4 Things A VC Wants To See Before Investing In Your Startup

Many Entrepreneurs spend months and some even years developing an idea. Ingressive Capital have received thousands of application for funding in the past few months and noticed that a lot of startups applying for funds have similar problems that stops them from getting funding for their startups.

There is a big competition in the industry, and there are so many things Venture Capitalists try to find in a startup before investing in one.

These four things are must haves for you to be able to get funding for your startup:

  1. Team: Ideas come and go but an agile team can pivot, venture capitalists take time to look and study the team of a startup because many investors know that a good team can pivot. Investors are looking for a good startup team and not just a good startup idea. Investing in an idea could turn out to be a loss but if the team is great it can lead to a better return on investment. Decisions are largely made based on the people involved, so it is critical to have a team that has chemistry, can move quickly and easily. Some of the things VCs look for in a team include business knowledge, willingness to learn and adapt, passion, communication skill and awareness of weakness.

  2. Skill set: It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill. Skill sets are very important to Venture Capitalists when making decisions about startups. Your ability as a startup to sell yourself, get things done, solve problems, identify inefficient business processes, being organized and structured. These skill sets are required for the growth of your startup and Venture Capitalists that want to invest look out for these skill sets. Great tech founders often combine more than one of these skill sets.

  3. Focus on a Scalable market: Affordability is the foundation of scalability, scalability allows businesses to expand and generate more revenue while minimizing the operational costs. A scalable product that can accomodate a large number of clients, will keep developing. Scalability is one of the most important factors to consider for your startup. Successful business growth depends on scalable business models that will over time increase profits, by growing revenue while avoiding cost increases. Venture Capitals are more interested in investing in a scalable product. Before approaching a VC, make sure your startup is focused on a scalable market.

  4. Build an interesting product: To build a great company you need a great product. To get the attention of a VC you need an interesting product, a special product, a good product, a product that can’t be easily replicable. Building a great product is a hard skill, a special skill. That is why this is very important because at the end no amount of money invested in marketing would sell a bad product, as David Ogilvy said: “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” Also, if it is an easily replicable product, in no time would you have competitors providing same service and this will saturate the market.

If you are a startup in the Sub-saharan Africa with these 4 qualities, you should apply for funding at Ingressive Capital. Also, join the Ingressive Community to meet Founders, Developers and Designers in the African Tech ecosytem.

5 Things Investors Look Out For When Investing In Startups

 5 Things Investors Look Out For When Investing In Startups

Investing in start-ups is not an easy task. Investors have to think about the risks and long term investment factors before investing. The process is not for the meek, as most experienced investors tend to be smart, sceptical and thorough in reviewing opportunities presented to them. Despite the amount of start-ups they may see, the truth of the matter is that there are several boxes that just about every investor likes to check before they'll invest, either money or additional time.