Why Are Most Startups Not Able To Raise Series-A Funding?

Most startups, even those who get angel funding or seed-stage funding or investments from accelerators/incubators, are unable to get follow-on funding. Why is Series-A funding so elusive? When Angel Investors invest in a startup, they do so after assessing whether the startup will be able to raise follow-on capital. That's how they have a chance of getting an exit for their investments. Why then, are startups not able to raise follow-on capital despite the mentoring and advice they receive from their angel investors or accelerators or incubators? At GHV Accelerator, we analyzed this problem and spoke to investors and startups to understand the reasons. And based on our conversations, we had some very interesting observations. Kindly note that these are reasons of decline by VC's, even when they believed that the opportunity was large and the concept/product was exciting. Reasons for startups to not get Series-A funding (This is in no order or priority, but investors mentioned

                  That they often see at least two of these reasons in angel-funded or accelerator-supported startups that they end up declining) When we spoke to startups, we realized that most were totally unprepared to engage with VCs. Here is a checklist of what we think startups should be prepared with. Of course, there are a whole lot more things that they need to be ready with, but these are absolutely necessary for even getting follow-up meetings after the initial interaction with VCs - research their past investments, understand their perspectives and thoughts on the market, etc. This helps startups align their thoughts and conversations in line with the VC perspective. Given that finding Series-A funding is such a challenge, we at GHV Accelerator, had organized webinar. Check the webinar details on - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy8W75wqAzw . About the Author : Vikram Upadhyaya, Accelerator Evangelist, GHV Accelerator Vikram is having diversified experience from Japanese Projects Offshoring to Global Corporate Strategy and New Ventures Turnaround, specialized for the Japan-India Cross Border Business execution. READ MORE

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Webinar on Legal Aspects While Raising Series A

Webinar at 3:00pm-4:00pm, on Friday, 19th December 2014

Are you a startup gearing up for Series A funding? Have you completed all your legal 

paperwork and formalities? Arm yourself with the knowledge of the entire legal deal and 

ensure a smooth sailing for your startup.

Click here to Register

Join us for insights and perspectives from Payal Chawla and Anurag Kapoor   

Anurag Kapoor

Excutive Director

GHV Accelerator

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Anurag is the Ex-cofounder and MD of MEGStrat Consulting.

With over 10 years of experience, some of his key expertise areas include business plan development and appraisal, brand promotion and marketing, investment research, business research, market research, strategy formulation, goal setting and leadership development.

Payal Chawla

Partner

Justcontractus

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Payal has had the opportunity of working on some exciting projects including foreign direct investment; acquisitions of listed/unlisted companies; marketing arrangement for a new product in the wireless mobile telephony space; real estate acquisitions; advising overseas entities on anti-trust and competition laws; sale of developments rights on land etc.

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What is Proof of Concept or POC?

Proof of Concept or POC, as the name indicates, is a test that provides evidence that the hypothesis on that concept has been proven. In business context, especially startups, POC could be a - hypothesis around a technology innovation, service, value proposition, price-point, business model or anything that needs to be proven or demonstrated.

For example, if you are building a software or hardware product, a POC could be done to demonstrate that the product works and performs the tasks that it is intended to do. In addition, when doing a POC, you will also have to check on things like ease of use by the user, bottlenecks and things that need to be improved in the product.

However, testing a product is just one component of the POC process for startups because you have not started a venture to just create a product. Your venture is about monetising the product – either by selling to someone who will pay for it, or by building a community/user base so that others (e.g. advertisers) will pay for using the product/service, or any other model in which the product or service can be monetised.

Testing your business idea

I often see startups declare that they have had a successful POC because they have developed a product that works. But one has to go beyond that. You have to test whether the business aspects around the product work as well.

For example, are you able to produce the product or deliver the service at a cost that will make it financially viable to launch? Are your intended customers seeing the value of the product or service, and most importantly, are they willing to pay the price that you estimate they would pay?

In other words, a Proof of Concept is about testing the commercial feasibility of a concept – whether it is a technology innovation, a product or a service.

POC vs. Prototype

Often startups get confused between a prototype and a POC. A prototype is just one component of a POC. POC is a broader term in which a prototype is just one aspect to be tested.

A prototype, or a MVP, is a rough/early or a version of the product that is not mass-produced, but produced as a single unit or in very small quantity to check if the product works as intended.

Why is POC important?

POC is important because without establishing that there is a reasonable chance of building a profitable business around the innovation or idea, there is no point in starting the business.

An innovative idea enamors many entrepreneurs, and they rush to convert that idea into a venture. But a startup is about building a business. How well you plan different aspects about your business is going to be as critical as the innovation or product or service or idea. And POC helps you test the financial viability and other aspects of the business for that innovation.

The writer of this article is Vikram Upadhyaya. He is the Chief Mentor and Accelerator Evangelist at GHV Accelerator. He is also the Co-Founder of the Indian Angel Network Incubator and an advisor to projects being undertaken through the Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCOE). - See more at: http://www.entrepreneurindia.com/article/features/columnists/What-is-Proof-of-Concept-or-POC-554/#sthash.9xsyo75x.dpuf

- See more at: http://www.entrepreneurindia.com/article/features/columnists/What-is-Proof-of-Concept-or-POC-554/#sthash.9xsyo75x.dpuf

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What is Proof of Concept or POC? (ENTREPRENEUR INDIA)

Proof of Concept or POC, as the name indicates, is a test that provides evidence that the hypothesis on that concept has been proven. In business context, especially startups, POC could be a - hypothesis around a technology innovation, service, value proposition, price-point, business model or anything that needs to be proven or demonstrated.

