Technology and the media are interwoven, and just like industries before it, MediaTech is emerging to address the fast-moving pace of technology and the impact on the resulting media economy

MediaTech Ventures

Did you know that running out of capital means the end of the road for around ? 29% of startups Raising capital is a key factor to your startup’s success – unless you have deep pockets. This means developing a good relationship with investors – something I have previously talked about . here Once you’ve developed that relationship, and it’s time to ask for that all-important injection of capital, you need to showcase what you have to offer. Investors need to see that you, the team you assemble and your product are a good bet that will bring in a good ROI. That means you need to: Create an achievable business plan with a clear financial path Deliver an engaging pitch to investors that is both impossible to ignore and hard to forget Let’s get started and cover everything you need to create a rock-solid business plan and deliver a show-stopping pitch to investors. The Blueprint for a Rock-Solid Business Plan Without a clear path to profitability, you’re going to have a tough time persuading investors to fund your startup. Moreover, there is to support creating a business plan: statistical evidence “One study found that companies that plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t. Another found that 71% of fast-growing companies (companies that had over 92% growth in sales from one year to the next) have plans.” Developing a business plan will prepare you to answer questions from investors on every aspect of your company. Investors will also go over your financials with a  fine-tooth comb to decide if your startup is worth a second glance. Here’s what you should include in your business plan to give you the best chance of success with investors. Executive Summary Here you should summarise the key elements of your business in one or two pages. It should include the following: The problem you are proposing to solve What your solution is and why it is new, different and better than the current solution (Unique Value Proposition) Your target market Your competition and your sustainable competitive advantage An overview of the management team Business Model Your business goals for the next one, three and five years Financial highlights Company Summary Here you are introducing the investors to your company and concept. You should include: Your company mission statement, vision and goals Information regarding your corporate structure Description of your industry and target market Description of your competition and why you are better Products and/or Services Here you should describe what you are selling and how you produce it. This is your opportunity to describe in further detail the problem your stakeholders have and how you are solving it for them. Market Analysis This section should include information about your industry, target market, competition, and how you plan to make a place for your product or service. To achieve this make sure you have detailed information on the following: – Detailed statistics that define your industry including size, growth rate, trends, and outlook. Industry Description and Outlook – Who is your ideal client? This data should include demographics on the group you are targeting including age, gender, income level, and lifestyle preferences. This section should also include data on the size of your target market, purchase potential and audience motivations. As well as how you intend to reach your market. Here is a great resource for some further reading on . Target Market researching your market – Here, include the results of the market research you conducted as part of your initial investigation into the market. Market Test Results – Who is your competition? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the competition? What are the potential roadblocks preventing you from entering the market? Competitive Analysis Marketing Strategy The outlines where your business fits into the market and how you will price, promote, and sell your product or service. It relies heavily on your market analysis. marketing strategy Outline how you will position your product or service and the brand identity you want to develop. This section also covers the pricing strategy, the distribution of your product/service to customers – as well as marketing and promotional activities. Operations This is your opportunity to cover the daily operations of your startup such as production, quality control, inventory systems and so on. It should also include the legal elements of your startup such as legal structure, insurance, permits, patents, etc. Management & Organisation Here you should detail your startup’s management team. This includes: Names Job titles Position descriptions Prior experience Qualifications “The perfect team as far as I’m concerned is three people: somebody who brings the resources; the person who’s focussed on the marketplace and the person who can deliver — CEO, CMO and CTO.” – Paul O’Brien – CEO of MediaTech Ventures. Startup Expenses and Capitalisation This section focuses solely on the capital you need to open your business. Including startup expenses, product development costs and overheads. Financial Plan Here I wanted to take a moment to outline some examples of the documents needed to create a financial plan. Please note that different industries have different accounting structures. For example, the financial documents of a lending startup are very different from a company that produces hardware. I recommend taking a short accounting course on – alternatively, ask a friend who is knowledgeable on the topic. Udemy Profit & Loss Statement The profit and loss statement is a document that states revenues and expenses within a certain accounting period (a year for example). It is created to understand the profit and losses that are incurred by the startup. There are many models for profit and loss statements – here’s an example of one model: At the early stage of your startup, you only need this to prove that the core of your business will be viable or to identify the break-even point, for instance. In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend going into too much detail on this at the early stages or you risk falling into an infinite loop of assumptions. Balance Sheet Your balance sheet is a statement of what the company owns, in terms of assets, and owes, in terms of liabilities and equity. In a nutshell: equity + liabilities = assets. Here’s an example of a balance sheet: Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement shows how changes in the balance sheet accounts and income affect cash and cash equivalents. It also breaks down the analysis into operating, investing and financing activities. Here’s an example of how to calculate cash flows: Appendices Finally, you should include any supporting documents that back up any assumptions and descriptions that you have outlined in previous sections. Once you have your business plan and financials in place, it’s time to create your pitch deck. An Engaging Pitch When you pitch to investors, you’ll have between 10 and 40 minutes to do one thing. Your pitch needs to sell investors on the idea that you and your startup represent an opportunity for them to reap significant returns. For every . The first step in being one of the 100 is to compel them to open their wallets. 1,000 pitches an investor hears, they will fund only 100 of them How to Compel Investors Put yourself in the right room. That is to say, find investors who have money and an interest in your startup. If you how can you figure out how to reach your customer? can’t figure out a way to get a warm introduction with investors You have to remember a pitch is not designed to raise money. It is just a way to get a “second date” with your potential investors. A great pitch needs to answer two questions: “Why You?” and “Why Now?”