How To Raise In 2022 If You Are Not Located In A Major Hub

Hello how's everyone doing today great Good cool yes thank you for being here Today and of course thank you to the Audience for coming Um so I guess let's let's Dive Right In Um what impact has remote work really Had on kind of spurring these new Emerging new markets but also further Maturing Um like already existing emerging ones Uh Mike do you want to go first sure Yeah Um well I think it's been interesting I Think coming you know based in Chicago And investing in companies promoting the Midwest region we've seen a lot of new Exposure to companies Um just based on life over Zoom right I Think a lot of investors whether it's Someone in your backyard or someone Who's a thousand miles away having that Proximity to to speak to companies and Invest in companies has been really Interesting for those markets and Obviously for the employees as well it's Been exciting to see different folks Come in and out of the ecosystem that Normally would have been stuck in a Different place Do other viewer plots yeah I would just Add that you know I think even before Covid there was a trend of you know the Main coastal cities not being where all The Venture Capital was going to get

Invested I think there were a lot of Emerging Markets both in the United States as well as internationally that You know we're starting to attract a lot Of different pockets of VC and obviously Covet and remote work just accelerated That where more and more companies it's Acceptable and expected that uh whether They're found in maybe one of the Coastal cities in some cases that you Have your workers you know sort of fully Distributed so I think it opens up the Opportunity Um far more than the case you know say 10 years ago one quick comment I just Add is I think we're starting after two Or three years of heavy remote work Starting to see some of the cultural Issues uh creep in if you're not Intentional about how one designs it of Um you know how do you deal with Conflict how do you deal with change in Direction when everyone's remote so That's something we can maybe talk about No that's so interesting I mean what Type of cultural issues are you seeing Well look when everything is sort of up And to the right it's sort of I think Much easier to scale and you know you Can get resources from around the world Around the country and it's a really Productive way to work but if you need To change direction and maybe your core Value proposition

Has to shift I think it's a little bit Harder to get alignment when everyone's In a different time zone and so I think Look in this economy you know we all can See the stock market we all say see the Change in environment I think you're Seeing that across a lot of different You know companies Did anything you wanted to add Really forced a lot of teams to be able To work well remotely and so I think Part of that is still here to stay Because everybody even if they were all In the same place were forced to Actually do it and then I think a sort Of second order effect is then because Because people were forced to do that Then they thought okay well maybe I can Just hire people in other places and I I Think that trend is here to stay if we Look at our own portfolio when people Submit their applications to apply for Funding at hustleton like for a long Time we didn't have remote as a Geography but people started writing That in and that I I think that is here To stay at least with startups certainly For cost of living if people are used to It and have a workflow then it makes Total sense Do you feel like it's gotten easier for Boundaries or even as investors to raise Money in a non-traditional Tech hub I think so certainly I mean like I said

I think you know historically Um if you weren't in San Francisco if You weren't in New York it was it was Inherently harder to get attention to Have meetings for investors to really Want to buy in I mean as a as an Investor as a lead investor that takes a Board seat you know frankly there is There is something around the reality of Being able to actually spend significant Time and work with a company that makes It more attractive when they are in your Own backyard that I think is fair to say That said when again there's no you know Proximity effectively became obsolete Based on Zoom um and and that Environment and so it definitely became Easier I can point to Chicago as an Example Chicago which I would say has Been a maturing market for a long time The pandemic and the remote work kind of Accelerated an existing Trend in that There were some very fundable companies Some very exciting companies there and While 2021 was a remarkable year across The board for Venture and startups Chicago actually more than doubled its Unicorns minted in that a year alone Which I think is a is an indicator of What it meant for those companies Getting attention and being able to Raise raise venture Um I think If you were to graph

21 it did get easier but as perhaps many Of you have seen I think now that we've Gotten into the fall of 2022 the markets All around are fairly tight and I Actually think for international Companies in particular it's it's even Harder than for us companies just Because when there is more scarcity of Funding and U.S investors are trying to Decide okay am I investing in a U.S Company or abroad they tend to favor you Know more local for whatever reason Yeah I just think you know there's going To be sort of a sine wave up and down Depending on how much capital is flowing Into the market at any point but I think The long-term trend is is clear and I Think it's because in our industry You've seen very big you know multi-deca Corn businesses get built and you know Helsinki and Sydney and Stockholm and You know as well as Chicago as well as Atlanta as well as Austin and I think We're all capitalism I think you you try To chase where the opportunity is and The talent is no longer concentrated in These couple of coastal cities so I Think it the long-term trend is going to Be really positive for the Non-traditional cities And before we dive into the International markets what are some Places and cities and markets that You're looking at nationally right now

