robin hood Ventures

Investor Presentation Basics

Lina Lin — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:20:42 GMT

Ever wondered what are the essentials to an investor pitch deck? Read Steve Bowman's post and learn the tips to creating a winning pitch deck:

Investor presentations come in four grades: Trainwreck, Good Enough, Outstanding, Insanely Great. Your first objective is to rise above Trainwreck. The good news is that disaster can be avoided by applying a few simple rules and principles, summarized here. These guidelines are also the prerequisite for moving up to an outstanding or insanely great presentation. Full Text

How to write an Executive Summary

Lina Lin — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:46:52 GMT

When communicating with angel investors, your challenge is to be brief and exciting at the same time. We read dozens of plans and pitches a week, and need to quickly cut through to the 10 key questions that we need answers (what’s the problem you are trying to solve, how will you solve it, why are you the team to solve it, how much money do you need, what is it going for, what are your projections for the next few years, are you a real company or just in the dream stage).

Gust, the system that Robin Hood uses to manage deal flow, has come up with a great format that answers these questions. Please read this article http://www.angelpitchguy.com/2010/05/talking-to-angels-executive-summary.html to see what the ideal template looks like.

Independence Blue Cross - DreamIt Health Incubator

Lina Lin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:29:39 GMT

Independence Blue Cross, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and DreamIt Ventures have joined forces to start DreamIt Health, an intensive incubation program in Philadelphia designed to give new healthcare businesses an unfair advantage. Entrepreneurs will be given up to $50,000 in funding, paired with seasoned mentors, advised by industry executives, introduced to leading investors, and given access to prospective customers. DreamIt Health brings together key players – from the region’s largest payer and provider, to the global leader supporting self-insured corporations – to surround 10 startups accepted into the program with the resources needed to gain traction quickly and accelerate towards a high impact product and business model. Applications are being accepted until February 8th. Passionate founders looking to build a company that can make a big difference in healthcare should apply here: http://www.dreamitventures.com/programs/dreamithealth/about-dreamit-health/

Angel Group Irony in Fast Comany

Ellen Weber — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:55:00 GMT

I found it ironic that our longest-held investment, Me-ality (formerly known as Intellifit) and our newest investment, VerbalizeIt, were both featured on the same printed page of the recent issue of Fast Company.

VerbalizeIt: http://www.fastcompany.com/3002964/recommender-brandon-oldenburg-hannah-choi-granade-and-more-what-theyre-loving-month

Me-ality:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3002970/mall-me-ality-makes-body-scans-helpful-not-scary

4 Signs A Company Is NOT A Good Candidate For Equity Crowdfunding

Lina Lin — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:00:11 GMT

From Forbes - CEO and co-founfer of CircleUp, Ryan Caldbeck, discusses what types of companies are not good candidates to raise money via crowdfunding. He listed four signs that a company is NOT a good candidate for crowdfunding:

Tech companies
Companies that need multiple rounds of financing
Companies that are built on Intellectual Property, NOT brand
Businesses that are difficult to understand

Read the full entry here:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancaldbeck/2012/10/16/4-signs-a-company-is-not-a-good-candidate-for-equity-crowdfunding/

A simple Infographic for entrepreneurs who pitch to angel investors.

Lina Lin — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:52:55 GMT

itbusiness.ca -- From understanding what an angel investor is, who they are, and what sort of slideshow to make for them - check out this handy infographic: http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=69020

See RHV Executive Director Ellen Weber describe what angels are looking for

Shannon Lee — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:03:13 GMT

Watch Ellen Weber's presentation now! http://capture.fox.temple.edu/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=5996c72683c04cdea5a2223f3f5b610e1d

10 things that investors like and loathe in entrepreneurs’ pitches

Shannon Lee — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:10:39 GMT

From MedCity - Investors gave thumbs up to the ability to improvise and thumbs down to an infomercial tone at a recent critique of entrepreneurial pitches in Philadelphia. A panel of investors evaluated presentations from four entrepreneurs and discussed what they look for in elevator and longer format pitches. The session was part of a seminar instructing entrepreneurs on how to succeed at the upcoming Angel Venture Fair 2012.

Ellen was on the panel!

