, and 12% year on year, and European startups raised $15.6B in Q2 2024." Dealroom.co (https://lnkd.in/egYHgkNg) Here are a bunch of fresh funds: <100m Funds: 💰 Carbon Equity 🇳🇱 - €60m (https://lnkd.in/e6trwJup) 💰 BlackWood 🇩🇰 - €15m (https://lnkd.in/ed__M4Np) 💰 Italian Founders Fund 🇮🇹 - €50m (https://lnkd.in/ehfZpuF8) 💰 Kfund 🇪🇸 - €70m (https://lnkd.in/eWVGi-xE) 💰 Dreamcraft Ventures 🇩🇰 - €66m (https://lnkd.in/eYaRm7WT) 💰 identity.vc I Backing LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs 🇩🇪 - €15m (https://lnkd.in/eKTSVPXa) 💰 Openseed VC 🇬🇧 - €9m (https://lnkd.in/e_hPphrY) 💰 Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀 🇳🇱 - €40m (https://lnkd.in/e6r49mMz) 💰 14Peaks Capital 🇨🇭 - €28m (https://lnkd.in/eBSjW-cw) 💰 Elevator Ventures 🇦🇹 - €70m (https://lnkd.in/eahGkeXM) 💰 BOOOM💥🇩🇪 - €17m (https://lnkd.in/eJqWt2MH) >100m Funds: 💰 13books Capital 🇬🇧 - ￡121 (https://lnkd.in/eXhaydg9) 💰 MiddleGame Ventures 🇱🇺 - €150m (https://lnkd.in/eGd69gSx) 💰 Wind 🇫🇷 - €130m (https://lnkd.in/eeaNHZJm) 💰 Vsquared Ventures 🇩🇪 - €214m (https://lnkd.in/eNFj9rGf) 💰 Suma Capital 🇪🇸 - €125m (https://lnkd.in/efk7QJGk) 💰 Creandum 🇸🇪 - €500m (https://lnkd.in/e7ztHAU9) 💰 ETF Partners 🇬🇧 - €285m (https://lnkd.in/eKPdGPkJ) 💰 Norrsken VC 🇸🇪 - €320m (https://lnkd.in/ewxTh7zD) 💰 Alpine Space Ventures 🇩🇪 - €170m (https://lnkd.in/e3SQQwwf) 💰 Accel 🇬🇧 - €600m (https://lnkd.in/eYewqRqj) 💰 imec.xpand 🇧🇪 - €300m (https://lnkd.in/e-S-TyhW) 💰 Lakestar Early+Growth 🇨🇭- €560m (https://lnkd.in/e_SeFicE) 💰 Armira Growth 🇩🇪 - €200m (https://lnkd.in/efVRktgx) 💰 Index Ventures 🇬🇧 - $2.3bn (https://lnkd.in/eVzF5ncE) Forgot one? Feel free to comment! 👇 Link to Dealroom.co's Q2 Report: https://lnkd.in/eAVxFHGx

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The European VC fundraising scene is showing a clear trend: experience matters. Let's unpack some data on this from The State of European Fundraising Report. 1/ Why track record matters. In a cautious market, LPs (investors) are prioritizing established funds with a proven history of success. Experienced firms captured 54.5% of the capital raised in 2023. 2/ New opportunities for LPs. This market shift presents a golden opportunity for LPs to build relationships with top-tier VC firms. Firms they might not have accessed before. 3/ Focus on creating value. Investors are seeking firms that prioritize building real value, not just hype. This is a great long-term trend for the industry. If you are en emerging fund manager, the time to build a strong reputation and track record is now. Focus on building a compelling value proposition and demonstrating a clear path to success to attract investors. Learn how to navigate the effects of the #TechReset. Get insights from The State of European Fundraising Report. ➡️ buff.ly/4aYglgi Delivered to you by EUVC | Isomer Capital | Floww. #EUVC #fundraising #venturecapital #industryreport

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2024 LAVCA Trends in Tech - LAVCA https://buff.ly/4dfL6Qf by @LAVCA sector and country-specific breakdowns, average round sizes across investment stages and the current role of global investors co-investing alongside local fund managers! #rafAIgual #vc #trends #investment #latam

