Edition 2: How to secure a VC meeting; Web3 SaaS or SaaS3; Building a lean B2B startup growth stack;

We invest in the Future of Businesses: Web2/Web3 Infrastructure your company should care about.

Mar 27, 2023

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READS

Web3 Remains Highly Relevant for Private Equity

The 2022 meltdown among crypto companies raised plenty of anxiety about the future of blockchain, smart contracts, and tokens. But the real promise of these web3 tools and technologies extends far beyond the volatile and often speculative world of crypto. For investors, web3 will have important implications for how funds invest, underwrite risk, and raise new capital.

Web3 encompasses an array of concepts and tools

Building a lean B2B startup growth stack (TechCrunch)

Growing a B2B business is becoming increasingly complex. The market is inundated with products thanks to the explosion of SaaS, it’s getting harder to leverage ad platforms and email, and identity management is Byzantine.
What should be in your stack
CRM: Hubspot
Data source: Apollo.io
Ad Platforms: LinkedIn Ads, Google AdWords
Analytics: Google Analytics
Other: Outbound email domain management (e.g., Lightmeter)

Web3 could seize on the decades-old software-as-a-service business model (Cointelegraph)

From providing enterprise-level Ethereum infrastructures to blockchain-based document storage systems, Web3 SaaS (or SaaS3) companies offer decades-old business services reimagined in the Web3 environment, and fresh data shows that the business world is open to trying new ways of doing old things.

OPINION

Have you ever tried to get a meeting with a VC fund? It’s not always seems easy or straightforward. Every VC gets hundreds of “cold” inbounds every week. Failure to get a meeting with a VC is not a reflection on your startup’s potential - it is a matter of how you present yourself and the idea.

🚩 Always, and we repeat, always do your homework

At times, in the inbound emails we get, the name of the fund is incorrect. The email is clearly addressed to the wrong person. At Pretiosum, some of them are irrelevant to our investment focus (e.g. agtech, biotech). You must be able to answer the following questions about the fund you are reaching out to:

What vertical do they invest in? The more aligned they are with the focus of your startup, the higher chance they will ask you for a meeting.
What stage do they invest in? Some venture capitalists prefer to invest in growth companies, so if you are just starting out, there’s no point contacting them now.
What geography do they invest in?
Who is in their portfolio? If the portfolio company is a direct competitor, it’s unlikely the fund will want to cannibalize their current investment so your chances are very slim.

Ideally outline in a few bullet points why you are a great fit for the fund. The more generic you are, the less likely you will hear back. Master a one line pitch. Keep it short, investors are always on the go.

Example:

Company XYZ is aligned to your fund’s thesis: B2B Infrastructure & SaaS, seed, based in Europe, female founder
Our mission is to democratise corporate learning with a platform packed with powerful features that gets you up and running, no matter if you are a small team or a large company.
Last round raised in November, 2021 at a valuation of $10m

📧 Focus on intros

Investors are 90% times more likely to take a meeting with someone who has been recommended to them. Funds have advisors, founders whom they’ve already invested in and other investors they collaborate with. Get to know other founders who have been on similar fundraising journeys as you. If they like you and the idea, they may put you in touch with their investors. Use LinkedIn, Crunchbase.

Explain your 🚩

We review hundreds of cold inbounds every month. As much as we try to answer to everyone, some stories raise a lot of questions meaning we are less likely to respond.

Explain why:

Valuation is so high
Founders are not working on the project full-time
If we invested in a competitors (direct or indirect) why should we take a meeting with you
Your previous start up/s failed in the past and what what you learned

Here is the infographic to get your ready for a VC call ;)

ATTEND

🇬🇧 13 April - 14 April

Alternative Investment Management Summit gathering and connecting investors and managers in the world of alternatives

🇺🇸 April 26

Womenterprise by Work Bench and Bank of America,Summit Celebrating Women in Enterprise Software

🇫🇷 Yana Abramova, Pretiosum Ventures, at Paris Blockchain Week ;)

WORK

Various Roles • Pretiosum Portfolio Companies

Web3 Career website • Browse 31,941 blockchain jobs in web3 at 5,397 projects

Discover your Next Opportunity • InnovatorsRoom

If you are building a Web2/Web3 Infrastructure company, get in touch with us 😉

LEARN

🤑 This month we are reading The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Most people believe that intelligence and education are necessary for financial success. Housel contends that you will make wiser financial judgments if you are aware of how your feelings and beliefs affect your choices.

🎧 And listening to 20VC: How I Boosted Salesforce Revenue by $500M

B2B Sales and three types of people sales leaders should hire:
1. The Visionary: Builds a vision and is very creative
2. The Closer: Super passionate and knows how to close
3. The Hunter: Wants to hunt and take down every deal

“If you can recruit good people, you're going to have a lot of success. If I get the best people and I treat them great, by definition they hit their goals, I'm hitting my goals, and the company's happy.”

Please note that any charts, data, or projections discussed are subject to change without notice, may differ from opinions expressed by others, and are for informational purposes only. They should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. The content speaks only as of the date indicated; Pretiosum Ventures has not independently verified third party links or sources, nor makes representations about the enduring accuracy of such information.

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