"An investor is not a mythological creature or a monster," says Javier Megias, "but someone who, like the entrepreneur, is busy and concerned about business possibilities." And that is where, according to Mejías, one of the biggest mistakes is made by entrepreneurs in a first meeting with a potential investor: "it's about business, not product. Considering that your company is your product is a common mistake. Investors invest in businesses with the capacity to scale. Evidently, the product is the basis for building that business, but there is much more: marketing, business model, how it will scale, etc.," says Javier Megías in conversation with José Manuel Carol, director of BStartup10 of Banco Sabadell.
Javier Megias is an entrepreneur and investor passionate about startups and entrepreneurship. He is currently CEO and co-founder of STARTUPXPLORE, the premium startup investment platform. In addition to being an advisor to several startups and investment funds, he has worked advising dozens of companies and organizations, such as the European Commission, which he combines with his work as a business angel and board member of BigBAN Angels. In his conversation with José Manuel Carol, director of BStartup10, Megias details five key points for a successful first meeting with an investor:
- Do not try to tell everything: "you have to understand that, although for the entrepreneur what they have told is very well explained, the reality is that normally it will be difficult for the investor to reach that level of detail. You have to give enough information to the investor (but only what is necessary) to be able to get to the second appointment, where you can go into more detail."
- This is about business, not product: considering that your company is your product is a common mistake. Investors invest in businesses with the capacity to scale. Evidently, the product is the basis for building that business, but there is much more: marketing, business model, how it will scale.
- Do not give monologues: "we should use at most 50% of the time granted to us. Let the investor ask questions."
- Content is as important as format. Your presentation must be excellent.
- Assume you don't know everything
- Never argue with the investor
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BANCO SABADELL EXCEEDS €175M IN FINANCING TO STARTUPS AND HAS 64 EMERGING COMPANIES IN ITS PORTFOLIO
Since the creation of BStartup in 2013, Banco Sabadell already has 64 emerging companies in its portfolio thanks to the management of its three investment vehicles in this field: BStartup 10, Sabadell Venture Capital and Innocells. The entity has provided financing to innovative and technological companies for an amount exceeding €175M in the last four years.
The launch of BStartup in 2013 served to ratify Banco Sabadell's firm and constant commitment to entrepreneurs. In 2014, in order to continue advancing in this field, it activated the BStartup 10 vehicle, an annual program that calls for companies in early stages of development and, after passing a rigorous selection process, works with a group of 10 startups for a year, in which the bank invests 100,000 euros in each of them in order to consolidate and strengthen their potential.
In 2015, the entity took a new step with the creation of Sabadell Venture Capital, aimed at startups in later stages and series A. And in 2016 it launched its latest initiative in this area by introducing Innocells, the bank's digital business hub that makes strategic digital and technological investments in seed, series A and B phases.