That are emerging Mike you first yeah Well you know selfishly I'd point back To Chicago Um no it's a great it's a great Market I Mean I think we look at and again M25 we Focus on the Midwest region at the Earliest stage Um and so we look at Chicago as Effectively the capital of the Midwest If that if that makes sense and Um you know I think Chicago is mature Enough that there's some real activity And some real opportunity there but it's Also early enough that we can still kind Of Define who we want to be as a tech Ecosystem Chicago is one of the most Diverse economies in the country if not The most diverse economy in the country It's a massive City and it and it funds Diverse individuals at a higher rate Than I think any other city in the Country especially women funded women Founded companies so I think there's Like a lot to love about Chicago I'd Also point to ecosystems like Indianapolis and Columbus and in in Minneapolis is some really interesting Midwest ecosystems to take a look at What about you You know I would just say you know well First of all I mean I think we've all Read the TechCrunch articles on Miami or Austin and uh yeah there's a lot of Great activity happening in La Seattle

Has always been a hub for sort of Historical Amazon and uh Microsoft Reasons but if I could just make a Comment to say You know I think it really helps a lot From a sustainability perspective to be Close to a Technical University that has An ongoing supply of software Talent at Least for what we do which tends to be Software internet primarily I think There are certain markets I think Miami Is one of them where I just don't know If there's enough technical talent to Scale it beyond what it is at least so Far I think if you are offering purely On a remote basis and your engineering Is distributed maybe that's fine but I Just don't know where the Who are the critical mass of software Talent is coming to help build companies If you're trying to do it in that in That one market so I would just say There's a there's a limit to some of These markets depending how much Technical Talent that's that's showing Up no that's very interesting sorry can I go ahead no sorry I just wanted to say One thing and that that um that's really Interesting I mean so how would I guess How how is that need addressed is that Does that like would you fund more Technical programs within the Universities and the school system like How would you you know make all that

Talent so that Miami could stay as a big Tech Hub well I mean I think you know Those are those are things that are Medium run and long run facts right so I Mean it's not it's not a comment that You know one couldn't be incredibly Successful in South Bend or you know in a smaller Market but I think if I look at say A Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh for Example not as incredible I think as Everyone knows Cs and NL and AI Talent So I just think it's just on the margin Slightly more Um there's a better chance of attracting More Capital because of that critical Mass of talent again I'm saying it's Possible I think to succeed in any Number of places I just think there's Some limit that one reaches if you don't Have that that ongoing flow of talent I would sort of take the counter to this Actually Um because I think that actually for Most software ideas these days you know The tech is not rocket science certainly I would say there are some ideas that Are in which case that Tech Talent Really matters but for 80 of the things That we are investing in Um I would not say that you need Necessarily that level of talent and What you do need is you need product Market fit and so what I am seeing is

Actually companies take one of our Portfolio companies copy AI for example Which publicly announced I think last Week that they are at 10 million ARR After two years they are fully remote Mostly in the U.S in the founders are in You know relatively in suburbs of towns In the U.S and so I think this is an Example of that is possible if you have Product Market fit I think the challenge Is getting to product Market fit and Sometimes being co-located helps you get Quicker reps and experiments because It's easier to coordinate as a team but I do believe that once you hit product Market fit then you know actually Location doesn't really matter so much I agree with that yeah I totally agree With that Um but kind of on that note how Important is it that Venture Opportunities do spread throughout the Nation and also touching these Founders That are in untapped or in now untapped Markets but Emerging Markets um how Important is it that these opportunities Spread in terms of the future of Innovation Would you like to go first Sure I mean I I think it's an Interesting question Um you know I think you know and I so Prior to M25 I started an incubator Um and helped build companies I was a

