Finding Funding For Your Infant Brand

Case-in-point is Golden Seeds. Golden Seeds is an early stage angel investor group for women-led ventures and is funded by accredited women investors. We applied with Golden Seeds very early on in the game. In their ding note they stated that our revenues were not yet large enough. So we thanked them for their time and have stayed in touch. Every time Oddpodz sends out an investor update, receives publicity, or hits another goal, we copy them along with a handful of other investor prospects.

Golden Seeds is unique because, regardless of whether they fund you, their mission is to help entrepreneurs and investors succeed. Beyond reviewing and funding deals, they offer programs, advice, and tools to connect funds to promising ideas. Since Oddpodz had applied months earlier we received several of their newsletters and communications on their initiatives, one of which was hosting a summer fundraising workshop in Manhattan for women entrepreneurs. Since we had just updated our fundraising materials, this looked like an ideally timed event. A huge plus was the opportunity to personally meet with some of the Golden Seed angels and other female startup CEOs.

The event proved very worthwhile. Founder Stephanie Hanbury-Brown and managing partners Paula Bruno and Nancy Harrison (all of whom have impressive funding and business backgrounds) kicked it off. The coolest thing was the non-intimidating and authentically supportive environment of twenty other five-star women business owners.

As a start, the CEOs introduced themselves and their diverse businesses, which I found fascinating. One company, The Amber Chand Collection, markets global gifts for peace and understanding. Their gift products are handmade by women in challenged areas of the world. Another memorable participant was a Greek specialty food company called Taste of Crete. Talk about entrepreneurial energy and passion, it was intense!

After the introductions, the Golden Seeds leadership team lead a session covering the basics of fundraising. They explained that a winning pitch should have:

• A product that solves a real problem.
• A product that is scaleable.
• An excellent business model and execution plan.
• A billion dollar market opportunity.
• A strong management team.
• Exit strategies.

The Golden Seeds leadership team stressed the importance of these communication principles:

• Respect the time of your audience.
• Technical expertise should not be required to follow your pitch.
• Use correct grammar.
• Format with clarity of thought.
• Think about how the order and flow of the presentation relates to the desired outcome.
• Provide factual support to assertions.
• Sources should be referenced and identified.
• ADA: Always Define Acronyms.
• Listen to questions, repeat or paraphrase, then answer.

This session closed with three examples of investor turn-offs, or how not to use funding:

1. Big salaries for management.
2. Using new funding to pay off old debt.
3. Too much product development. Plan and know the shipping point for the requirements of your market.

Next, the art and science of company valuation was discussed, then the business owners practiced with a cap sheet / valuation exercise.

For the final segment we practiced the pitch for our startups. The goal of your startup pitch presentation is to get from the screening process to the due diligence stage. Accomplish this by focusing your pitch to convey your business as serving a compelling need in the marketplace, and that you personally are worthy of their investment.

Key points of "The Perfect Pitch" include:

• Communicate honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness: Maintain eye contact, answer questions directly, and never fudge the truth.
• Be someone people can work with: Don’t be long-winded or argumentative. Show a light sense of humor.
• Be open: Recognize your strengths and weaknesses.
• Know your stuff: Do your homework; keep track of competitors; numbers, numbers, and numbers.
• Craft your pitch in several versions: 5 minutes -- The elevator; 10 minutes -- Meetings with skeptics; 20 minutes -- Angel groups; 20 minutes -- Invitational meetings.

In closing, use of the infamous PowerPoint presentation was discussed. This is a powerful tool that can aid your success if produced properly, according to these guidelines:

• Keep it simple.
• Don’t over-word each page.
• Graphics are to support you, not replace your presence.
• Always bring handouts.

I wish that building a brand was merely about passion and ideas. But the reality is, significant funding is the fuel needed to take your dreams to the marketplace. Golden Seeds is one great resource to help get you there. There is a lot of money out there for the right ideas, so until investor deposits clear at the bank, don’t lighten up your fundraising intensity. Believe! Keep pitching! Stay tough!

Meanwhile, I’ve got to focus on our mission at Oddpodz. I’m confident there will be great success to report next month on specific strategies to build the brand of a global network for creatives -- Oddpodz. It certainly provides a rich resource of ideas to help you build your brands too.

Till then, Brand On!