Tips for Investor Fundraising Meetings
June 21, 2021
by a searcher from Rice University - Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston, TX, USA
Hi Everyone! I am a current Rice GSB student who is due to graduate in a few months with my MBA in Corporate Investments & Entrepreneurship. I have been lucky enough to launch my own startup that ended up with a $10M valuation & fund raised for the purchase of my franchises (SBA + Investor experience). I am now ready to take on a Search fund (have my PPM completed as well as hired on a law firm), but would love advice on investor meetings. Was there something that would help my fund and I stand out? Also curious on best way to approach plausible investors/how to structure the process to optimize the balancing of investors involved in the fund. I very much appreciate the feedback!
from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, USA
1. Building relationships with one or two of the institutional shops prior to launching your raise seems to be a force multiplier when it comes to getting actual commitments from investors. This could be through an ETA club, conference or doing some initial informational outreach.
-Doing this will allow you to get a commitment from a brand name and get over the investor’s “first in” fears after launch. You’ll be able to use this to approach other shops and say “look I already have X fund committed for a unit, can I count you in?”
2. A lot of the searchers I have talked to that got funded, interned with another searcher or institutional fund. This communicates that you understand what you’re getting into and that you have experience with the grind of search already.
3. Leverage the business databases you have free access to while you’re in the MBA program to build some unique insights into industries. These are super expensive when you graduate and bring color and novelty to your PPM.
4. On the same note, solidify your PPM, your industry thesis and your plan for your search so you can come to the meetings with a concise pitch on why you will be successful in the search and in operating a company. I’ve had to change a few things while conducting the raise and it’s just not as clean.
These are just a few off the top that I wish I could go back and do before officially launching my search.
from University of Kentucky in Dallas, TX, USA