Agenda
Recording for ClassAnnouncements & FeedbackTheoryAssignment TemplateStageAbaca Venture LevelIndustryExamplesIn NetworkDeep DiveOther ExamplesApplicationAssignment
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Announcements & Feedback
What Folks Want / Want to Avoid
What Folks Want
- Investment Insights: Understand personal investments, general investments, and impact investing in practice.
- Personal Ventures: Explore entrepreneurship, including launching sustainable businesses and nonprofits.
- Community Impact: Learn about community impact and how to contribute meaningfully.
- Continuous Learning: Focus on expanding their knowledge base as much as possible.
- Networking: Access networking opportunities and insights into the local VC scene.
- Quantifying Impact: Measure and articulate impact, such as through a "double bottom line."
What Folks Want to Avoid
- Avoiding Jargon: Prefer clear language over financial or technical jargon.
- Feeling Burdened: Avoid feeling like a burden, especially during late afternoon sessions.
- Theory Overload: Want a balance of theory and practical, hands-on approaches.
- Stress and Rigidity: Appreciate flexibility to prevent feeling overwhelmed.
- Greenwashing: Avoid insincere or superficial sustainability claims.
- Falling Behind: Do not want to lag in assignments or feel rushed.
- Cynicism: Seek to avoid negative or cynical attitudes.
Volunteer Opportunities (Limited Number of Spots)
Networking with VCs — Alliance of Angels, E8, TiE, Dreamward VC
Pitching to the Investment Committee
Theory
Today, we’re going to look at developing a thesis. The guide for how you choose what to invest in.
Assignment Template
My VC thesis is to invest companies that
Fundraising
Stage (e.g., pre-seed, seed)
Size (e.g., $1M, $10M, $100M round)
Product
Stage (e.g., concept, prototype, beta)
Type (e.g., hardware, software, services, brick & mortar, biotech)
Market Stage (e.g., pre-revenue, $0-100K, $100K-1M)
Team Type (e.g., BIPOC, technical)
Geography (e.g., regional, US, global)
We’ll start by reviewing a couple of key ideas
Stage
Abaca Venture Level
Abaca Venture Levels
Level
Typical Funding
Problem and Vision
Value Proposition
Team
Product
Market
Business Model
Scale
Investor Exit
Acquirer IPO
We're a global leader in solving the problem and continue to address it.
We're recognized as the best solution to this problem.
Our team is prepared to navigate a merger, acquisition, or IPO.
Our product is recognized as top in the industry.
We have a clear leadership position in the market.
Our revenue has been at scale for multiple years.
Unit economics are fully optimized in all customer segments.
We're on the cusp of producing an exit.
VC: Series C, D+
We're beginning to tackle additional higher-level problems.
Customers are replacing competitors with our product.
Our team is recognized as the industry leader.
Our product is in the top tier for solving industry standards.
We have clear partnerships driving growth.
We're rapidly scaling and growth is outpacing competitors.
Growth in our customer base is month-on-month.
We've turned some acquisition offers already.
VC: Series B, C
Our vision is clear, and we can expand on future opportunities.
The majority of our customers buy our product repeatedly.
We have the best team to scale the company.
Our product & tech are scalable and ready for high growth.
Our sales cycle is repeatable and data-backed.
We're building a profitable model across multiple metrics.
Our unit economics are fully repeatable in most customer segments.
We're fundraising from VC; we're in later stages of negotiations.
VC: Series A
Our vision is clearly defined and grounded.
We're selling beyond the first repeat customers.
Our management is proven, with experience in growth.
Our core product and technology are ready for large scale.
Our suppliers & customers are data-driven and growing.
Our customers recognize the value of pricing changes.
We're clearing regulatory hurdles in multiple markets.
We've identified our ideal investor & negotiation is on track.
VC: Seed + Angel
Our solution is delivering results, with evidence of impact.
Our initial product is finding consistent traction.
We have a clear understanding of our market and scale.