. What is it about you and your team uniquely qualified to execute this idea and why is it relevant now? Those two questions alone, however, are not enough. Three unspoken questions need to be answered – and they have nothing to do with your presentation or data. They have everything to do with the investor’s perception of and your idea. you, your team The first unspoken question is “Do I think this will work for me?” Investors need to see how your startup fits with the other companies in their portfolios. Furthermore, they need to know that they can bring something to your company – besides a cash injection. ” – “You want to keep investors who really know your industry up to date weekly. Genuine investors can help you and want to work on your success — they’re not just a check. Paul O’Brien – CEO of MediaTech Ventures. The second and third questions they will ask themselves are all about you and your co-founder(s). They are “ ” and “ ” and the answers can make or break your chance of getting their backing. Do I like you? Do I trust you? To successfully get the coveted “second date” your pitch needs to have: A clear business plan as outlined in your Pitch Deck. Communicated through a compelling presentation filled with interesting stories and not dry facts Delivered with confidence, passion and clarity Above all “Brevity is the soul of wit”. Communicate your knowledge, intelligence, wisdom and humour as succinctly as possible. The Essentials of Your Great Pitch Deck The goal of your pitch deck is to show the essence of your business in 10 to 15 slides – with as few bullet points as possible. To get started, here is an outline of the slides you should include: Opening/Title Slide A summary containing your Value Proposition The problem your target market faces Your solution Your Product The Business Model Go-to-market Strategy Company Financials Competition & your unique advantage The Team Your funding requests & how you will use them Closing Slide Feel free to adapt the above formula to account for specific questions your investors may have. Before we move on to turning your pitch into a great story I want to give you a few final notes on your pitch deck. . Presenting out of date information is harmful to your startup. Getting flustered during your pitch as you try to explain your way out of the situation is even worse. You will come across as unprepared as a result – and you won’t be taken seriously. Keep your pitch deck current As I’ve mentioned timing is everything, and your pitch should be succinct. I would advise, however, that you prepare a second, more thorough, pitch deck to leave for potential investors. It will provide them with an in-depth resource to explore at their leisure and learn more about you and your startup. As I said before, your pitch deck is a tool to help you get that second date.  Fill it with the best information to get you to that second meeting. A Great Pitch Tells a Great Story Unless your pitch stands out from the crowd potential investors will lose interest. While facts and figures are important, they’re not enough by themselves. The fact is stories are far more memorable than statistics. As Plato once said, “Those who tell stories rule society” or in this case, investors. When you talk facts & figures you are tapping into the left brain – the analytical side. Consequently exposing your flank for critique because the investors will already be doing their internal calculations to fact check what you are saying. Conversely, when you tell a story people relax. You are instantly tapping into the investors’ right brains. As a result, their imagination lights up and they instantly appear more engaged. This is because you are combining a logical connection with an emotional one. This combination makes you hard to ignore – and more importantly hard to forget. That being said, let’s separate your presentation into what every great story needs – a beginning, a middle and an end. Note: Throughout this section, I’ll be using Revolut’s seed pitch deck as an example ( Source ). The Beginning “Never bury the lede.” – If you want your investors to remember something put it at the beginning of your pitch. Investors are betting on you as much as your company, a great personal story is also a great way to open your pitch and engage potential investors. The Middle This is where things get a bit more technical. Once you’ve built some rapport and engagement with your opening, it’s time to start building the logical connection while strengthening the emotional connection: – Your unique advantages in the sector, potential target market size and, if you have it, a proof of concept (your traction). Make sure your potential investors know you have something of value to offer and how excited you are about your company (remember to keep tapping the right brain). Your Unique Value Proposition – Get creative with this, use a case study if you can. Explain in detail how your product, or service, will provide your customers with an innovative solution. Tell the story of your customers’ problem – Remember here that they are not buying your product, but investing in your company. They are buying your ability to deliver the product and make it profitable. Demo or describe what your product does – They want to know about your business model, go-to-market strategy and financials because, fundamentally, that’s what they’re paying for. Describe your business (this is what investors are buying) – Investors want to know that you are aware of your competitors but not worried about them. Recognise your competition – Don’t be afraid to go into detail including background and professional achievements – it’s a huge trust builder. Introduce your team’s key members – Ask for the money you need. Immediately follow this up with what you will use it for and the milestones you will accomplish because of their investment. Make (and justify) your funding request – Open the floor to any questions your investors may have. If you have successfully engaged with your pitch, they will certainly have questions. Q & A The End Your pitch’s conclusion should be . a confident statement endorsing the potential of your company Don’t promise to boil the ocean, keep your goals and milestones achievable. Prioritise the information that goes into your presentation – in other words, keep it lean and relevant. Finally, make sure your stories are effective at engaging and tapping into the right brain – so you can nurture the emotional connection. Once you have your pitch deck in hand, it’s time to think about what you’re going to say once you step into the room. How To Deliver an Engaging Pitch Speaking publicly is always nerve-wracking, especially when the stakes are high. Remember when you write your presentation it should flow naturally and feel like a conversation. Focus on taking people on a journey with you, this will keep them engaged in you and what you are showing them. If they are engaged and feel a connection they are more likely to say yes, as a result. Here are some tips to have in mind to make you a more compelling speaker: Before entering the room, relax Plan your moments of certainty and keep them as milestones in your mind Own the room you are walking into with your confident energy As you pitch to investors make eye-contact with them Speak slowly – if it feels like you are speaking too slowly you are probably speaking at the right speed. We all tend to rush through public speaking because of nerves. Just say to yourself the Italian expression (slowly). piano piano Speak naturally – be aware to not get monotonous and vary your pitch If you move, move with purpose. Make decided choices and go from point A to point B No matter what happens, power through. If you mess up its not a big problem. Remember you know what you were meant to say – but the people you’re talking to don’t. Wrapping Up Preparation is key when you pitch to investors. Firstly, create an achievable business plan with clear financials. Secondly, use the passion you have for your product and business vision to create a pitch deck that will engage investors. When it comes to the execution of your pitch to investors, speak with confidence, tell the story with the support of facts and figures. Finally, after your pitch, be ready to answer any questions they may have. Good luck and thanks for reading. Also published here.