First employee of an Avenger back Company and I more to this question Um worked for the Purdue Research Foundation helping them market and License intellectual property build Companies based at B Community University but at Purdue in West live in Indiana I think like there's a desire For that ecosystem to thrive and there's Things that the that the local Stakeholders can do Um an example in the midwest a lot of States have kind of economic Economic Development type programs that will Actually help spur Innovation where That's not quite as needed in in States Like California or cities like San Francisco and so as a venture capitalist I think it's a really exciting Opportunity to believe that you know we Can have Innovation spread across the Country because you can have an Advantage you can there's different Areas where you can form an advantage And have proprietary access to dealflow If you do the work in canvas Appropriately but also at the same time It's I think it's the cities and the the Local ecosystems that the onus is on Them really to to to do the right things To create the right business environment The the type of living environment and The attraction to help kind of like make It desirable to build a company in these

Places which I think a lot of places are Doing it well I think um What is needed for a particular Ecosystem is is capital and also Mentorship and I think that you know Everyone debates like why did Silicon Valley do so well for so long and all This stuff but I think It is those two things one of the things You do see about this city is when People come to some level of wealth it Doesn't even have to be a lot you see Them running around writing Angel checks Even one thousand dollar angel checks And they and they provide advice on you Know this this is what good ux looks Like and things like that I think now in this next inning as we Think about startups elsewhere Those are the two things that have Always been a challenge in many other Cities but what I am very helpful for is With the internet actually you can get a Lot of those two things now through Other people online and that's I think The bigger thing that I'm more Interested in I do agree there are Certainly local initiatives in some Cities in the US and and even in other Countries like Canada is very proactive On that but I think getting that online Is the piece to unlock if you're not in A New York or Silicon Valley

Yeah I mean I just the only thing I just Add is I think it's very important I Mean to directly answer the your Question on and I think it's not Necessarily uh driven from a Capitalistic incentive perspective but Just from a social perspective I think It's really important because you know There was a period of time where it felt Like uh whether it was the VCS Themselves just the way the industry was Structured so like every talented person Had to move to you know one or two or Three cities on the coast and I think That's just not a healthy way for Frankly a society to develop um so I Think it's very Um it's a really positive thing and it's A really important thing that though There's pockets of innovation that are Not just in these two or three main main Cities I would love to know all of your Thoughts on if there are still specific Places like the bay area that are better For certain types of companies in terms Of like where is it best for a priest a Company to look for a precede or a seed Round and how does that compare to like Maybe someone looking for like a later Stage round where should you know early Stage companies Go versus later stage Elizabeth I think for pre-seed and Seed It does not matter because a lot of Those things you can get online but I

Think as you start to scale in series a And Beyond that's when it may matter Because a lot of institutional investors Still want you to generally speaking be Co-located in a location still generally Investing in their backyard ish Certainly going out but a little bit More so there and and then also from a Scalability advice and talent Perspective You know there are not that many places In the world that have unicorn company So the number of people who have built a Billion dollar business before is still Limited to certain places that is Starting to change but I think you know While everybody can read about Lean Startup and get Angel Investors online You cannot get the same equivalent for Series B level advice Talent money and So I think for that you do need maybe a Headquarters or a main office or Whatever in in a major city most ideal Is probably still Silicon Valley New York someplace like that Yeah I would just add that um I don't Think it Maps my stage I I think it Maybe it was a earlier comment of look I Think a lot of it's about mentorship and About how quickly you can learn and so There are certain pockets of talent Where you can learn more quickly than If You're sort of fully distributed you Have to use the Pittsburgh example again

I think you know autonomous vehicles it Was a certain critical mass of Researchers and talent and so I think if You were really trying to innovate you Know something on the Leading Edge of That type of Technology it's helpful to Be around the other people that are in The Cutting Edge of innovation so I Think it's really where you get good Mentorship and feedback so you can learn More quickly I don't think it means that Austin or San Francisco or wherever is Better at one one stage or the other at Least it's one opinion Mike did have Anything to add uh just quickly I think You know to to both points just made I Mean being in a going to geography to Raise a precede round I think that Hopefully those days are not are not Here anymore I think you can raise a Precede pretty much anywhere especially If you're active online you know Networking Um making sure to like be intentional About the types of investors you're Reaching out to I think really Optimizing your location should be Around the industry as you're focused on The expertise in that in that ecosystem Um and that should be where you you Choose to help your company and so how Does it also work for women and Minorities is it good for them to kind Of take the chance and still be in like

