Startup Funding 101 @QasimAMohammad (OMERS Ventures)
Step 1: Understanding the Funding Landscape
VC FUNDING IN CANADA HAS BEEN ON THE RISE VC funding in Canada has been on a steady rise over the last 10 years. The industry follows a cyclical model, so your ability to raise capital depends a lot on macroeconomic factors. $2.00B 1.2 $1.80B $1.60B $1.40B $1.20B $1.00B $800.0M $600.0M $805.3M $992.8M $955.6M $637.4M $883.1M $1.36B $1.21B $1.45B $1.72B $1.45B 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 $400.0M $200.0M 0.2 $0.00M 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 0 Total Capital Invested (None) Source: PitchBook Data, Inc. Note: 2015 values are YTD as at November 21, 2015
BUT WE RE SEEING SIGNS OF A COOL DOWN The current cycle is beginning to slow down, as demonstrated through the decline in deal count over the last couple of quarters.
BUT WE RE SEEING SIGNS OF A COOL DOWN The current cycle is beginning to slow down, as demonstrated through the decline in deal count over the last couple of quarters.
Step 2: The Main Stages of Funding
STARTUP FUNDING LIFECYCLE You guys are here
EARLIER ROUNDS OF FINANCING Source: Mark Suster TC Post
Step 3: Dealing with Investors
FROM PITCH TO CLOSE Going back and forth with investors can be hard. Investment Company Pitch Get in driver s seat! VC Information Sourcing This entire process varies from fund-to-fund, and depends on how quickly YOU are able to get the process moving. Usually takes 1 quarter. Due Diligence ~1 month Dealing with Investors Term Sheet VC Decision
YOUR STARTUP IS LIKE A HOUSE Like a house, when you go out and raise funding, your company looks shiny and exciting. Plan to drum up as much interest as possible. We all know what happens to houses that sit on the market for too long!
ALL ABOUT NEGOTIATING Successful deals are all about following the basic principles of negotiation. Keep your focus on finding the best investment partner, and negotiate a deal that would make you both successful. #1. Negotiate package deals do NOT get fixated on specific issues etc. #2. Keep your best alternative to negotiated agreement (BATNA) high #3. Your reservation points are determined by your BATNA #4. Operate realistically within the zone of possible agreement (ZOPA)
Step 4: Understanding the Term Sheet
WHAT ARE TERM SHEETS? Documents that define relationship between you / your company and the investor Represents a set of deal terms and the valuation, which go hand in hand Deal terms are levers to adjust valuation Valuation and terms are driven as much by qualitative factors as by the quantitative elements Use terms to address specific risks Source: Prof. Yael Hochberg Kellogg School of Mgmt
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR Valuation: A high valuation isn t necessarily a good thing. Comes with big expectations, and a bigger possibility of a down round in the future. Liquidation Preference: How many times the investor can dip into his/her principal at the time of exit. Also sets the conversion price for convertible preferred shares. Participation vs. Non-participation: Often used in combination with liquidation preference. Participation entails getting the liquidation preference AND pro-rata share of the remaining piece of the pie. Source: Prof. Yael Hochberg Kellogg School of Mgmt
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR Founder Vesting: You have to earn your stake in the business. Be familiar with the reverse vesting schedule. Board Structure: What is the investor proposing? Does it look like the kind of board you want to report to, or that can help your business succeed? Option Pool: If you don t have one already carved out in the cap table, be weary of how the investor is weaving it into the term sheet. Is it coming in on the pre-money valuation or post-money valuation?
Step 5: Final Tips for Lift-Off!
SERIES A CRUNCH: BEWARE! As number of Seed stage investments rises, move to Series A becoming increasingly difficult for start ups. Number of seed investments has risen 1,230% from 2006 to 2015 (162 to 2,155). Seed to Series A success rate has declined from 46% in 2006 to 6% in 2015. Data: Pitchbook
EARLY STAGE INVESTORS IN CANADA (Capital Invested In US $000s) Seed Investor Name Investments Active Total Capital Investments Invested Business Development Bank of Canada 49 43 $69.16 Real Ventures 45 37 $73.21 MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund 34 28 $40.39 Innovacorp 20 19 $19.16 GrowLab 14 11 $0.64 inovia Capital 13 12 $22.67 Communitech HYPERDRIVE 13 11 $4.27 Extreme Venture Partners 13 8 $13.08 FounderFuel 13 12 $6.03 Y Combinator 13 13 $5.84 New Brunswick Innovation Foundation 11 11 $4.48 Version One Ventures 10 7 $11.50 Capital Angel Network 10 10 $11.23 Relay Ventures 9 7 $29.56 Yaletown Venture Partners 9 9 $18.68 500 Startups 9 7 $14.39 Daniel Debow 9 8 $18.81 Anges Québec 9 9 $5.82 Boris Wertz 9 6 $7.82 Mike McCauley 9 9 $13.48 Ontario Centres of Excellence 9 9 $7.12 The Next 36 9 7 $11.13 GrowthWorks 8 6 $9.58 East Valley Ventures 8 8 $3.68 Devon Galloway 8 8 $9.89 List of the top 25 most active seed investors in Canada between 2007 and 2015; BDC and Real Ventures are #1 and #2. Source: Pitchbook (list as at Nov. 2015)
DON T FORGET THE ANGELS! Anges Quebec (Quebec) Brightspark (Toronto) China Canada Angels Alliance Ltd. (Toronto) First Angel Network (Halifax) Full Stack (Vancouver) Georgian Angel Network (Blue Mountains) GTAN (Cambridge) Invest-Tech (Calgary) Keiretsu Forum Vancouver/BC (Vancouver) Maple Leaf Angels (Toronto) Newfoundland and Labrador Angel Network (St. John s) Niagara Angel Network (Niagara Falls) Northern Ontario Angels (Thunder Bay Omega Star (Mississauga) Saskatchewan Capital Network (Saskatoon) Southwestern Ontario Angel Group (London) Vancouver Angel Technology Network (West Vancouver Windsor Essex Capital Angel Network (Windsor) York Angel Investors (Markham) igan Partners (Toronto)
CONTACT Qasim Mohammad Analyst, OMERS Ventures qmohammad@omersventures.com www.qasimmohammad.com @QasimAMohammad