How to Deliver a Mind-Blowing Startup Pitch to an Investor

"You Have to Distinguish a  Startup  From a New Business" says Paul 
O’Brien

Finding a technical co-founder is one of the biggest challenges faced by startup founders. Here’s how Audapio’s Founder Dudley Gould overcame this common startup hurdle. I started my entrepreneurial journey like most first-time founders. I had a great idea, with the industry knowledge to turn it into a business vision. But I had no idea how to actually bring it to life. No experience. Limited technical expertise. And no co-founders. I was convinced I needed a technical co-founder, that dream partner who could help turn my vision into a product. So I started looking for them. I went to meetups. Reached out to friends and friends of friends. Reached out to ex-colleagues. Joined online groups. You name it, I tried it. The days quickly turned into weeks. The weeks started going by quicker and quicker and I felt like I was going nowhere. So I made a decision. Arguably one of the most important ones in the early stages of Audapio. But more on that in a bit. First, let me start by expanding on the idea behind Audapio. The Idea Whilst I worked in audit, I spent far too much time, re-keying data, searching for paper, and only testing samples of transactions. None more so, than when working with bank statements. Auditors work with bank statements every day. These come in various PDF, paper or CSV forms, all of which are a pain to work with. It would take a long time to go through every transaction in the bank, especially if you’re dealing with paper, so auditors pick samples. This means that auditors often only look at about 1% of transactions! But these outdated practices are not only inefficient, they can also lead to . vital audit evidence being completely missed Having worked in audit, I knew that Open Banking could bring new opportunities and completely transform the way auditors work with their clients’ bank statements. Just have a look at the to see some of the opportunities that Open Banking has enabled. Open Banking App Store My idea was to use open banking to provide auditors with secure, real-time access to client bank statements directly from the bank. Not only is this much easier for auditors to work with but it also gives auditors the much-needed assurance that they are working with complete and accurate bank statements. This alone would have prevented the recent Wirecard audit failure . But most importantly, we’re leveraging robotic process automation (RPA) and providing advanced analytics and dashboards. This gives auditors a complete picture of what goes through their clients’ banks in real-time. The Search for a Technical Co-Founder So, I started my search by going to as many networking events and meetups as I could. From DevOps to Open Banking to generic tech events I tried them all. Some were good. Others I went to and I didn’t talk to a single person. And whilst I learned a lot about Open Banking and met some interesting people at the meetups, I didn’t find a technical co-founder. I didn’t even come close. I also went through my contacts to see if anyone I knew could help me out. Friends, friends of friends, colleagues of friends, I reached out to a lot of people. Bingo, I thought I’d found my technical co-founder. A good friend of a friend with the six years of development experience I’d been told my co-founder needed. We started working together for a few months. However, he was incredibly busy with his job and didn’t have a lot of time to help me build a startup. Some days he was getting up at four in the morning to do a couple of hours of development before starting work. But naturally, that’s not sustainable and progress was slow. Eventually, when I wanted him to quit his job and come on board as co-founder, he was honest and said the timing wasn’t right for him. Which was completely understandable. Giving up a good salary and job he liked to take on the risks associated with trying to build a startup is not something many people are prepared to do. I appreciated his honesty. He did, however, put me in touch with a couple of friends of his who he thought might be interested. But again, after various meetings with them, it never worked out. Time was rushing by and my product wasn’t any closer to being built. So I started researching other options. Changing Tactics It was clear my search for a technical co-founder wasn’t bearing any fruit. So I decided to explore the option of working with a custom software development company. A friend of mine put me in touch with a software development company in London that he was working with. But naturally, them being a top agency in central London meant that they were too expensive. So I decided to search for other top software development companies outside of London, broadening my search to European agencies. These companies offer the same quality assurances at a much more competitive rate. “In total, I reached out to around 15 agencies, had meetings with 10 and whittled the list down to the top two.” One agency was based in Estonia and the other, Altar.io, in Lisbon. I decided to go with Altar.io based on a mix of: Gut feeling A past project they had worked on in the Open Banking space The fact that they had worked with the likes of McKinsey and IMB – as well as various fintech startups. I was just about to pull the trigger and sign the contract when I was approached by another early-stage startup. They offered to build my product for an equity stake. The team was very experienced, and this opportunity felt too good to turn down. We worked together for three months and had a great relationship. But then, our lawyers flagged a potential problem.  Taking an equity stake, potentially, meant both companies losing any SEIS/EIS tax relief (tax relief for investors who invest in early-stage startups), not something either could afford to lose. We explored other options including merging the two startups, but we didn’t come to an agreement. Ultimately, it would’ve meant me giving up the dream of starting my own business, and being an employee again. I had to walk away. I was back to square one. So, I got back in touch with Daniel at Altar.io and told him what happened. 10 minutes later, I had booked my flights to Lisbon. Testing the Waters with Altar.io My initial commitment was fairly small as I signed up to a . I flew to Lisbon to spend a week with the team at Altar.io in their offices. Product Scope I remember arriving at their offices in Lisbon and my first thought was “thank goodness, they exist”. actually The Product Scope was an intensive 5-day structured process. It started with an immersive focus session with the team to dive into the product vision from a business standpoint. From there, we created the user stories for the design of the Minimum Viable Product. I was very impatient and excited to get started. I remember sitting down to do the Product Scope; the last thing I wanted to do was start from the beginning again. But it allowed us to all get on the same page and clearly define the business case. For me, the Product Scope was less about brand new, magical, ideas surrounding my product. But it allowed me to fly back to London with confidence, knowing I’d met the team that was going to build my MVP. Related: How to Build a Successful Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in 3 Steps I’d sat down with Daniel and aligned my vision with him and we’d made some great decisions about the product. Expert Tip “The key decision point around hiring an agency is how quickly you need to get to market and what your financial resources are. Remember, outsourcing has been used by many very successful companies to develop their MVP, such as Slack, which is valued at $3.8bn, Skype which sold to Microsoft for $8.5bn, as well as BaseCamp and Github.” Judy Robinett, startup expert and best-selling author of Crack The Funding Code Going All-In Then I opted to move on to the software development stage. I was finally about to start building my MVP. And then the first bump in the road appeared. From the information provided by the Product Scope, the team realised the budget estimate was too low. But instead of just telling me “tough, the price has gone up” Altar.io gave me three options: Make adjustments to the MVP to keep it at the same price Do it the original way, which would cost a lot more than estimated Find a middle ground where it would cost slightly more, but keeps some of the features I wanted from the original way. So even though the pricing wasn’t as I originally expected, I appreciated their willingness to be transparent and provide some options. “Trust plays a huge part in working with an agency. You can’t watch what they are doing, and even if you could, you wouldn’t necessarily fully understand it anyway.” You have to work with an agency otherwise, making decisions becomes impossible. you can trust That same trust has to work both ways. For the team to put the maximum effort into building a startup MVP they want to know there’s a good shot at it succeeding. I’ve been lucky that Altar.io have backed me all the way. “On paper, it’s an agency relationship, but in reality, the business will only work if you act as one team. If you don’t the project will fail.” It’s definitely not always plain sailing. Along the way, there have been changes in the estimated time and budget for various features. I was also inexperienced and not aware of how big a part bug fixing plays in software development. Initially, a lot of our communication was quite ad hoc, no formal check-ins/updates – which was a bit messy. There were some teething issues, nothing major, but enough to make me nervous. I had to go with the flow, I didn’t want to push too much, because I also felt that Altar.io were taking a bit of a risk on me and believing in my product. So I trusted them and believed in the fact they know what they’re doing. Not Just a Team of Developers When I started working with Altar.io I thought I’d found a team of developers. But in the first few weeks, I learnt that actually, my biggest asset was Daniel, Head of Product. He , making sure the user experience was always seamless. challenged me on every decision Expert Tip “By allowing yourself to be challenged you will become wiser throughout your business journey. You will have a clearer idea of where to invest your time & money – thanks, in part, to that outside eye. After all, if you are talking to an experienced agency they have probably faced many of the pitfalls and mistakes you are likely to encounter.” Paolo Dotta, Co-Founder Altar.io In fact, even on my first call with Altar.io, Daniel spent two hours challenging me. He wanted to understand how strong the value proposition was and whether I had the resources, experience and network required to make it a success. There’s always something Daniel thinks of that would never have crossed my mind. His experience developing dozens of products for the likes of McKinsey and various asset managers and MVPs for entrepreneurs is invaluable. Altar.io is the seventh startup Daniel has built. So he has a lot of advice to offer and a lot of experience on the business development side. And then there’s Rui. Starting Audapio has taught me that building a startup is not just about finding a problem and creating a solution. There are hundreds of problems and solutions out there waiting to be tackled. The real challenge to building an MVP  is marketing. To me, I’m building something that is obvious. Changing the way people work with bank statements from sampling transactions from Paper, CSV or PDFs to testing 100% of transactions on a secure digital platform. But working out how to and, more importantly, how to quickly, simply and effectively explain the value to potential customers is not as easy! find and approach your target market “Ask any successful business founder what their biggest challenge was. I’m sure 9 times out of 10 it’s marketing-related!” Rui is Altar.io’s Head of Marketing. He has a lot of experience and knowledge and loves to share it. We’ve ended up having fortnightly calls to catch up and discuss all things marketing and I’ve learned a huge amount from him. So I think it’s fair to say that with Altar.io: “I’ve not just found a team of developers, I very much feel that I have an extended team of co-founders.” Just instead of giving them equity, it’s cash. Should You Hold Out Until You Find A Technical Co-Founder I still really like the classic idea of finding a technical co-founder. Someone that shares your passion, commitment and responsibility, and is equally experienced, just on the tech-side. And if you’re looking for one, you should from the team at Altar.io. read this But whether or not that’s a better option, I couldn’t say for sure. I think it would make a lot of things easier. Building an MVP with an agency can be costly, and there is often the perception that solo founders working with agencies are a bad bet. “But the reality is, finding that dream technical co-founder is so hard.” As I mentioned earlier, I was: Going to random tech meetups approaching people to make connections Reaching out through my contacts to find someone who could help Going through my LinkedIn connections to see if I knew someone who knew someone Signing up to various websites I’m glad I spent the time I did trying to find that perfect technical co-founder. A couple of times I even tried to convince myself I’d found them – as many founders do. But at the end of the day, no one I met had the perfect combination of skills, passion and willingness to leave their job to join me. I wouldn’t hesitate to use an agency if you can’t find a technical co-founder. Just . make sure it’s the right agency Expert Tip “Outsource the job to be done. Not the reason it needs to be done nor the ownership of what needs to be done; outsource the skills and work in the same manner that you’d hire the best resources for any job” Paul O’Brien, Founder of MediaTech Ventures Final Thoughts Expect more than a few bumps along the way and prepare to be persistent. You’ll make mistakes, people around you will make mistakes and everything takes longer than you would expect (this bothers me still today). Ultimately, the secret to surviving the roller coaster is surrounding yourself with people you can trust. People who believe in your idea as much as you do. Regardless of whether it’s a technical co-founder, CTO or an agency. Focus on finding the right fit for you and go for it. This article was originally published here by Dudley Gould