The non-traditional emerging hubs or is It worth going to like the Bay Area or New York City to look for funding for Companies Yeah I mean I think that you know I'd answer the question the same way I Think you know I think you'd still want To Target your investors appropriately I Think like anything if you're you know Building a cyber security company you Probably want to speak to investors that Have a propensity to invest in cyber Security I think you can also probably Look and see which investors have a Propensity for investing in women and Minorities and diverse Founders and Target them at least as far as you know We're concerned and we put out our Diversity report earlier this year Um we're not asking women or minorities Or anybody to be in Chicago for us to Invest in them we do have a bit more of A geographic Focus than most firms but Um I don't think that should be the Reason why not now if it's a question of Who you want to network with and who Want to do business with and that sort Of thing I think there are opportunities To again on the more social side to Choose where you want to be and where You want to work live Um but as far as raising Capital Um I think it's it's similar Yeah I think I have the similar answer

Of similar to what I said a moment ago I Think it's where you get the best Mentorship and so I think it's not Specific to a location uh regardless of One's background or heritage I think we've all certainly seen the Abysmal stats of funding for women and Minorities even more recently this year Um but I think from an individual Perspective if you're thinking about Raising capital for your company because You can actually raise online at least You don't have as much I guess Capital Cost out the door in trying to pitch all These VCS as you may have had five years Ago and so I think for women minorities Who have historically had a much harder Time raising money like I think in that Sense like it is a tinge better like Certainly the stats are still abysmal But like a tinge better in terms of the Finding investors you can find them on Twitter we're certainly very active Um you know and you can rattle off a Whole slew of emerging managers who are All very active we all take pitches Online these days through Zoom you don't Have to hop on planes anymore like you Used to and so I think in that regard You can You can you can make sure at least that You are not entirely out of pocket like In the earliest stages at least and then Kind of go from there after you get some

Level of footing And to hone in on social media um what Are some ways that perhaps you know Founders in this audience can utilize Social media Twitter Tick Tock to really Build those relationships and networks With Um like the Venture and startup Community Elizabeth Yeah you know you may see all these Investors on Twitter uh and it's Actually kind of for a good reason it's Not like we're just wasting time on Twitter although it may seem like that Because one of the things we noticed a Couple of years ago in looking at our Own analytics is that actually most of Our deals were were coming through a Twitter touch point and at the time we Were actually not that active on Twitter And we're like why are all these people Finding us on Twitter and so then we Just doubled down on that and went crazy All these other investors found the same Thing and so I think you really do Actually have that critical mass so I Think as a Founder then how do you use That to your advantage I mean what I Would do is like just get yourself out There like don't be afraid to talk about What is the problem you're solving on Twitter like why are you doing it like You know any updates I don't think you

Necessarily have to share every little Detail about the conflicts you have or You know even necessarily what Revenue You're doing but like just put yourself Out there it's free and people will Notice you and I think actually if I Look at my own portfolio my companies Who are active on Twitter actually do Have an easier time raising money Because investors feel like they know Them from from Twitter which is kind of A weird thing to say but you know like Many of us only just met for the first Time in person but we feel like we know Each other super well because of Twitter How do you guys use Twitter Maybe not not as much Look I mean I think it I think the right Comment is about you know the nature of Whether raising money or recruiting or You know Finding customers does require You to be out there requires you to be Open to networking and in the ecosystem I I think there's a question of how much Time to spend on it versus sort of other Areas of Focus you know I think it again it Depends sort of what sector and what Type of company you're building but I Think you know maybe I might invest more Of my time to sort of find the The most important networks and Influential people in a space that might Not necessarily be through a social