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Europe's tech market has some catching up to do. #eu #techmarket #technology #techcompanies #marketvalue #financing #growthcapital #scaleups #commercialisation

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📊 Interesting chart from Meritech Capital on Public SaaS ARR Multiples by Quartile: With similar metrics, you can assume that the intrinsic value of your small SaaS company in terms of ARR multiples is at least 30% lower. Or to put it the other way around: If you are running a small SaaS business, you need better KPIs to get a similar market multiple. As you can see, the ACV / retention metrics of all groups are still quite decent. It's almost impossible to get there with a pure PLG SaaS business - which is why they are usually "worth a bit less" than Enterprise SaaS businesses with a sticky, mission-critical product. Exceptions prove the rule. What surprises you most about this diagram? For me, it was the high ARR/FTE values.

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Dropbox reviewed 100,000+ pitch decks to determine the perfect deck 👇 Here are the Key Insights: 1️⃣ Length of Pre-Seed Decks: The average deck contained 19 slides. 2️⃣ Investor Meetings: On average, founders engaged with 52 investors before successfully raising funds. 3️⃣ VC Engagement Time: Venture capitalists spent an average of 2 minutes and 42 seconds reviewing each deck. 4️⃣ Focus on Traction: Pitch decks that secured funding saw VCs spending 28% more time on their traction sections. 5️⃣ Business Model Scrutiny: For decks that didn’t receive funding, VCs spent 233% more time examining the business model sections. After this extensive study, Dropbox created a Pitch Deck Template: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸👇 Source: Rubén D. Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] #startups #startuplife #startup #founders #entrepreneurship

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Streamline your fundraising roadshow with edeck by Versible eu🚀 🔗https://lnkd.in/ekQxJZem With Versible's edeck you can create a data-driven, tailored and personalised one pager deck and share it with any one. You can even test it now: https://lnkd.in/eTUsGed8 ✅ Create unlimited links and set permissions for entry ✅ Set Password, 2FA, Invitation only & Expiration date ✅ Your viewers don't need to signup on Versible ✅ Track the movement of every viewer ✅ Track the minutes spent of your deck ✅ Send and receive live messages ✅ Receive Feedback ✅ Add your calendly link ✅ Receive Data room requests ✅ Access the top european VC database ✅ Create unlimited Data rooms ✅ Access fundraising CRM ✅ & so much more

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The Venture Capital ‘Regatta’ is what is Replacing The VC Factory Model. The way VC works now is that there is a ‘start’ line for companies when you cross from early round financing into ‘series’ raises, A,B,C,D — but MOST of the actual race now takes place before the ‘gun’ — … just like in a sailing regatta half the race is won/ lost in tacking back and forth before the start line jockeying for position … and most of investing rather than being structured fixed ‘Seed,A,B,C,D’ is mini-nimble financing rounds before the A in a string of financing.. implications? Well as a seed investors you don’t think about what you do in a single round / bite… but instead in terms of ‘tacks’ back and forth as the company gets ready before the race even starts.

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🌟 Interesting yet unsurprising findings from the latest VC performance report: 📈 Established European venture capital funds (fund 5+) are delivering 2x the IRR of New (fund 1-2) and Developing (3-4) funds. 🌍 European VC funds consistently outperform their US counterparts, underscoring Europe's strength in the global investment landscape. Read the article at sifted https://lnkd.in/eZYF4THT

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EU still has lot to do, in particular when it comes to the flow of money. This capital markets union just might be the last chance to fix it... #eu #moneyflow #singlemarket #economy #investment #startup #financing #risktaking #innovation #scaleup #growthfunding #growthcapital #investors #investmentstrategies

