Colliding with Investors

Bringing startups and investors together is  just one of the many things we do here at Collider12, but we also think such events should be fun. Which is why last week we hosted a small investor breakfast at the gorgeous Modern Pantry, where Locomizer, Miappi, Beem and Seeker had the chance to meet Alliott Cole from Octupus, Itxaso del Palacio from EC1 Capital and Alun Simpson from Par Equity LLP.

Unlike other occasions where startups have the chance to meet investors, this breakfast was relaxed and informal, while still allowing in-depth discussion of the products. As the startups gave mini-pitches without the prop of a slideshow, it tested their ability to remember their own figures and facts, as well as being open to receiving questions from the investors at any time. However the startups responded well to this type of environment, and it allowed the pitches to fell more like a conversation, rather than a sales talk. Questions from the investors ranged from where the products fit in the market, how does it differ to similar products currently available, and who would buy it.

The morning got such great feedback from all involved, we will definitely be making these a regular event in our calender.

This Thursday! A Free Workshop on Accessing Finance

Join us on 20th June in central London for a free 'Access to Finance' workshop. The half day taster is brought to you by GrowthAccelerator and delivered by Andy Tait of Pembridge Partnership, a specialist in raising finance. As part of the GrowthAccelerator service, Pembridge work with companies who are passionate about growth and creating value by providing professional advice around growth, fund raising, strateg, and exit. Companies that have come through the programme have gone on to raise finance amounts of between £25,000 and £2 million.

The day will give you an overview of:

•  Funding basics & sources of finance e.g. debt, angels, VCs
• Understanding state of the funding market today
• How financing organisations work and make decisions
• Investor perspectives of Company business plans
• Investor exit options, returns, strategies, syndication, crowd funding, valuation
• Elements of a strong business plan & opportunity note (investor memorandum)
• Preparing your pitch & materials to meet investor requirements
• Peer group networking with Companies, trainers & investors
• Presentation of ‘training’ investor pitch to expert panel with Q&A (optional)
• Feedback from panel on finance-readiness status.

Best of all, it will help you understand how best to position your company when looking for investment and will give you a taster of how the GrowthAccelerator service may be able to help you fulfill your goals.

If you have any questions, please contact sara.macann@pembridge.net who will be happy to hear from you, or simply register here.

Le Camping's Demo Day

Yesterday our blogger in residence Mindy went along to Google Campus to watch a Demo Day held by fellow accelerator Le Camping. They are normally based in Paris, but are currently showcasing their startups on a tour, visiting Berlin, Luxembourg, and San Francisco. Here is what Mindy learnt from our startup cousins across the seas. "Le Camping certainly laid down the gauntlet at Google Campus by allowing the eight startups only eight minutes in front of the audience. Despite the time constraints, most of them managed to cover the product, business model, competition, team, development strategy, financing needs, long- and mid-term vision. What was most impressive was that each of the startups had found their own way of pitching, to make such a regular and often-performed exercise into their very own piece.

Znappit held the largest surprise by producing a video-montage of the current event, filming the final seconds as they walked on stage. Also, taped under every single chair was a vintage postcard with their address, hand-written, to allow those current to create a postcard of the experience.

Based on the feedback and questions which arose after each pitch, I noted down the most common queries, as all startups could learn how to present better.

 1. Show your weakness

If you have a weaker area, be it your business model or pricing structure, don't just that slide out. Investors see these presentations every day, and the fact that you have left this information out will only highlight the fact that you don't want to talk about it. It's far better to be honest, as you are a startup and so people are not expecting the finished, polished product.

2. How does it make money?

Some of the most exciting startups I saw yesterday received a positive response, but the question that soon that was 'how it will earn revenue?'. If you are pitching to investors, one of the main things they want to know is how they are going to get a return. If you can't prove your product has a stable way to generate income, alarm bells are going to be ringing.

3. Longevity

With any investment, comes the question of how much life this product or idea has. We all know how fast technology is moving, and nobody wants to commit time and money to something that is going to be outdated in six months, as it often takes that long to even begin getting it market ready.  Also, if you're aiming for corporate companies, are you going to be able to scale your product up to such a level?"

Guest Post from Seeker on Big Data

One of our startups, Seeker, were invited to an Ogilvy Lab Day yesterday, where the entire event was focused on Big Data. Tielman de Villiers, the co-founder and CTO at Seeker Industries, went along to find out just how big the debate is around big data. He was particularly keen to hear opinions surrounding just who owns all of this data, is it possible data can become too “clever” for its own good, and is there really that much value in “big” data? Here is his report, for those of us who missed the event.

Photo by @nicoleyershon

"There are currently many unanswered questions concerning the creation of big data, it's ownership, and it's accuracy.  Let's go through some of the issues discussed at the Lab Day.

Matt Bayfield, head of data practice at OgilvyOne Worldwide, asked what is the role of advertising, if brands start knowing everything there is to know about you? It’s not only the ownership of the underlying data, but also of the data on top the data, as Dr Trevor Davis, consumer products expert at IBM, mentioned.  For example, if you start making predictions using Facebook’s Opengraph or Google Trends, where does the legal responsibility start and end?

And what if all that personal data is actually a bit of a lie? So, even if Google, Facebook and Amazon captures, processes, segments, and targets everything users are willing to share, how “truthful” and representative is it really? Liri Andersson, co-founder of This Fluid World, spoke of examples where the “real” data is still outside of the “system”. For example, product recommendations often occur in forum-based discussions, which influence our decisions about purchases. In other words, how useful is the big data really with regards to predicting future behaviour?

Then there’s the slightly “scary” part of big data, when data analysis algorithms become so complex and relied upon by corporations that plain old human common sense goes out the back door. Stan Stalnaker, founder director of Hub Culture and the brains behind the Ven currency, warned of becoming too reliant on machine driven algorithms. Just look at what is happening in the world of corporate finance with programs driving and controlling sales in financial markets. What happens when this happens in the world of digital marketing, with the most personal of our personal data?

Big data also seems to be big grey voids. Spotting the little clusters of data with significance inside the masses of greyness (ie, “sparse” data), and doing it in “slow time” (ie, looking back at long historical trends, as opposed to right here, right now) is something which Dr Davis used to “predict” fashion trends. For those left wandering, it’s steampunk."

You're Invited!

Why? 

An informal after-work opportunity to simply get together, have a drink, and have a natter. Build a rapport amongst the startups, investors and brands in and around the Collider12 community.

Where? 

Tom Cribb, 36 Panton St, London, Greater London SW1Y 4EA

When? 

Wednesday 19th June 2013, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Register

Sign up for the event here, and view all the details for the event.