How worthy are you? Yes, you have a great idea and an awesome product. But what about your market? Is it big enough? If you have been on the lookout for investors, these are just some of the questions that would need to be answered. Investors are going to scrutinize you from different angles. It is important to know what they are looking for exactly so that you can get into their minds and go straight to what will make them say yes to your VC pitches. Take what you can from this podcast and enjoy that startup capital.
Steve Mankoff is a General Partner at TDF Ventures, an early-stage venture capital company. TDF Ventures focuses on startups serving enterprise markets and believes in the power of technology in improving lives and supporting development initiatives. Currently, Steve also serves on the boards of various companies including Cloverpop, Appuri, OpsPanda, and Accruent. He sits on Genstar Capital’s strategic advisory board. At Siebel Systems, Inc. Steve was likewise one of the members of its Founder’s Circle of first employees and became Senior VP for Global and Technical Services. Before Siebel, Steve held different marketing, product, and sales managements positions in various software companies such as Oracle.
In this Episode:
- How Steve invests in early stage companies with whom he was worked with or has been warmly introduced
- How investors assess startups in terms of product market fit, market size, and ability to create new markets
- How to determine product-market fit through in-depth market research
- The three phases and evolution to determining your product-market fit
- What it takes to really get to know your market through interviews, industry surveys, detailed researches, and networking
- What investors, like Steve, are looking for when meeting companies for pitches
- What early stage companies need to prepare for as investor requirements
Connect with Steve Mankoff!
Website