Building a Tech Startup  Without a Technical Co-Founder 

When building your startup you can have a great idea and the perfect market conditions and still come up short. For both your startup and investors, execution is key. Just look at this slide I found from Alexander Jarvis on Quora: You and your startup team, especially at a management level, are a huge factor as to whether you secure investment or if your pitch ends up in an investor’s trash can. And the first person investors look at as they decide whether or not you are deserving of their time and money is you, the founder. What Startup Investors Look For In Entrepreneurs and The Red Flags They Avoid Investors, like most educated gamblers, bet on the jockey – not the horse. Making you the most important asset for a successful fundraising round – especially if you have a proven track record. that: Studies show “Successful serial entrepreneurs are more likely to replicate the success of their past companies.” and “Nearly 80% of [startup] unicorns had at least one co-founder who had previously founded a company of some sort.” However, regardless of your previous success need to get to know you before they consider investing. They need to trust that you can execute your milestones and that you will provide a valuable ROI. To earn their trust and ultimately win them over you need these essential qualities: investors Character Confidence Coachability Character Renowned leadership guru states that “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” Simon Sinek If an investor doesn’t know why you are creating your startup what incentive do they have to invest in you; as opposed to the thousands of other founders out there. If they can’t be sure their money is in the hands of an intelligent, capable, trustworthy founder they are unlikely to commit to a deal. Moreover, they aren’t just planning to invest capital in your business but also their valuable time. They are looking to create a long-term business relationship with you and share their expertise and network. If they don’t like or trust you they simply won’t do it. Your character is a critical factor and potential investors will want to answer the following questions about you: – “Can you do this?” Is the question nearly all financial backers will want the answer to. Demonstrating competence is challenging, but can be made easier if you have been part of (or already founded) a successful startup. Competency – Are you totally invested in your startup? Are you still working for someone else or have you taken the leap?  How hard do you work? Commitment – Do you tell the truth? Any lies you tell will inevitably backfire. (Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School) sums it up perfectly: “The first time you hear anything dishonest come out of a founder’s mouth, you should run, not walk” Honesty Howard Stevenson – More than telling the truth, do you keep your word and deliver on your promises? Trustworthiness – Aside from the above are you the kind of person they will be happy to introduce to their professional networks? Will they enjoy working with you over the next three to five years? Who you are underneath it all Confidence It may seem obvious but you need to be confident that you, your idea and your team can overcome the inevitable challenges of founding a startup. You will need to get used to hearing no from investors, clients, banks and even family and friends. It’s important to develop a thick skin and generate self-confidence no matter the hurdles that arise. However, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance – and it’s a line you will need to tread carefully. Overconfidence and arrogance will make you look like a “know-it-all” to investors. If they decide that you won’t be open to guidance and new ideas it will be a deal-breaking red flag and they will walk away. The best way to ensure that you’re portraying confidence and not arrogance is to support your claims with facts and figures. Coachability Do you listen well? Can you learn quickly and effectively? These are two factors essential for investors. They want to feel their time (and money) is well spent and that they are in a founder who is open to learning and being mentored. investing A good (smart money) investor will want to nurture a mentor-mentee relationship with you. A receptive mind is a vital quality that you will need. , an active early-stage investor in Google and Paypal (and Founder of ) puts it this way: Ron Conway SV Angel “Coachability enables a willingness to be open and make the necessary and often numerous course corrections and morphing that startups require.” The Red Flags & Dealbreakers for Investors There are seven “deadly sins” that will leave you investor-less and could potentially harm your reputation. Here they are and how you can avoid them: 1. Dishonesty As I mentioned before lies inevitably backfire. Lying about any aspect of your business (or yourself) will plant a seed of doubt into the minds of any potential investor. They will do the necessary research into you and your company to verify your claims before they open their wallets – so be upfront and honest at all times. 2. Telling Them you Have “No Competition” Even if your product is the most innovative product the world has ever seen you will either be disrupting an existing market or creating a new market that will quickly fill with investors. 3. Saying you “Only Need 1% of the Market Share” This is a great way to show investors that you don’t understand sales or customer CPA (cost-per-acquisition). Instead of talking in market share talk in customers. Specifically how many you need, how much you will spend to get them and how long it will take for you to get to that number. 4. Failing to Fulfil Your Commitments When asked about what might kill a potential deal for her clients Managing Director of said on aspect is when a “startup’s management takes too long to get us requested information – while it may not kill a deal, it will certainly make us more cautious.” Investors want to know that you take your commitments seriously and that you are prepared to fulfil requests in a timely manner. Marcia Nelson Alberleen Family Office Solutions 5. Being Desperate Desperation can break a business partnership before it begins and shows investors that you are unconfident. 6. Being Arrogant or Defensive As I mentioned above confidence and arrogance are close neighbours and it’s important not to come off too strong. 7. An Unwillingness to Listen Own your weaknesses. Investors will be put off if you act like you have all the answers and don’t need any help. You will need guidance and help on your journey and investors already know that. If you admit your faults and actively seek advice you will be left with a much healthier and more productive business relationship. As a founder, it is your responsibility to make as easy as possible for investors to say yes to both you and your startup. You have to put yourself in the best position to form a great partnership that will be a lucrative deal for all parties involved. And the next step in that process is choosing your founding team, Choosing Your Co-Founders The founder who will lead the company isn’t necessarily the inventor. It is someone who believes in the startup’s idea and product. So much so that they are willing to put their future on the line to turn that idea into a successful company. You should try and choose professionals that have the skills you lack. Someone who has a skillset to offer in another part of the business. Their skills should complement yours. Another important factor is ensuring your values, expectations and business goals are aligned. You and your co-founders will become your startup’s core management team. It’s important to be on the same page when it comes to your startup’s mission, business goals, values and timeline. You need to ask yourself if your personalities are compatible. , Managing Partner at Initialized Capital and previously at YCombinator puts it perfectly: Gary Tan Will you be able to embrace the conflict with this person? Discussing disagreements on a level playing field to improve your business? It comes down to one overarching question: Can you work together over a long period of time? After all, what good is it if their hard skills complement yours if you don’t actually like the person you have chosen as your cofounder? Investors will take the dynamics of your relationship into account as they assess if your startup will be the right fit for their portfolio. As well as assessing your co-founder on the same essential qualities they judged you on. I recommend that you thoroughly and carefully consider a business partner as you would a life partner. Ask yourself, if in the toughest times will that person remember that you are both on the same team and be by your side? More importantly, will they be an asset to your business. Serial entrepreneur, formula is simple: People + Execution = Success. Your potential investors are counting on you and your startup management team to execute on your business plan, gain traction and, ultimately, bring in revenue no matter the hurdles. Andy Miller’s Your founding team’s primary responsibility is to plan your journey to market that avoids potential roadblocks. Then, when unexpected roadblocks do inevitably appear, you and your founding team use that plan to navigate them. As puts it: Sean Sheppard “Most companies and innovations fail, and the reasons have to do with markets and the behaviours of the people who are running them, not the products themselves”. You need to be able