The other day I was on a call with a good friend. He’s a great entrepreneur and asked if he could run the pitch for his new company by me. It was a great pitch. He shared the problems he’s solving, what the product does, the size of the market, and how much the company […]
Category: Investing
Building Good Soil
A note of context: The blog that follows was originally written as an email to my colleagues on the GAN team. It was my response in a conversation we have been having regarding recent events and DE&I in our company, our community, and our work with startups around the world. The team asked if I […]
The State of Startups
Lately, I’ve been often asked how startups are handling COVID-19. Based on my conversations with GAN Accelerators, GAN Corporate Partners, GSSN Studios, and the startups GAN Ventures has invested in, here is how startups seem to be faring in this season. When It Comes To Raising Money Startups who are fundraising fall into one of […]
Three Questions to Ask Investors During COVID-19
In early 2019, I wrote one of my most-read blog posts, Two Simple Questions To Ask Every Potential Investor. Those questions were: “What do you specifically look for when you’re investing in companies?” And a followup question, “Now that I’ve heard everything you’re looking for, I think we’re a fit for your fund. But in […]
Building Trust With Investors Amidst COVID-19
Raising money just got a lot harder. According to CB Insight’s latest analysis, startup financing is about to take a giant hit. As you can see below, CB Insights forecasted that Q1’20 funding would ultimately be $67B (down from a projected $77B), mainly due to the Coronavirus outbreak. This is a drastic 30% decrease from […]
GAN Partner, Chargebee, on How to Tackle Office Hours with an Investor
I recently wrote about how mentors can best guide founders in one-on-one sessions, and how those founders can best prepare for those sessions in order to take full advantage of their time with mentors. But what if you’re scheduled to sit down with an investor? Is preparation essentially the same, and what are investors looking for? Here’s how to be prepared.
Show Me The Market, Part II
About a year ago, I wrote a blog post that’s been one of my most-read posts to date. The post was all about why and how startups should define their market size to generate investor interest and excitement. I still firmly believe this is one of the most important things startups can do. And yet, Reilly and I continue to turn down company after company that approaches GAN Ventures without a market size large enough for investment. Here’s why it’s so important.
Six Reasons We Love Investing in Founders in Small Cities
No matter where you run a company, you’re probably making trade-offs. There are pros and cons to operating anywhere, for sure. And, if you’re an investor, funding companies in smaller cities can feel riskier than you’d like. But here’s why we love investing in small cities and why you should, too.
The Common Denominator Among Our 25 Startup Investments
This past week, I took a look at the 25 investments that GAN Ventures has made so far. Mostly, I was just checking to see who I’ve followed up with lately and who else I should reach out to so that I could say hello and see how things were going. But while looking over the list, I started to wonder if there might be any common denominators across the group. Meaning, I started to ask myself, “Is there any similar trait or feature that each of the companies in the GAN Ventures portfolio share?”
As You Fundraise or Interview, Remember: Lines Not Dots
Most founders think that an initial phone call is the most important interaction with an investor. But, here’s what they’re missing when it comes to following up well and how much their consistent behavior—during a call and beyond—affects our decision to invest.