Read the entry here:
http://www.medcitynews.com/2012/02/10-things-that-investors-like-and-loathe-in-entrepreneurs-pitches/

Angel Investors Play Big Role For Start-Ups, Think Tank Says

Shannon Lee — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:18:25 GMT

From WSJ - The total capital raised from angel investors in the U.S. in 2009 was $17.7b, compared to $18.7b for VCs according to a report by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. While VCs are prone to supporting high-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley, and less risky late-stage start-ups, angels are more likely to "support entrepreneurs in their own back yards", funding typically $25,000 - $500,000. Angel investors are also increasingly investing in biotechnology and health-related ventures.

Read the entry and report here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577179430766885266.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,3746,en_2649_33703_49309726_1_1_1_1,00.html

Why Tech Start-Ups are Staying in Philly

Shannon Lee — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:47:06 GMT

From the RJMetrics blog - find out why this start-up turned down offers that involved moving their company to New York or Silicon Valley and is instead "doubling-down on Philadelphia".

Read the entry here:
http://info.rjmetrics.com/blog/bid/50397/Why-Our-Startup-is-Doubling-Down-on-Philadelphia

Recent Exit Trends of Venture Backed Companies

Shannon Lee — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:37:28 GMT

The net return on venture investing tends to cluster in the bi-modal distribution, i.e. a substantial, or poor return. SVB Analytics has put together an eye-opening report on venture-backed company exits. The data is broken down by several industry types - software, hardware, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices/equipment. While there are a variety of takeaways, it does re-emphasize the relative difficulty in attaining "successful exits" (as defined separately by industry), exit prices in excess of $100 million and/or exit multiples in excess of 5X (based on all capital invested over time).

Read the report here.

The Best Way to Angel Invest $1,000,000

Shannon Lee — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:14:50 GMT

There are many approaches to investing a million dollars. It isn't an easy decision determining which to take, especially after working tirelessly to make your own money to invest. Christopher Combs decided to pose the question on Quora, received some great tips, and has shared a possible approach on his blog here.

The Philadelphia Metro Area Life Science Angel Scene

Shannon Lee — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:06:02 GMT

At a recent panel presentation, several principals of angel groups based in Philadelphia discussed the role of angel groups in funding emerging life science companies, detailing their respective groups' life science investments over the last five years.

The panel included Jeff Nicholas, a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP and the Managing Director of Delaware Crossing, Ellen Edelmen Weber, the Executive Director of Robin Hood Ventures, J. David Owens, an investor in the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group, Katherine O'Neill, the Executive Director of Jump Start, and Jeff Snellenburg, a member of Delaware Crossing, and Lori F. Reiner, an audit partner with EisnerAmper LLP, who moderated the panel.

A full article (written by Fox Rothschild) can be found here.

NJEDA Matching funds

Marshall Yang — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:28:58 GMT

New Jersey Economic Development Authority invests in early stage companies and promotes local commerce. They have funds for early and expansion-stage companies, that match the private investment they get from angels and VCs. Some of the funds:

The Edison Innovation Angel Growth Fund (www.njeda.com/AngelGrowthFund) provides up to $250,000 in subordinated convertible debt financing for technology companies with minimum trailing 12 month commercial revenues of $500,000 that have received 2:1 match funding from an angel investor or angel group within 90 days prior to application.

The Edison Innovation VC Growth Fund (www.njeda.com/VCGrowthFund) provides up to $500,000 in subordinated convertible debt financing for technology companies with minimum trailing 12 month commercial revenues of $500,000 that have received 1:1 match funding from a venture capital firm within 90 days prior to application.

The Edison Innovation Growth Stars Fund (www.njeda.com/GrowthStarsFund) provides follow-on funding up to $500,000 in subordinated convertible debt financing for the best performing Edison portfolio companies with minimum trailing 12 month commercial revenues of $2 million that have received 1:1 match funding from an angel investor/group or venture capital firm within 90 days prior to application.

To see more funds at NJEDA, click here.

Investors' Circle Fall Venture Fair is open to applications

Marshall Yang — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:10:41 GMT

Investors' Circle, a network of early stage investors, is hosting a venture fair in Philadelphia, Oct 26-28. They will select 10-12 companies to present at the event. To learn more about the event and how to apply, click here.

Documents Startups Should Have

Marshall Yang — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:48:55 GMT

A startup shouldn’t be a smaller version of a big company, especially in the Lean Startup era. However, the minimalism could bring you potential legal pitfalls. Some key documents are essential for basic operations such as sales and hiring. DDC compiled a one-pager on the Most Important Documents to Find in Your Company, which is very handy when you put your company “paperwork official”.