Media strategy so I I would say you know I think it's just like going out and Meeting people in person I think it's an Important technique I would spend some Time on it but I wouldn't over focus on It versus maybe some of the other Aspects of you know Finding product Market fit or finding the other most Influential people in a space Yeah for me I think it's about Um I like to ask interesting questions And I like to engage with people that Ask me interesting questions and so if Twitter can be a platform for that to Occur then I think that's really awesome Experience Um personally in in 2020 uh especially After the murder of George Floyd I did a Lot of writing that was really more Actually kind of just writing about Being a human and less about venture Capital and there were some overlaps but Actually not that much and Um you know similar to Elizabeth's point I feel like a lot of Founders actually Got to know me better because of just The things I was thinking a lot about That I thought were important to kind of You know put my heart on digital paper So to speak about and um you know that's Led to some really great relationships With Founders that have manifested into To Great Investments and great companies As well

And before I jump into audience Questions I just have two more Um so we spoke a little bit about the International market what are some Specific regions and areas that you are All looking at right now that excite you In international yeah internationally uh Yeah so we do a lot of international Investing Um at hustle fund and I am so bullish on That because I think in a nutshell Frankly Speaking in the U.S I don't want To say everything is solved but there Are a lot of things that generally work In the US if you go to another market Like there's just Greenfield opportunity Everywhere there are countries where People still move literally bags of cash Around to pay for things let alone no Credit no loans Etc and then you know Some of the tools that we take for Granted here around in B2B or even Consumer apps you don't find in a number Of countries so I think it is sort of The prime time in many other countries Where there is strong mobile penetration And in fact actually maybe even much Higher mobile usage than here in the US And so if you have not even necessarily Any connection to other countries but if You have an adventurous spirit and you Want to build a company I actually think You know one of the biggest problems I'm Building a company is getting credit

Market fit and a big part of it is how Easy and cheap is it to get customers And if you go to a market where it's way Less competitive you know for when I Look at some of our Emerging Market Companies like that is not their problem Their problem is finding Talent to build their team uh you know Things more around the the company Building rather than the customer Acquisition my companies in the US Generally have more of the problem of Getting customers rather than the team Building so which would you rather have Actually Frankly Speaking having been an Entrepreneur before I think customer Acquisition is really really hard and That's the problem I would prefer not to Have And to follow up with that how do you Get your Founders you know your Boundaries that are located Internationally how do you get them to Trust you as a U.S space investor like How does that relationship work I think I think more broadly how do you Get anybody to trust you that's a good Question and I think partly because of Our Twitter we put out you know we are Our legit selves on Twitter so what you All the wonkiness you see out there is Actually what you get and uh and so that Is one way but I think the other thing Is just in building the relationship

Over time as well like we our former Founders ourselves so we try to move Quickly we try to actually make a Decision within 48 Hours of meeting you Um we will do it over Zoom or any other Video conference platform so we we try To you know just Kind of signal in a very authentic way Like what we are all about and and Ultimately that that's how we try to Build trust with all of our Founders Whether they're in the U.S or abroad Because it can be done virtually You know I would just say when we sort Of look back at you know greatest hits Or things that you worked out you know You you look at these companies that you May think of as being Bay Area but they Originally were started elsewhere so Slack for example was started in Vancouver uh atlassian software was in Sydney it still is in Sydney you know Spotify was Stockholm supercell was Helsinki uipath is Bucharest and so I'd Say in some ways I'd say we're not we're Not specific then it's just this one Market or another but we we believe if You can find sort of the national Champion or the top five companies in Any number of these countries around the World they have the chance to be you Know really really valuable businesses Sort of like the the ones I just Mentioned a recent example for me is we

Recently invested a company called Instabug in Cairo Egypt we weren't Looking to invest in Cairo Egypt per se But it it turned out to be an area of Technology and product we really Believed in and we really believed in These two really Scrappy hungry Founders From Cairo and so I don't think it's a Geographic specific strategy it's just Trying to find as I say sort of the National champion or the top three top Five in in many cities around the world Do you have anything to add quickly Unfortunately no I we are middle of the U.S focused focused focused okay so I'm Gonna ask some audience questions now Um someone wants to know how do you gain Momentum in your fundraise as a first Time fundraiser not in a major hub Who wants to go Sorry the question is how do you how do You gave momentum in your fundraise as a First time fundraiser I'm assuming They're like a Founder looking to Fundraise or maybe a first-time fund Manager Um but they're not in a major hub I think the strategy is the same whether You're in a major Hub or not especially Since a lot of investors will do at Least first meetings over the phone or On a video conference and so I think you Know ultimately Raising money is about urgency and