to trust and count on your co-founders. Choose correctly and you will have a strong foundation on which to move onto the next step: building a startup team. How to Build a Team for Your Startup For your startup to grow you will need to assemble a team of top talent who will bring skills to the table that helps you execute your business plan. This factor is important to investors, after all, if you are unable to execute your idea, they won’t see a positive ROI. Finding the right startup team structure is a delicate combination of art and science where every new role is a key hire. In a big corporation and mediocre employee can fall under the radar – or at least only cause minimal damage to the company. Whereas in a small team a mediocre hire in the first five years can risk the entire venture. Many founders fail to build a successful startup team. Early-stage startups rarely have an HR manager so it is left to the founding team to hire. And, for most founders, hiring is just one of a thousand urgent tasks that they have to do as quickly as possible – so, understandably, many take every shortcut possible. Know Your Strengths, Identify Your Weaknesses Most startup founders have one core strength. Along the road, they may have developed additional strengths that complement their primary, but no one is the best at every business aspect. Therefore when hiring you need to make a list of strengths and weaknesses within your startup – just as you did when you were searching for co-founders. Ask yourself what is your business missing in terms of: Core competencies Experience Personal qualities Perspectives Building your startup team is an opportunity to find people who fill the talent gaps that will help your growth and speed up your success. Looking in All the Right Places states that the first 100 hires at most tech companies typically come through referrals. However, I wouldn’t recommend hiring some purely because they have been referred by someone. All hires need to complete your interview process. It is the only way to ensure they have the abilities, experiences and, above all, the personality and soft skills to fit well into your startup’s ecosystem. Sam Altman As for actively seeking new hires, you can start by looking at other startups, entrepreneurial-based business programs, startup incubators, local coworking office spaces and trade shows. Startup employees tend to be younger, at earlier stages of their career and are therefore less locked in to the “big corp” culture. That being said never turn down a candidate purely based on their age or background. Your Rigorous Hiring Process You need to take your time in planning new hires. I recommend planning your hiring needs around 12-18 months in advance to avoid panic hiring. You should allow six months to actually find that new hire and you should always have candidates in the pipeline. Most importantly, you should have a thorough process in place for vetting your potential employees. Here are some elements that might be included in your hiring process: An initial screening to make sure the candidate’s core competencies for the role – this can be done through assessing the candidate’s resume. An Interview to meet the candidate and assess the team fit in terms of their soft skills. Thorough vetting of the candidate’s references Spending time with the candidates individually and within a team. Bear in mind, also, that whoever is doing the interviewing needs to communicate your startup’s values, vision and culture clearly. You will ultimately be “selling” candidates your company and making them excited to join your team. Your initial hires will have to wear many hats and together you will probably moulding and creating their role as you go along. Your startup’s product, market, and premise may change through the company’s journey. The only thing that will keep the team moving in the same direction is your startup’s vision, values and culture. Look For Diverse Personalities Initial employees in a startup are different from those who are great at their jobs in an established company. Not unlike founders, these initial hires are usually more comfortable with taking risks. They are more optimistic and flexible when it comes to job descriptions and roles within the company. It is important to balance your team with different personalities. By this, I mean some who are: – Those who make ideas into reality by assigning tasks and organising processes. Executors – who have the ability to compel people with narratives, a key element to building connections Creatives – these personalities are great at living in the moment and are able to ask great follow-up questions Listeners – a combination of listener and executor. Someone who can understand what someone is sharing and act on it according Communicators – A combination of the listener and communicator, this personality is able to listen objectively to two sides of an argument and come to a solution. Mediators – This personality envelops themselves in the company culture and is able to get other employees onboard on pretty much every aspect of your startup. Whether it is helping onboard new hires, or making sure everyone turns up to team events such as dinners, drinks, team-building exercises, etc. Recruiters In a , I’ve talked about how all members of your startup team need to have a “Musketeer’s Attitude” of “all for one and one for all.” previous article This is imperative for any startup team. They should take ownership, as a group, that the job is carried out. When one person wins, the whole group wins. When one fails, the whole team takes that failure on their shoulders and support each other to find a solution. Related: 10 Different Types of Developers You’re Likely to Find Be Smart When it Comes to Compensation Those attracted to working at a startup are rarely driven by high salaries. In fact, most entrepreneurs will take a pay cut for the opportunity to be in on the ground floor of an exciting young startup. They are instead motivated by a combination of long term equity or stock opportunities twinned with lifestyle benefits such as flexible hours, autonomy, a creative work environment, making a difference and pride of inventorship. When it comes to non-critical skills or short-term needs I would recommend outsourcing – provided you do it in the right way. Paying for services when possible is typically cheaper and quicker than hiring someone in-house and paying them with long-term equity options. The Second Wave Hiring both your founding and core team is a challenge. However, arguably, a larger challenge is the second wave of hires as your company grows – and it is equally important to long-term investors. It is the responsibility of the founding team and long-term employees to do everything possible to help onboard new employees into the culture of your startup. Something worth bearing in mind from day one; it is up to you to set the precedent for your team when it comes to your desired company culture. Your Third-Party Advisors & Investors Advisory boards are vital to your startup’s expansion – and some of your investors may join this board. And, as with smart money investors, the goal is to build a group with a broad knowledge and industry expertise. Without creating an imbalance within your in-house team. External advisors is another way to fill the gaps in your team’s expertise, with the added bonus of industry influence in many cases. An advisor’s responsibility is to help you and your founding team run the business. This is the key difference between a board of advisors and board of directors. They are important partners for your startup and are usually compensated with common shares, similar to management and employees. There are some cases where advisors are simply on your payroll. This is different from a board of directors. They are responsible to the shareholders and, therefore, become the boss of the founders. Their responsibility is to make money for the company. In an ideal scenario, they do this by helping you and your founding team execute your vision. But sometimes they will just replace the founding team with more experienced management. Note: Keeping Your Foundership as Your Company Grows As your startup progresses you will be diluting your company at every round as you bring on new investors. A concern of many founders is keeping control of their company for as long as possible. At the early stages, it’s important to negotiate your valuation so you don’t dilute your company too quickly. One thing you can do when presented with an investor who is asking for a lot of equity is to negotiate and offer them a board seat. Most will be happy with a lower equity stake at this point. As a board member, they have a legally binding vote in regard to the running of the company. At this point, you have to consider, of course, whether they have the experience in your industry to be a good fit on your board of directors. I recently , Founder and CEO of , this is how he summed up the issue of control: interviewed Paul O’Brien MediaTech Ventures Wrapping Up As says, when building a startup “everything goes wrong and only great teams can respond to competitors, markets, funding environments, staff departures, PR disasters and the like.” Mark Suster So even though your team is just one aspect of investor’s decision making; it’s arguably the most important one. I’ll leave you with another quote from Simon Sinek which, in my opinion, encapsulates why the right startup team is so important to investors: This post was originally published by Paolo Dotta, Co-Founder at Altar.io.