DreamIt Philadelphia Fall 2011 Application is open!

Marshall Yang — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:10:30 GMT

DreamIt Ventures, a startup accelerator program with a strong track record, opened application to its Philadelphia Fall program, running from Sep 9 through Dec 16. To apply, click here. They also partner with Comcast Interactive Capital, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation, to select five minority-led startups under the Minority Entrepreneur Accelerator Program (MEAP). To learn more, click here.

Robin Hood Ventures and DreamIt Ventures sponsor the May Philly Tech Meetup

Marshall Yang — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:55:37 GMT

Robin Hood Ventures and DreamIt Ventures are sponsoring the next Philly Tech Meetup: http://bit.ly/l2uMFJ. Speakers from the angel group and the incubator will kick start the event, followed by startup demos and Q&As. At the end, we will have an after party in a local bar. Please RSVP here. If you have product/prototype to demo, click here.

Board Package

Marshall Yang — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:46:05 GMT

DDC, a startup developing business document sharing software and Morgan Lewis, a law firm serving the entrepreneurial community, authored a very handy guide in compiling and distributing the board package.

"Board what?" many of my friends working on their early-stage companies may ask. When investors such as Robin Hood Ventures write checks to a company, we usually require a seat in the company's board of directors (see our Screening Criteria). The board meets periodically to review the company's performance and make decisions for the company. The board meeting is one of the major venues where Robin Hood's industry knowledge and operational experience add value to our portfolio companies. To give the board members an effective update of the company, the CEO makes a package of documents including presentation slides and supplementary materials. The guide from DDC and Morgan Lewis tells CEOs what to and not to include in the package. Thanks to DDC and Morgan Lewis.

PowerPoint Font - Size Matters

Marshall Yang — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:16:46 GMT

I know how much information in a presentation slide entrepreneurs want to convey. Guy Kawasaki, a VC and the former chief evangelist of Apple, however claims that text-heavy presentation slides give him vertigo. He recommend entrepreneurs to use at least 30-point font, to highlight contents that reflect the company value the best (read his blog post here). Pennsylvania State engineering communication Professor Michael Alley agrees with him, recommending 28-point (read more of his presentation advice). Guy’s more flexible version of the font-size rule is that it should be the audience’s age divided by two. And no, using a 10-point font is not to say to investors: oh you look so young.

USVP's Take On Presenting Risks

Marshall Yang — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:36:14 GMT

In the entry last week I talked about how a entrepreneur can win trust from investors by presenting frankly about the competitors. See more here. One of the Robin Hood's member, Jeff Strider, sent me a link to the entrepreneur page of USVP (here). They also mentioned how important it is to be objective about the risks of your new venture:

"Early-stage investing is a long-term commitment to working together -- the stakes are too high for either side to become "promotional" in their presentation of the opportunity."

Investors think alike.

Be Honest about Your Competitors

Marshall Yang — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:03:01 GMT

In a business plan presentation, being frank about competition wins the respect of investors. Savvy investors know every product/service has substitute. Showing your competitors’ strengths, according to Fc Expert’s Mark Suster, is a great chance to show the positioning of the company; if you intentionally hide them, investor will know.

A business truly with no competitors, on the other hand, means it is too early to invest. The precursor of iPhone, Apple Newton, did not have any competitor 15 years ago in mobile devices. But it was “15 years too early”, says Ex Apple CEO John Sculley.

Valuing Your Value Proposition

Sasan Choobineh — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:23:19 GMT

While it may seem like common sense to do so, many entrepreneurs do not seem to understand the importance of forming a clear and thoughtful value proposition. What is a value proposition? What elements should be included in your value proposition in order to attract angel investors? Find out more about about what is deemed to be a "primary foundation characteristic" of any fledgeling business here.

Angel Investing - Most Frequently Asked Questions

Ellen Weber — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:20:30 GMT

What's the difference between Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists? What are Angel Groups and how do they work? What makes a company a good candidate for angel investment?

We hear this questions all the time, and thought we'd put together an overview of angel investing. Please feel free to share this overview.

Obtaining Funding with 5 Magic Slides

Sasan Choobineh — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:56:20 GMT

Are you an entrepreneur desperately trying to catch an investor's eye? As Socialcast founder Tim Young asserts, the age-old mantra holds true: the simpler, the better. In your company's initial presentation, concision is key. Read here to learn how 5 magic slides can propel your company to super-stardom.