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A TECH FOUNDER’S ADVENTURE 360 From Silicon Valley to Brisbane AU and Back Again …
Bernadette Hyland, Founder & CEO GeoHealth.us Visiting Entrepreneur Program
6-August-2015
@BernHyland or [email protected]
IN THE BEGINNING …
Co-founded Plugged In Software P/L in 1995 on Coro Drive
FIG Program (1997), grew the team from 2 to 18, including an acquisition
Seed funding (1997) … Nearly
Our AU business - Outsourced product development to US VC funded software companies (’98-’00)
Acquired (2000) … Almost
dot.com bust
Pivot to product development - Tucana Technologies P/L is born
OUR STARTUP “MID-LIFE”
Re-structured as a U.S. Del C Corporation & prepared to move sales team to U.S. & kept dev team in Brisbane
Realizing what we had … Australian innovation in software, product development & management skills
Funded (2003) … Series A
US and AU Offices. 25 person team.
A word on perils & pitfalls the first time. Learn & do it again!
Tucana Acquired (2005) by Fortune 100 company
CULTURE DIFFERENCES
Reputation of Aussies - well-educated, highly innovative, strong managerial skills, can-do attitude, high level of empathy/EI
American tech scene - everything is bigger & faster [than you can imagine.] Be direct. Sound bites rule. Value proposition in 1 sentence - cut to the chase.
VC IN THE US 2014*
VC - $48B invested in >4K deals
Angel funding - $24.1B in >73K deals
Enormously competitive … people coming from everywhere
Success rate of funding is low … <1%
One of Australia’s best startups, Atlassian bootstrapped it! (We love them & are a customer!)
* Stats from presentation by Viki Forrest, CEO, ANZA Technology Network (5-Aug-2015)
CROWDFUNDING
Massive growth over the last few years and is projected to increase 2x to $35B by 2015. (source: Chance Barnett Crowdfunder.com)
By 2016, crowdfunding may surpass VC investment in 2016
Fundraising in U.S. is shifting from board rooms to deal rooms online with passage of the U.S. JOBS Act in 2012.
Sites such as Crowdfunder.com and AngelList allow accredited investors anywhere to gain access to top VC backed deals and invest for as little as $5,000.
Market DNA of AU vs. U.S.*
Pace of Business Slow Fast
Messaging Complex, nuanced Single sentence value prop
Sales Model Direct Indirect
Sales Approach Competitive Collaborative
Communications Style Principles 1st Metrics driven
Financial Focus Profit Revenue
Credit: “Market DNA” inspired by Viki Forest, CEO, ANZA Technology Network, 5-Aug-2015
HIGHLIGHTS
Be prepared to pitch 1,000 times before closing funding. After your first pitch … 999 more to go. If you do it sooner, great!
Practice your pitch 30x/day for a week — record yourself using phone/camera stuck on wall w/ blue tack. Put sticky notes on wall*
Explain the problem upfront - "We are fulfilling an unmet need in X.” Relate to a current news story if possible.
Explain strategy to generate revenue. “We make money doing”
• Describe economic benefit to people who pay for your solution.
Be super confident with THE ASK:
• If help with strategy, ask for warm introductions.
• If talent, be specific.
• If money, don't be awkward asking for money. Own it!
• Time horizon for financing. * advice via Seb Eckersley-Maslin, Blue Chilli)
TAKE -AWAYS
Startups by definition mean you’re doing something contrary, but don’t let that stop you!
It takes a village. You cannot build a business in a vacuum.
Find your network
Pay it forward
STARTUP RESOURCES• Ultimate pitch deck for startups (13 slides). There are many, this one is solid & works.
• Sam Horn’s, “Book: Got Your Attention” for messaging and pitching and 10 Tips to Perfect Your Pitch
• Site for U.S. Angels and investors, see https://www.funded.com/
• What A Serial Entrepreneur Learned From Her First Crowdfunding, by Bernadette Hyland, August 2015
• Ultimate Guide to Finding Women Investors by Joshua Henderson, Springboard Enterprises
• About Beneficial Corporations - B Corp Impact Assessment, see http://bimpactassessment.net/about-b-impact
Australia specific:
• Entrepreneurs Programme, see http://www.business.gov.au/advice-and-support/EIP/
• Springboard AU, see https://sb.co/programs/australia/
• business.GrantGuru.com.au - Bizgrants, philanthropic grants. AU has 700 state/federal grant programs.
• See also: Anne Furey, Grants expert, [email protected]
Q&AThis presentation will be posted on
https://www.slideshare.net/bhylandwood/ Connect via @BernHyland
