Posts Tagged ‘funding’

4 Important Factors when Raising Funds

Thursday, July 8th, 2010
  1. Market. This is possibly the most important factor to consider: is there market demand for your product? If there isn’t you will have a chance even with a mediocre product, however, if there is already a strong market, even an extraordinary product might not do the trick.
  2. Momentum. You have to continuously show that you are working on your product. You need to have people using your product, not just once, but also coming and a good marketing strategy. This will indicate that you have some traction in the market.
  3. Team. You need to have a reliable team around you. Only hire people you know and that will stand behind your product and work on it with 100% effort.
  4. Naysayers. If people are saying what you are attempting can’t be done, that is a good sign. It means that they don’t know how to do it and as a result you know you have discovered something new.

For a more detailed account please see http://bit.ly/d99jDF

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Posted in Venture Capital, entrepreneurship, innovation | 1 Comment »

65% Rise in Clean Tech VC Investment in the first half of 2010

Monday, July 5th, 2010

The trend is continuing as once again we see a rise in Clean Tech investment. The preliminary results for the second quarter of 2010 show a total investment of 2.02 billion USD in 140 different companies. There was a slight decrease compared to last quarter (2.04 billion USD), but an increase of 65% in the first half of 2010 (4.02 billion USD) compared to the same period last year.

The forerunner of the investment increase was the solar sector with 811 million USD alone. This is far ahead of the money put in the biofuels (302 million USD) and the smart grid (256 million USD) industries. Based on the total number of deals, the solar sector was second to energy efficiency, the former having accumulated 26 deals and the latter 31 deals.

North American countries accounted for the largest amount of the total investment, namely 72 percent of 1.46 billion USD. European follows in second with 24 percent or 476 million USD. India (3 percent or 59 million USD) and China (2 percent or 30 million USD) follow in third and fourth respectively.

For more detailed information please visit http://bit.ly/bCrWhR

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Posted in Venture Capital, clean technology | No Comments »

More VC Investments – Especially Cleantech sector sees increased funding

Friday, April 30th, 2010

We now see one of our previous entries, ‘KPMG survey confirms positive turn for venture capital in 2010’, proven to be correct. Slowly but surely venture capital investments are increasing again. Compared to the first quarter statistics from 2009, the funding nearly doubled in the same time period this year. However, it has to be noted that compared to the numbers from the end of last year, the amount of funding has decreased by 16 percent. An increase of 77 percent in the total number of fundings was recorded (Q1 2009: 679 and Q1 2010: 1,201). Once again, there was a slight decrease of 5 percent in total fundings compared to last quarter of 2009.

Another aspect of the KPMG survey mentioned above has been confirmed, namely that the cleantech sector would be the main focus of investments. According to a report from Cleantech Group, the investments in cleantech companies totaled USD $1.9 billion, which amounts to an increase of 29% compared to the end of 2009. Compared to the same time last there, the report found an increase of 83%. Most of the recent investments centered on the renewable energy sector.

The biggest investment sector was transportation (USD $704 million), especially infrastructure and vehicles, followed by the solar (USD $322 million) and energy efficiency (USD $217 million) sectors respectively. The largest percentage of venture capital investment took place in North America (81%, or USD $1,5 billion), followed by Europe (14% or USD $257 millio), China (4% or USD $72 million) and India (1% or USD $10 million).

For further information please visit http://cleantech.com/about/pressreleases/Q1-2010-release.cfm

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Posted in Venture Capital, clean technology | No Comments »

On life science venture capital funding

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

PricewaterhouseCoopers released a 2009 industry report on venture capital in the life science sector, which consists of the biotechnology and medical device and equipment industries.

Last year, the life science sector received most of the fundraising, namely 34% of all invested money. The biotechnology industry raised $ 1 billion in 108 deals; 87 medical device deals totalled $ 719 million. Even though the sector outpaces funding in all other industries, one should keep in mind that 2009 was the year with the lowest investment level since 1997.

Venture capitalists see opportunities for further growth within the sector, and the investment level is expected to increase in 2010. Tracy Lefteroff, global VC managing partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, explains: “As the worldwide population ages and more people enter their years of greatest healthcare need, demand for new pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and medical devices has the potential to go higher than we’ve ever seen.”

An increased amount of deal-making is expected in early-stage life science companies, as their need for venture capital is bigger, and they do not have an exit strategy yet. “Later-stage companies are finding other ways to generate cash, such as partnerships and licensing agreements with larger companies looking to expand their product pipelines.”, so Lefteroff.

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KPMG survey confirms positive turn for venture capital in 2010

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

In Looking forward: Venture Capital in 2010, we have briefly outlined the results of a NVCA predictions survey on venture capital in 2010. The study concluded that venture capitalists are cautiously optimistic on venture capital this year. A recent predictions survey of KPMG, a global audit, tax and advisory firm, now confirms the outcomes of the NVCA study.

The respondents of KPMG survey expect that the venture capital industry will take a positive turn this year compared to last year. 67% of the polled venture capitalists, investors, entrepreneurs and bankers believe a rebound in the investment level will occur in the next couple of months.

The clean technology sector is expected to be the investment industry’s main focus. More than three-fourths (77 %) of the respondents forecast that venture capital in green technology will resurge in 2010 in comparison with 2009. More specifically, 38% of those polled say that the clean tech sector’s sub segment energy storage and efficiency will attract most funding this year.

An increased government’s emphasis on stimulus funding and the development of federal support initiatives worldwide, which create an improved economic climate and a more dynamic investment environment, are considered the reasons for the investment focus on clean technologies and innovations.

To read the full article click on this link: http://www.vcaonline.com/news/news.asp?ID=2010030421

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Posted in Venture Capital | No Comments »

Tips for your pitch presentation

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Drawn from our experience, we have gathered several useful tips for your pitch presentation.

This is what we think investors want to hear from you:

  • PRESENT YOUR PRODUCT – Explain in simple terms what you are doing exactly. Only talk about your product, and keep it short and to the point. Think problem-solving: What is the problem and how does your product fix that problem? What solution have you developed?
  • PRESENT YOUR UNIQUENESS – What makes your product unique? Where do you make a difference while all the rest does the same thing?
  • PRESENT YOUR TEAM – Who (read: which skills and experiences) do you have in your team to develop your product? Highlight your team’s expertise but also tell the VCs what additional know-how you are looking for.
  • PRESENT THE MARKET – Give sufficient market information. Briefly discuss market segmentation, technologies, go-to-market strategy, regulations, patents, competitor’s analysis, company growth expectations, etc. And have you thought about opportunities and risks? If you don’t have enough time for explanation during your presentation, mention that you have this information available as appendices. In this way, you can give the information later, during a personal meeting for example.
  • PRESENT YOUR BUSINESS PLAN – Communicate your business model. Talk about financials. How much capital do you need and how much do you want to raise. For the audacious: Tell the VCs what you expect from them and why you think your cooperation will be a successful one!
  • PRESENT YOUR GOALS – Make clear where you want to be in the future. Show the big potential of your product. Don’t be afraid to dream. Be bold but also realistic and deliberate.

You only have a short time, so make most of it! Good luck!

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