How Startup Investors Evaluate Entrepreneurs 

77 Leaders in the Tech Industry Share Their #MyStartInTech Stories

For anyone that has been following crypto in 2017, hearing about the next hot ICOs has been par for the course. Having a phonetic similarity to IPO and only having 3 syllables when each character is sounded out, has definitely played to its “cool” factor. And, for folks that want to play up their hipness in the space, saying “īkō” as a 2-syllable word can sound even catchier. Regardless of your stance on ICOs are, they are a novel fundraising phenomenon. Having largely been popularized by the founding of Ethereum in July 2015, ICOs standing for Initial Coin Offerings have taken the early stage market by storm. technology What is an ICO? But what exactly is an ICO? In short, ICOs are a global fundraising mechanism for -based technology companies. These companies issue a new cryptographic digital asset in exchange for more established cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. These companies typically use the raised funds for the launch of a brand-new company, and, in some cases, a new service or capability within an established company. The ICO mechanism has served as a launch point to make that possible. In return, ICO investors receive tokens at some predefined crypto exchange rate. blockchain Generally, these tokens are expected to have platform utility and secondary market liquidity. This investment vehicle is highly speculative and risky. In a worst case scenario, any investor should be prepared to lose of their investment. ALL The Speculative Why Those unfamiliar with ICOs might be asking, “Why would anyone invest in such a thing?” Simply put, while the traditional investment world looks for ROI in terms of “%,” ICO investors are looking for returns in terms of “x.” Extreme ICO performance has yielded results in excess of 90x. Now, the possibility of a 9000% return in many cases is well worth the associated risk. While 90x is exceptional, a return of 200–400% in a matter of weeks or months has by no stretch of the imagination, been outside the realm of possibility. Photo by Michał Parzuchowski And while all of this may seem like high stakes gambling, keep in mind that the highest payout when playing roulette, a popular casino game, is 35-to-1. And the lowest roulette payout is a matching 1-to-1. For those investing in the stock market, “beating the market” tends to mean beating a 6–8% year over year yield. When looking at speculative investment, there are few steroid-like options such as these, short of trading with leverage and buying up derivatives, such as options and futures contracts. Typically No Equity With rare exception, most ICOs to date have not issued any equity in their respective companies. This essentially means that they have in many cases raised millions of dollars without giving up ownership in their respective companies. (Note that this primarily holds true at the retail investor level. There are likely to have been equity terms provided to institutional investors that make larger investments in these companies, similar to what you would expect from traditional early stage capital markets. Also, I expect crypto token equity offerings are due to increase in the years to come.) Coinschedule Statistics The Regulated Security Predicament To make the ICO even more vexing of a subject, many of these ICOs have been executed under the pretense that their token offering is not a regulated security. While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States has begun voicing their stance and taking action against companies who are clearly in violation of the certain terms that would qualify any investment as a security, many technology companies pursuing this funding mechanism have gone to great lengths to protect their tokens from being considered a security. To date the SEC has: Released , Report of Investigation Pursuant to Section 21(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: The DAO, №81207 on July 25, 2017 Provided a by the SEC Chairman James Clayton Statement on Cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings Issued its first cease and desist order against an in-progress ICO by Munchee, Inc., . ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING File №3–18304, SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 Release №10445, December 11, 2017 Now if you were a company and you could raise millions of dollars without giving up equity, why wouldn’t you take advantage of this opportunity? While most would not say “no” to this type of funding opportunity, ICOs are not easy to launch, nor are they guaranteed to be successful. And the consequences of launching a failed ICO can be devastating. Early Stage Capital and the ICO Market In the age of startups, the early stage capital market has consisted of Seed and Angels investors, Venture Capital Funds, accelerators and incubators, specialized banking services, and various crowdfunding platforms. The crown jewels of these investment methods has typically been access to equity, future revenues, and in some cases control over the direction of the candidate company. While I am confident that the early stage capital market is still alive and well, a was fired this June 2017. June was the first month where ICO fundraising took in over $500 million in equivalent crypto capital priced in US Dollars, whereas Angel, & Seed VC Funding in the space was approximately $300 million. To put it bluntly, ICO fundraising on a per dollar basis was more than early stage capital in its equivalent category. shot over the bow Internet/Tech While this June ICO fundraising compared with traditional Early Stage Capital could have been an anomaly, July reinforced this market phenomenon. July ICOs were just over $300 million, while angel and early VC funding was just over $200 million. If you are an internet-based early stage investor, this recent trend is a troubling turn of events and has most likely made you reconsider your investment strategy and terms for getting into blockchain-based internet tech deals. Red Flags, Controversy, and Bubble Rhetoric Since ICOs issue a cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency is largely attributed to Bitcoin in mainstream media, the word “Bubble” is frequently thrown around. And for those who have been following additional cryptocurrencies that have also appreciated substantially in value the Bubble argument becomes even stronger. So are we in a Bubble? This is a complicated topic and my personal belief is that the answer is both Yes and No. Photo by Alejandro Alvarez . If by bubble, you mean that investors from the institutional to retail level are bidding up the price of newly issued tokens as speculative opportunities, then the answer is in cases . Token price some some yes . If by bubble, you mean that of these companies executing ICOs are not effectively managing the supply of their tokens from ICO launch or through the maturation of the business, then in cases the answer is . Token Supply some some yes . If by bubble, you mean that of these companies executing ICOs are receiving excessive amounts of capital, essentially overcapitalizing them, then the answer in cases is . Overcapitalization some some yes . If by bubble, you mean that of these companies launching ICOs do not have an actual product and will eventually fail at building, deploying, or even growing a meaningful userbase, then the answer in cases is . Pre-product Ventures some some yes . If by bubble, you mean that there are little or no investor protections in place and that investors will be outright defrauded and have no recourse for their losses, then this is a resounding . Lack of Regulation and Investor Protection some yes . Crypto assets are trading in highly fragmented markets and the prices by which assets are trading generally do not reflect the true value of the underlying asset, but rather the marginal price of the last exchange of that asset. This is supply and demand economics at its best. Notionally, all of the circulating supply of those tokens inherently have the value of the last traded price, but varying degrees of asset liquidity combined with fragile market dynamics make these assets’ prices anything but stable and at high risk of crashing in the event of market sell-offs. Marginal Price Phenomenon and Asset Fragility While there is much more to consider than just token price, token supply, overcapitalization, product risk, and general lack of regulation, the intent is not to painstakingly examine the bubble argument in gross detail, but to provide you with the traditional business case answer to the complex bubble question and tell you that — “ ” It depends… Despite all of these bubble-oriented risks — there are positive trends emerging in this sizzling hot investment arena. The Case for the Crash As much as the blockchain and crypto community does not want to see a market crash, we may very well be heading for one. Millions of dollars in crypto are being sloshed around as if it is . The propagation of higher crypto values make it even easier for new ICOs to get funded. business as usual Take for example someone who invested $10,000 in crypto. Let’s assume that over a period of 6–12 months they 10x’d their investment and now they are sitting on $100,000 of crypto. It is now possible for this individual to invest that newfound money. Let’s say this person wants to diversify in 10 ICOs each at $10,000 a piece. Previously, this individual would not have had this money available to invest, but now 10 new projects