Momentum so you need to kind of get a Lot of investor meetings on your Calendar around the same time to create That and ultimately you are generating That urgency because of your meetings Not necessarily because of Any commits You may have but you can legit say I'm I'm meeting with 20 investors this week And I think actually because people are Willing to do Meetings online these days In some sense it's a little bit easier To pack in say 20 meetings into a week Because you can have those meetings with People literally anywhere so I think Then working backwards you want to Create a strategy to all right figure Out how can you get these meetings to All line up but that is the general idea Like whether it's you know doing lead Gen off of Twitter or getting referrals From your accelerator program or from Your friend who started a company and Has investors whatever it is like you Want to line up all your meetings so That way you are ready to go and do Meeting after meeting after meeting and Then you want to move all your investors Along long at the same Pace like oh I'm Going into a second meeting next week And then you tell everybody that and to Kind of move everybody along My suggestion is maybe my comment about Sort of finding the expert in a space I Mean when you you know when you're on

The investor side of the table there's a Lot of meetings coming at you there's Lots of conversations you have to Obviously sort out which ones you really Want to follow up on and ultimately Invest in out of sort of all the Activity that that's happening and so Oftentimes you'll call somebody who's in The family maybe a former founder or a CTO at one of the existing portfolio Companies who is the expert in a certain Space so if you are the new founder of a New company if you can find a way to get To that expert first and have them vouch For you even as you before you go out to Fundraise at least of your technical Ability or of the sophistication of your Ideas even if you don't have metrics yet I think that's a very powerful way just To start fundraising to use the example Of that you know Cairo Egypt company it Turns out they first got to one of our Previous founders of a company called Cloudera and that that founder Amer Avidala invested in it as an angel and So you know I didn't I've never been to Cairo before when uh when it came time To evaluate whether or not they were Capable and what their depth of Sophistication was it was very helpful To be able to talk to someone that we Trusted already so finding that expert Finding that sort of social proof I Think is a really good way to start

Yeah adding adding to Rich's point I Mean I think you know we get actually a Significant amount of our deal flow Through the founders we've invested in So we've invested in well over 100 Companies in a region that's largely Underserved and in most cities that We've invested in you know raising a Pre-seater seed round still makes you One of the not so many Founders that Have raised Venture Capital Um and so you know as a Founder Especially as a CEO whether whether you Like or not you are always fundraising Whether you believe it or not you're Just either doing a good job of it or a Bad job of it and I think in the Earliest days proactively reaching out To Founders that have raised Venture Capital ideally from investors that You're looking to raise from or in a Similar industry or whatever you know Thread line of affinity you can find Building that kind of relationship for Advice or whatever purposes when you do Go out and raise and ask them to pass You along or if they had advice for who You should raise from when I get in when I get a a note from one of my Founders That says about by the founder that I've Invested in who I think is obviously Super special when I get to know from Them saying hey you should check out This company or hey like I heard you're

Talking to this company by the way I've Known them for six months or 18 months Or whatever that's a good way to kind of Build a momentum and and uh to reduce Point kind of elevate the Um you know signal within the noise Someone wants to know how can VCS help Their portfolio companies in emerging Hubs secure additional financing from Big Coastal VCS They're getting TechCrunch coverage No I know I joke but I think it's a Serious point right where um You know it's hard to stand out with you Know all the uh all the different Startups in a certain space and I think If you can help your companies become Known by you know people that get a lot Of eyeballs sort of looking at their Pages I think that makes a big Difference you know I think um frankly Especially for these International Companies that in many cases English Isn't their first language you know Getting that first coverage that makes You sort of known in the valley or at Least known among investing circles Can It can make a big difference I think for us this is one area that we Pride ourselves on item 25 is that we Are you know ideally your most Sophisticated first check Um leading your pre-seater seat around And having that connectivity based in