For example, if you are building a software or hardware product, a POC could be done to demonstrate that the product works and performs the tasks that it is intended to do. In addition, when doing a POC, you will also have to check on things like ease of use by the user, bottlenecks and things that need to be improved in the product.

However, testing a product is just one component of the POC process for startups because you have not started a venture to just create a product. Your venture is about monetising the product – either by selling to someone who will pay for it, or by building a community/user base so that others (e.g. advertisers) will pay for using the product/service, or any other model in which the product or service can be monetised.

Testing your business idea

I often see startups declare that they have had a successful POC because they have developed a product that works. But one has to go beyond that. You have to test whether the business aspects around the product work as well.

For example, are you able to produce the product or deliver the service at a cost that will make it financially viable to launch? Are your intended customers seeing the value of the product or service, and most importantly, are they willing to pay the price that you estimate they would pay?

In other words, a Proof of Concept is about testing the commercial feasibility of a concept – whether it is a technology innovation, a product or a service.

POC vs. Prototype

Often startups get confused between a prototype and a POC. A prototype is just one component of a POC. POC is a broader term in which a prototype is just one aspect to be tested.

A prototype, or a MVP, is a rough/early or a version of the product that is not mass-produced, but produced as a single unit or in very small quantity to check if the product works as intended.

Why is POC important?

POC is important because without establishing that there is a reasonable chance of building a profitable business around the innovation or idea, there is no point in starting the business.

An innovative idea enamors many entrepreneurs, and they rush to convert that idea into a venture. But a startup is about building a business. How well you plan different aspects about your business is going to be as critical as the innovation or product or service or idea. And POC helps you test the financial viability and other aspects of the business for that innovation.

For More Details - http://www.ghvaccelerator.com/

Source : EntrepreneurIndia. 

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Webinar on Unable Failed to get Series A funding

Are you a startup gearing up for Series A funding? Or are you a startup that tried and failed? Either way, hear the experts share their views on what could go or could have gone wrong.
Watch this for insights and perspectives from Vikram Upadhyaya and Deepak Srinath – Mentors who have helped startups reach and close Series A, and beyond

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Green House Ventures Accelerator ties up with LetsVenture

Green House Ventures Accelerator ties up with LetsVenture

Gurgaon-based Green House Ventures (GHV) Accelerator has joined hands with deal discovery platform LetsVenture(LV) in a collaborative model to create easier access to capital for seed ventures.

"LetsVenture has access to good quality startups. With this partnership we will get access to good curated startups, and it reduces our time frame for evaluation since one level of curation will be done," said Anurag Kapoor, executive director and co-founder, GHV.

For startups listed on LetsVenture, this partnership gives them access to high value mentoring and increases chances of funding.

Vikram Upadhyaya, Chief Mentor at GHV, said: "We are going to look at all the startups in LetsVenture, who have the potential to grow 10x."

Founded in 2013, LetsVenture is an online platform that connects startups with investors to facilitate early stage funding and currently has over 2,200 startups and 760 investors from 19 countries registered on it.

GHV's selection criteria for startups will focus on - team, execution, capability, scalability, technology, and proof of concept.

"The idea is to partner with a lot of players in the ecosystem who can help these startups go to the next level. We're also helping GHV curate some of these startup companies," said Shanti Mohan, founder and CEO, LetsVenture. Once they have completed the acceleration program, GHV will bring them back to the platform for early funding.

GHV's program houses 10 startups at a time through a one-year long program. Each startup can get seed funded with up to $100,000 in exchange for equity to the tune of 20% at a maximum.

"We will only see actual results in a year, to know how effective the partnership actually is," said Mohan.

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Green House Ventures Accelerator ties up with LetsVenture (Economic Times)

Gurgaon-based Green House Ventures (GHV) Accelerator has joined hands with deal discovery platform LetsVenture(LV) in a collaborative model to create easier access to capital for seed ventures.

"LetsVenture has access to good quality startups. With this partnership we will get access to good curated startups, and it reduces our time frame for evaluation since one level of curation will be done," said Anurag Kapoor, executive director and co-founder, GHV.

For startups listed on LetsVenture, this partnership gives them access to high value mentoring and increases chances of funding.

Vikram Upadhyaya, Chief Mentor at GHV, said: "We are going to look at all the startups in LetsVenture, who have the potential to grow 10x."

Founded in 2013, LetsVenture is an online platform that connects startups with investors to facilitate early stage funding and currently has over 2,200 startups and 760 investors from 19 countries registered on it.

GHV's selection criteria for startups will focus on - team, execution, capability, scalability, technology, and proof of concept.

"The idea is to partner with a lot of players in the ecosystem who can help these startups go to the next level. We're also helping GHV curate some of these startup companies," said Shanti Mohan, founder and CEO, LetsVenture. Once they have completed the acceleration program, GHV will bring them back to the platform for early funding.

GHV's program houses 10 startups at a time through a one-year long program. Each startup can get seed funded with up to $100,000 in exchange for equity to the tune of 20% at a maximum.

"We will only see actual results in a year, to know how effective the partnership actually is," said Mohan.Shonali.

For More Details - http://www.ghvaccelerator.com/

Source : Economic Times. 

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