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"Funding Collapse sends investment in start-ups to six year low" The Times today covering the shocking stats that VenturePath uncovered, with our partner Beauhurst. Great quotes from supporters Michael Moore CEO, BVCA and Julian David CEO, techUK. * UK VC funding at Series A is -44% from last year, and worsening * Q3 24 is down a staggering 57% from Q2, itself down from Q1 * 9 in 10 seed funded startups cannot access Series A VC funding, the next 'rung on the funding ladder' * Just 32 future scaleup companies across the whole of the UK were able to access their first VC funding round in Q3...a 6 year low * Half a billion less capital is going in to UK scaleups at Series A, than just 2 years ago! As the UK scaleup funding gap widens, we are losing ground against other countries, at both startup stage (a position the UK worked hard to achieve, since 2011), and for scaleup support. OECD data: 13th in the world for scaleup support, and that's before Series A funding access dried up. I get that its confusing. Another report (BBB, Nations & Regions) released this week spoke of positive trends in private investment, stating "The data for Q2 2024 shows that investment value has continued to grow". Great, I love to see optimistic data. But under analysis that bundles venture with private equity (later stage), where a few megadeals skew the numbers. Otherwise the exact opposite is true. Our independent research here, for the UK ScaleUp Investment Mission, is laser beam focussed on Series A. The funding round where companies move from the c.1m startups launched each year, through the 2,179 that access seed funding, into the rarefied category of being recognised as future scaleups, attracting Series A funding (£2-10m). The UK venture landscape is currently funding just 248 pa of these companies, and declining. We've been sharing this urgent call for support with the new Government since the day after the election. I've personally met with several Ministers, and spoke to all the relevant Government departments. I will shamelessly repeat loudly what is at stake. UK scaleup funding at Series A has nearly halved in a year, and continues to decline steeply, more than halving in the last quarter. VenturePath developed The UK ScaleUp Investment Mission to convene the scaleup support ecosystem and £7bn of funders to help address this problem, to improve nationwide access to VC investment, and create more venture-backed successes. We have clear support, clear recommendations to reverse this decline in UK scaleup investment, and have made a clear ask of Government for participation in this, to ensure immediate action is taken to create the conditions for success for UK scaleups, ensuring the focus on growth isn't undermined by lack of capital, or equitable access to it. Government decision makers, we'd love your interest, to progress to action. HM Treasury: Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Spencer Livermore James Murray & CC Poppy Gustafsson (welcome to the debate).

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I couldn’t be prouder to be a Venture Partner at Isomer Capital (aka the best European FoF - at least for me) as we just announced the launch of our pioneering £100m secondaries fund. This fund is dedicated to acquiring stakes from LPs in various VC funds, tapping into a massive and largely unexplored market. 🌟 Key Highlights: - Focused Investment: Primarily targeting stakes in VC funds, with selective investments in private companies. - Robust Funding: Already over 20% funded, thanks to strong support from Nordic family offices and a German foundation. - Market Potential: With a growing number of private tech companies and a VC liquidity crunch, Europe's VC secondaries market is poised for rapid growth. - Track Record: This isn’t Isomer’s first foray into the secondaries market. As a firm we’ve done several secondaries deals with portfolio companies and VC firms, including early-stage VC Seedcamp (in 2021) and mobility giant Bolt (in 2023). - Expert Team: Welcoming the amazing Omolade (Rachel) A., formerly of Coller Capital, as a principal to lead this initiative. 💡 Investment Strategy: - 65-75% of the fund will buy "LP interest" stakes in VC funds. - 15-25% will be directed towards stakes in companies. - Up to 15% reserved for flexible investment opportunities. 📈 Looking Ahead: We're targeting returns of 2-3x, with significant distributions expected in the next 4-7 years. As one of the few players in this space, we're not just participating in the market—we're driving it forward. Read all about it here: https://lnkd.in/dc7sbC3G #VentureCapital #SecondariesFund #EuropeanVC

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🚀 Unlock the Potential of AI in Deal Sourcing and Screening! 🚀 The 2024 Investment Benchmark Report reveals that European VC firms face fluctuating engagement and deal flow. Top firms leverage data to adapt and thrive, showing a notable 86% uptick in Q4 2023 deals. 🌟 Key Takeaways: Data-Driven Decisions: Firms using multiple data sources outperform peers. Enhanced Network Growth: Proactive outreach leads to more deals. Tech Adoption: AI and automation streamline operations and improve efficiency. Empower your VC strategies with AI for better sourcing, screening, and success! 👉 Try Yuno AI and become an early beta tester. We're seeking feedback to create the best tool for identifying investment opportunities in the private market industry. Read the full report here - https://lnkd.in/ddgiyWxH #VentureCapital #AI #DealSourcing #Investment #TechInnovation

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