Chicago but the relationships with with Coastal firms that are the ideal raise For your series a or series B I think You know whether you're in an International market or a secondary U.S Market choosing a pre-seed investor that Actually can help you support your Fundraising Journey can can be really Helpful with that yeah for for us we Help out our Founders a lot with their Fundraise because we only write 50k Checks we know that most people want to Raise more money than 50k and so we Actually spend a lot of time at our firm Getting to know All these investors whether it's here Locally where you know where I live or Even elsewhere in the U.S and trying to Really understand What do all these people like and Dislike what is their stage Etc what is Their model and then and then do Introductions appropriately but I think Even ahead of that especially for International Companies uh you know we we often get Involved in helping with their Storytelling because especially at the Precede you know I can't actually think Of many companies where I was impressed With their pre-seed deck uh that doesn't Stop us from investing but I think as You go along your deck has to be a Better and better story and so that is

Something that we also spend a lot of Cycles on that a lot of Founders don't Even think about like how do you not Only make the story sound good but how Do you make the story sound unique Because You know we see a lot of companies we Know what stories are not unique and we Know what stories you know may possibly Have an angle that is unique that will Capture interests of investors Uh and so that I think is a really key Thing that Founders don't get to see Because you're not seeing all the other Startups who are doing the exact same Thing as you yeah Yeah um someone said tell Elizabeth I Love hippocorn thank you Um and they also added speaking of what Is the best way to use Twitter to Fundraise efficiently and I kind of Touched on that a little bit but I do Have stickers if anyone wants them our New hippocorns but um I think for Twitter actually you know a lot of firms As I kind of alluded to these days have Online processes in fact 15 of our Portfolio has come in completely cold Meaning they didn't come from an Accelerator or a Founder in our Portfolio or a BC friend or whatever They just came in direct and so and then But we're not unique to that right like You can you can pretty much ping any

Investor on Twitter uh you know rare Breed the fund 2048 all of these firms A4 Unshackled all of these firms you can Find them on Twitter you can ping them On Twitter that is the nice thing a lot Of these VCS have open DMS or they have Web pages telling you exactly how to Submit your company and they do take a Look so it it is a lot more open and Accessible than things were five to ten Years ago I think the the biggest Bottleneck actually is doing the Research and figuring out who are you Going to Target and how are you going to Get your deck there And one last question Um Silicon Valley investors offer better Valuations than New York if location Isn't as critical given zoom and online Why shouldn't bounders just Target Silicon Valley investors Rich do you have a thought on that if I Heard the question I think why should Outside of the market uh companies Target Silicon Valley investors well I Guess the idea is that like if Silicon Valley gives better valuations than New York why shouldn't people just come to Silicon Valley yeah well I think it well I think you know valuation is certainly A factor and so if I'm a Founder I want To get the most Capital with the least Solutions so to the degree that uh Silicon Valley investors are willing to

Pay that that's certainly a good reason I think the reality though is hey it's a Long journey to be ultimately build a Truly successful truly sustainable Company and you should go for whatever The best mentorship as Elizabeth was Saying or advice or coaching whoever the Best coaching and advices I think that's The best place to go it turns out for Historical reasons although this will Change over the course of time but for Historical reasons the most number of Reps the most number of mistakes and Successes have historically occurred out Of these uh the coastal you know VCS Just because they've been in the Business longest Uh but I think it was the part of the Couple reasons to consider it do either Be a plots I would just add that like You know oftentimes you have to look at The incentives and the motivations Behind anything and if you're taking Money from a Silicon Valley investor That's giving you the best valuation in The world but on a check that they Frankly don't care about then that might Indicate the likelihood of them actually Breaking their neck to go help you be Successful in your company versus a Pre-seater seed stage firm in your own Backyard that's like I'm an emerging Manager my career is on the line for This company I will be with you liver

You know you feel good times and bad I Think there's a lot of reasons to think About how to optimize for the right Partner but I also think that there's a Onus on local investors to match what's Market and not just try to compete and Win based on a Um you know lack of capital in their Ecosystem I guess last thought I would Just run a process right like if the New York investors if you get a competing Offer from Silicon Valley you should Take that to your local investors and See you know if they can match it or do Better like ultimately that's what this Is about this is a market and you want To try to make this Market as efficient As possible And thank you that is all we have time For today so thank you everyone [Applause]

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