Naturally, as you grow up, your risk appetite decreases. Family obligations, a more demanding lifestyle, visa requirements, a hard-to-get well-paid job, the list goes on… Is the startup dream over for you? I believe not – actually quite the opposite! Here’s how: First of all, later on in your career, you are a better founder! …
Originally posted on Marathon. We frequently encounter the following train of thought by founders: “I’m raising a seed round of one million. I haven’t found my lead investor yet, but we are close to having {Sequoia} to join the round with a small amount, say, a hundred thousand or even half of it. I don’t …
Continue reading “Why You Don’t Want SoftBank in Your Seed Round”
Δημοσιεύθηκε στην Καθημερινή. Τα τελευταία χρόνια το ελληνικό οικοσύστημα του τεχνολογικού επιχειρείν έχει αποκτήσει σάρκα και οστά. Ενδεικτικά, πρόσφατη μελέτη μας κατέγραψε 137 startups, στις οποίες επενδύθηκαν άνω των 200 εκατ. ευρώ σε 214 γύρους χρηματοδότησης κατά το διάστημα 2010-2016. Το 2017 αναμένεται να ολοκληρωθεί με περί τις δέκα –μεγαλύτερες ή μικρότερες– εξαγορές εταιρειών λογισμικού. …
Continue reading “Ενα οικοσύστημα που ωριμάζει και εξαπλώνεται”
Originally posted on Marathon Venture Capital Venture Capital is a business where you reach out to a hundred people to get one’s commitment. Then a hundred people reach out to you, and it is your turn to pick the right one while knowing that it will take ten proper shots to truly make it. Still, …
Originally posted in Openfund. A short six years ago, a peer from our small startup community reached out to share an idea he had written down on a piece of paper. The idea was simple; there is a number of available taxis around you, you should be able to see them and pick the one …
Continue reading “Daimler Acquires Taxibeat, Greek Startups Get A New Hero”
It is a common mistake for founders to try and go after a very broad market right from the beginning. This is a product “for everyone”, “we already cater to a huge market”, there are “actually three core use cases”, you know how it goes. The argument is that “we don’t want to limit our …
Overnight success and quick wins. Sprints and hacks. Shortcuts, yolo. We’re getting used to value hastiness as our ideal. We give things a try; then time runs out, nothing has worked and we ‘need’ to move on. Well, here it goes: High expectations cannot be met fast. Even when they do, they leave you with …
A startup’s most precious asset is its founders. And everyone’s most precious asset is our time. Thus, a startup’s most precious asset is its founders time. As simple as this may sound, its implications are not always straightforward. What’s more, founders time provide a clear framework that can serve you well in most of your …
Never give away equity to advisors. Free doesn’t look good to anyone, it also doesn’t work. Let me provide some context. Entrepreneurs often believe that they can build credibility and get significant added value by bringing in more experienced partners, under the title of advisor. It is typical for such a title to be accompanied …
Presenting in front of people is hard. Being an entrepreneur and making your idea look simple is also genuinely difficult. Here is a rough structure that may help when presenting to potential users and partners or the general public. – Maria (photo) is a (…) and spends (time/money) doing (…). {problem — it is important …
Continue reading “Some Notes on How to Present Your Startup”