are getting $10,000 of new money being invested in them. No big deal, right? Photo by Clem Onojeghuo Now let’s assume that the entire market 10x’d their investments over a comparable period of time and they also feel as if investing in ICOs is a sound investment vehicle. Now let’s say that there are 5 million people in the world that are holding $10,000 in crypto. At the onset this represents $50 billion of money in the system. After their holdings 10x, now their collective investable capital available is $500 billion… You get the idea. And with today’s market cap sitting just over $700 billion. These figures are comparable to reality. This base case with retail investors having a uniform distribution of capital available to them is one way to look at this asset space, but this is not the case. The distribution is highly skewed with crypto whales and institutions wielding large amounts of crypto capital, and retail investors holding much smaller amounts. This market cannot cash out to fiat money and still remain intact. While there are an endless amount of hypotheticals that can be considered to sustain the current market environment in a relative homeostasis, I would like to highlight the following as critical requirements: needs to continue to be invested in the crypto market New money Existing crypto holders need to and converting back to fiat minimize cashing out Existing cryptocurrencies and ICOs their crypto market capitalizations by delivering real value need to merit This drunk money phenomena combined with central governments’ need to maintain control over flows of capital and tax collections is precarious at best. Layer on the threat of the criminal underworld and terrorist financiers taking advantage of crypto’s unique capabilities and there may be harsh policies put in place for ICOs, crypto trading, general legality, and the ability for the traditional banking sector to interact with crypto customers and businesses alike. The Case for Optimism There are in fact positive market trends that present a case for real optimism, shoring up some of the risks and associated concerns mentioned above. Photo by Austin Chan Blockchain technology is rapidly improving Increases in transactions per second Improvements to consensus algorithms Security protocols are advancing (consider Quantum Resistance initiatives) Protocols are becoming more interoperable Smart Contract capabilities are advancing Code libraries are in development that will facilitate the automation and integration of efficient and reusable smart contracts Poorly designed smart contracts will be replaced with stronger code Investors are getting smarter As the volume of blockchain-based projects ICOing increase, investors are forced to conduct stronger due diligence Terms such as overall supply, discount rates, lockup periods and governance models are just some of the many considerations investors are more closely looking at Bad projects will fail As ICOs fail, the market will become even more efficient. Few things force markets efficiency than sudden losses of capital. The post-mortems on these companies will serve as lessons to the ICO investing community as to the indicators, timelines, and triggers related to the failure of blockchain-based companies. Good projects will succeed Conversely, the indicators, timelines and core contributing factors that enable good companies to survive in their respective industries, markets, and technology stacks will serve as comparable points of reference for future investors. Bitcoin correlation and market dominance decreasing The crypto market is slowly decoupling from Bitcoin. For sometime Bitcoin served as the bellwether of all things crypto. With each new project that comes online, the crypto market capitalization will become more distributed, slowly reducing the market cap percentage of Bitcoin While Bitcoin can spike in price offsetting the growth and market dominance of other cryptocurrencies, I am confident that the net effect of the price of Bitcoin will matter less and less over time. Decoupling is important so that ICOs and the market altogether do not react as harshly as it has to the rampant volatility that most Bitcoin holders are frequently subject to. ICO Standards will continue to develop There have already been attempts at creating ICO standards. These will likely become more robust in time. See the following links for some of the latest developments: where participants contribute ETH to a smart contract, and get tokens in exchange after the terms and requirements of the contract are met. Vitalik Buterin’s Decentralized Autonomous ICO (DAICO) Growth of self-regulatory initiatives such as and the Hong Kong-based Financial Commission on ICO Certification ICO Governance Foundation Russia Developing Global ICO Ratings Standard With 30 Countries Waves and leading market players are founding a new self-regulatory body to set standards for ICOs . NEO-based ICO standards Government authorities will continue to implement guidance and enforcement actions As there is an indisputable linkage between investor regulatory issues and the need for organizations such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to deliver guidance on ICOs. Other regulatory bodies will also get involved. Growth of Cryptocurrency Both institutions and retail investors are more widely adopting cryptocurrency. Data out of South Korea, a country representing one of the most active cryptocurrency markets, show that And while there are ongoing efforts to regulate trading activity in South Korea, protecting the population from the associated risks of investing in crypto, the overall growth is staggering. approximately one-third of its countries workers are crypto investors. The net effect of more market participants will likely be increased market liquidity and while many hope for market stabilization, I project that more liquid markets are resilient and that even in the wake of volatility, they will more quickly rebound than markets that are not. Onset of Asset-backed Cryptocurrency, Putting Real-world Assets on Blockchains There are a number of ventures that are tokenizing real work assets. Some of the projects in this space include: Gold Tokenization. and Digix Global GoldMint Real Estate. and ATLANT Velocity Ledger Artwork. and Maecenas CryptoKitties Futures Contracts. Evermarkets Issuance of company equity. As tokens have the capacity to represent real shares within a company, the issuance of such tokens are on the horizon Advancements in Blockchain interoperability While blockchain itself unlocks powerful capabilities through decentralization and newly deployed technology-based trust mechanics, advancements in blockchain interoperability will likewise unlock those “would-be” platform- based siloed features and capabilities with compounding effects. These advancements will flourish as we gain more integrations for protocols and solutions. Some highlights include: , sending payments across different ledgers Interledger Protocol , ARK’s Smartbridge technology ’s Decentralized Exchange and Open Protocol Loopring ’s Peer-to-Peer trading network Airswap Atomic Swap capabilities such as the cross-chain interaction between Decred (DCR) and Litecoin (LTC) . Onchain, the company behind NEO (the blockchain, commonly referred to as the Ethereum of China), has its eyes set on a well-developed inter-blockchain network. Onchain’s Distributed Network Architecture (DNA) The 2018 Outlook Photo by Evan Kirby Confused? Fearful? Optimistic? Welcome the club. We are in highly unstable and formative times as it relates to the overall health of the crypto markets. This market can be sent into a tailspin by the smallest of events or by many events occurring over a period of time. The market continues to be shocked by news designed to spread FUD — Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, the advent of derivatives markets, and seemingly excessive sovereign regulatory measures (e.g. outright bans on ICO investing and cryptocurrency trading) to name a few. . People have commented on Bitcoin as being an antifragile asset and that this may apply to a host of other crypto assets. But even if a number of crypto assets gain strength and resilience from market instability, that does not mean that it applies to the entire market landscape. Antifragility We do know now that blockchain tech is resilient, powerful and here to stay, but that does not guarantee that the crypto markets can continue to resist a crash. The boom bust cycle is all too familiar to those who have lived through the Dot-com bubble in the 1990s, the financial crisis of 2008, and the follow-on Euro-debt crisis through 2012. Blockchain Resilience. I do predict that there will be a market crash (one that can be recovered from), but I do not believe that 2018 will be the year. This market is too promising, too new, and gaining too much media attention for their to be a mass exodus. I believe 2018 will be a year of unprecedented market growth whereby we reach a market capitalization of $1.5 trillion to $2.5 trillion globally. Past that, we will need to continually assess the market environment and determine whether sustainable fundamentals are developing and shoring up major risk factors. Today, I am not a believer that the necessary fundamentals are there. Even despite this, I am quite optimistic about future market growth. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 0x94b43854Aaec027a499B4566d761e0E94b222E28 For more articles like this feel free to contribute any amount of ETH or ERC20 tokens to this address:

ICO Health Check & 2018 Outlook

There are plenty of entrepreneurs who can talk about turning adversity into opportunity. Still, they’re usually just talking about “failing up” or rolling a bad investment into a lucky investment later. What they aren’t talking about is paying their way through college while bedridden with illness, unless it’s Mostofa Adib Shakib who’s saying it. If it’s Shakib, that’s precisely what he means. At 15, stuck in bed for months and missing his 11th-grade exams, Shakib invested $5 on his first eCommerce venture, KurT’s Steam Store, selling videogame cosmetics. He made over $30,000 on that, and the scholarships were enough to take him from Bangladesh to the US. At Texas Tech University, Adib earned two bachelor's degrees and two minors, completed six software engineering internships, taught students programming for more than three years, and created new opportunities for students interested in computer science, which is something Mostofa Adib Shakib specializes in. Creating Opportunity and Change: University Hackathons “I started university without any programming experience and quickly learned that companies at our job fair don’t hire international students,” says Shakib, who made it his business to start excelling at Hackathons. He received the Best Web Design Award at a Rice University hackathon and outright won at Princeton University, then started Texas Tech University’s first hackathon-focused student organization. He helped his fellow students gain skills and attend competitions there, which inspired the University to host its own Hackathon in six years. These achievements led RaiderHacks to become the 2nd best new student organization of the year. By the time he graduated, Shakib’s foreign student status didn’t stop job offers from Snapchat, Twitter, and Amazon. At Snapchat, he joined the Platform and Performance Team, where he could contribute to projects that would impact millions of users. During this time, Shakib also became interested in DeFi tech and co-founded a blockchain startup that participated in the NSF I-Corps program, won a regional nomination, and received invitations to prestigious events like the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference alongside grants from the US Government. New Educational Solutions: Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh These experiences positioned Shakib well to begin solving the problems he once overcame as a youth in Bangladesh. During a trip home, he says, “I noticed that many people were complaining about how directionless they were and how the lack of high-quality CS educational resources limited their ability to upskill themselves.” Not everyone could do what Shakib had once done, earning tens of thousands to travel to a foreign country for education. So, in April 2023, Shakib began Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh “with the vision to provide guidance, insides, and high-quality CS educational resources in Bangla, as well as to create a much-needed hackathon culture in Bangladesh.” A year later, the initiative grew to over 50,000 followers, and the first Bangladesh-wide hackathon was set to be judged by industry experts from major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, etc. The Transformational Power of Sharing New Ideas Aside from having spoken at Bangladeshi universities, Shakib has also been a judge & Mentor at a Stanford University hackathon. He has also been named an AI2030 Global Fellow and has become a venture investor in Gaingels, a major American venture capital firm with over $700 million in assets under management. He is also the founder of Variant Technologies, the holding company behind Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh, an AI MediaTech startup called ViralVisionAI, and has been selected to become a mentor for Techstars Global - the top global startup accelerator in the world. That’s a lot for one person to do, but Shakib is making the most of the opportunities he’s created for himself, using them to create new opportunities and bring new visions to life. By situating himself at “the intersection of business and technology,” Shakib wants to find solutions and helm a startup that “is making life easier and better for millions of people.” Part of this means helping to transform Bangladesh into a tech hub and creating AI-powered software solutions. There’s a lot of work to be done, but Mostofa Adib Shakib is thriving, and he can’t wait to share his great ideas with the world. There are plenty of entrepreneurs who can talk about turning adversity into opportunity. Still, they’re usually just talking about “failing up” or rolling a bad investment into a lucky investment later. What they aren’t talking about is paying their way through college while bedridden with illness, unless it’s Mostofa Adib Shakib who’s saying it. If it’s Shakib, that’s precisely what he means. At 15, stuck in bed for months and missing his 11th-grade exams, Shakib invested $5 on his first eCommerce venture, KurT’s Steam Store , selling videogame cosmetics. He made over $30,000 on that, and the scholarships were enough to take him from Bangladesh to the US. Mostofa Adib Shakib Mostofa Adib Shakib KurT’s Steam Store KurT’s Steam Store At Texas Tech University, Adib earned two bachelor's degrees and two minors, completed six software engineering internships, taught students programming for more than three years, and created new opportunities for students interested in computer science, which is something Mostofa Adib Shakib specializes in. Creating Opportunity and Change: University Hackathons “I started university without any programming experience and quickly learned that companies at our job fair don’t hire international students,” says Shakib, who made it his business to start excelling at Hackathons. He received the Best Web Design Award at a Rice University hackathon and outright won at Princeton University, then started Texas Tech University’s first hackathon-focused student organization. He helped his fellow students gain skills and attend competitions there, which inspired the University to host its own Hackathon in six years. These achievements led RaiderHacks to become the 2nd best new student organization of the year. By the time he graduated, Shakib’s foreign student status didn’t stop job offers from Snapchat, Twitter, and Amazon. At Snapchat, he joined the Platform and Performance Team, where he could contribute to projects that would impact millions of users. During this time, Shakib also became interested in DeFi tech and co-founded a blockchain startup that participated in the NSF I-Corps program, won a regional nomination, and received invitations to prestigious events like the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference alongside grants from the US Government. New Educational Solutions: Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh New Educational Solutions: Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh These experiences positioned Shakib well to begin solving the problems he once overcame as a youth in Bangladesh. During a trip home, he says, “I noticed that many people were complaining about how directionless they were and how the lack of high-quality CS educational resources limited their ability to upskill themselves.” Not everyone could do what Shakib had once done, earning tens of thousands to travel to a foreign country for education. So, in April 2023, Shakib began Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh “with the vision to provide guidance, insides, and high-quality CS educational resources in Bangla, as well as to create a much-needed hackathon culture in Bangladesh.” A year later, the initiative grew to over 50,000 followers, and the first Bangladesh-wide hackathon was set to be judged by industry experts from major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, etc. Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh The Transformational Power of Sharing New Ideas The Transformational Power of Sharing New Ideas Aside from having spoken at Bangladeshi universities, Shakib has also been a judge & Mentor at a Stanford University hackathon. He has also been named an AI2030 Global Fellow and has become a venture investor in Gaingels, a major American venture capital firm with over $700 million in assets under management. He is also the founder of Variant Technologies, the holding company behind Coding Shikhbe Bangladesh, an AI MediaTech startup called ViralVisionAI, and has been selected to become a mentor for Techstars Global - the top global startup accelerator in the world. That’s a lot for one person to do, but Shakib is making the most of the opportunities he’s created for himself, using them to create new opportunities and bring new visions to life. By situating himself at “the intersection of business and technology,” Shakib wants to find solutions and helm a startup that “is making life easier and better for millions of people.” Part of this means helping to transform Bangladesh into a tech hub and creating AI-powered software solutions. There’s a lot of work to be done, but Mostofa Adib Shakib is thriving, and he can’t wait to share his great ideas with the world.

From Bangladesh to Texas: Shakib and the Power of Hackathons

বাংলাদেশ থেকে টেক্সাস পর্যন্ত: সাকিব অ্যান্ড দ্য পাওয়ার অফ হ্যাকাথন

Von Bangladesch nach Texas: Shakib und die Macht der Hackathons

De Bangladesh a Texas: Shakib y el poder de los hackathons

Du Bangladesh au Texas : Shakib et le pouvoir des hackathons

बांग्लादेश से टेक्सास तक: शाकिब और हैकाथॉन की शक्ति

バングラデシュからテキサスへ: シャキブとハッカソンの力

방글라데시에서 텍사스까지: Shakib과 해커톤의 힘

De Bangladesh ao Texas: Shakib e o poder dos Hackathons

От Бангладеш до Техаса: Шакиб и сила хакатонов

Bangladeş'ten Teksas'a: Shakib ve Hackathon'ların Gücü

Từ Bangladesh đến Texas: Shakib và sức mạnh của Hackathons

从孟加拉国到德克萨斯州：Shakib 和黑客马拉松的力量

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