Our product is ready for early-stage growth.
We have early traction with partnerships forming.
Our business model supports profitable growth.
Our pricing model works well across early market segments.
Serious investors are considering our business.
Angel Friends & Family
We can explain and measure the problem, showing how to solve it.
Customer feedback indicates our solution works well.
We understand how to execute, with management in place.
Our team is ready to iterate based on market feedback.
We have early partnerships forming.
We've built a business model but are still validating it.
Customers show willingness to buy.
We're planning out pricing experiments & exploring investors.
Angel Friends & Family Personal Credit
We have evidence to support that our solution solves the problem.
We have evidence that customers will pay for our solution.
We have a skilled core team in place.
We have the ability to build and iterate on our product.
We know there’s a clear opportunity for us in our industry.
We have built a repeatable business model.
We're still working on pricing and scaling our solution.
An investor suggests we could hit the market soon.
Friends & Family Personal Credit
We've identified a problem and developed a solution for it.
We have a few potential customers showing interest.
We have a team with some skills and commitment.
We have the first version of our product ready for testing.
We know the general market size and opportunity.
We're starting to validate the business model.
Our product shows signs of potential fit with the market.
Investors are helping us refine the plan.
Friends & Family Personal Credit
We have a vision for how to solve the problem we're focused on.
We have identified potential customers.
We have 2+ founders with complementary skills.
We have a clear concept of our product and market.
We know the target customer exists and is reachable.
We're exploring potential business models.
We're still testing assumptions on product-market fit.
We have informal conversations with potential investors.
Industry
Examples
Assignment Template
My VC thesis is to invest companies that
Fundraising
Stage (e.g., pre-seed, seed)
Size (e.g., $1M, $10M, $100M round)
Product
Stage (e.g., concept, prototype, beta)
Type (e.g., hardware, software, services, brick & mortar, biotech)
Market Stage (e.g., pre-revenue, $0-100K, $100K-1M)
Team Type (e.g., BIPOC, technical)
Geography (e.g., regional, US, global)
Industry or Impact (e.g., healthcare, B2B, govtech)
In Network
Deep Dive
Assignment Template
My VC thesis is to invest companies that
Fundraising
Stage (e.g., pre-seed, seed)
Size (e.g., $1M, $10M, $100M round)
Product
Stage (e.g., concept, prototype, beta)
Type (e.g., hardware, software, services, brick & mortar, biotech)
Market Stage (e.g., pre-revenue, $0-100K, $100K-1M)
Team Type (e.g., BIPOC, technical)
Geography (e.g., regional, US, global)
Industry or Impact (e.g., healthcare, B2B, govtech)
Other Examples
Application
Arsh’s example thesis
$2-20M rounds
Post-revenue
US
Healthcare
We will
Show a set of startups
You’ll identify one that caught your eye
We’ll consider the thesis areas of the assignment template
Assignment Template
My VC thesis is to invest companies that
Fundraising
Stage (e.g., pre-seed, seed)
Size (e.g., $1M, $10M, $100M round)
Product
Stage (e.g., concept, prototype, beta)
Type (e.g., hardware, software, services, brick & mortar, biotech)
Market Stage (e.g., pre-revenue, $0-100K, $100K-1M)
Team Type (e.g., BIPOC, technical)
Geography (e.g., regional, US, global)
Industry or Impact (e.g., healthcare, B2B, govtech)
Assignment
Yes, share your thesis on Canvas
Choose 1 or more from the following:
My VC thesis is to invest companies that
Fundraising
Stage (e.g., pre-seed, seed)
Size (e.g., $1M, $10M, $100M round)
Product
Stage (e.g., concept, prototype, beta)
Type (e.g., hardware, software, services, brick & mortar, biotech)
Market Stage (e.g., pre-revenue, $0-100K, $100K-1M)
Team Type (e.g., BIPOC, technical)
Geography (e.g., regional, US, global)
Explain why and share an example of one company on WeFunder that somewhat aligns with your thesis.