INTEL 🧠

Four startups missed their Silicon Valley flight

The first season of Founder Games is nearing its end. As we anticipate the winning startups from the final six, let's explore the advisory board's decisions on eliminating the rest.

1. Clipray (ex- REELax)

The reasons this team built a virtual video assistant to streamline influencer workflows and boost productivity, falling off the rollercoaster, include:

• The lack of IP protection leaves the tool vulnerable to replication, reducing its defensibility.

• Unclear Unique Value Proposition (UVP) as the team struggled to articulate it, sparking uncertainty about their business understanding to the advisory board.

• Missing strategic advantage obstructs the board's ability to see its competitive edge.

• Funding concerns arise due to uncertainty about resource allocation and the effective use of funds.

🧠 The key takeaways we can all apply from Clipray’s mistakes include prioritizing IP protection, defining a clear UVP, communicating a sustainable strategic advantage, and preparing a detailed plan for effective funding utilization.

2. Makeup Symmetry

The team behind an app featuring AR-generated filters to guide users in applying makeup and detecting/concealing skin imperfections failed to advance to the next stage due to:

• Uncertainty about market size and the problem's significance.

• Unclear Unique Value Proposition (UVP) and business model, hindering market delivery and potential growth.

• Lack of differentiation from competitors, requiring unique positioning.

• Need to reassess financial projections to showcase potential growth and profitability.

🧠 The key lessons we can learn from these startup’s mistakes include defining the problem and market clearly, crafting a strong value proposition and business model, ensuring your solution stands out from competitors, and creating accurate, realistic financial projections.

3. Vandan

The team developing an endless game set in the metaverse, connecting music fans globally, was eliminated due to:

• Unclear communication of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

• The early development stage needs more samples and traction to validate the concept.

• Lack of clarity around the problem and solution, leaving the advisory board unsure about the startup's focus and impact.

🧠 The lessons from Vandan emphasize the importance of clearly communicating our Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and why our solution is superior to existing ones. Additionally, demonstrating traction and development progress is crucial for validating the concept and presenting a clear problem-solution narrative.

4. Advices

The startup developing a VR office customized for lawyers and attorneys to streamline operations such as booking, communication, smart case management, and payment processing didn’t advance to the final round due to:

• Lack of clarity regarding the product offering and what the startup was delivering to the market.

• Concerns about scalability and differentiation from competitors.

• Required improvements in the problem-solution fit for sharper focus and stronger impact.

🧠 The key lessons we can learn from Advices include defining our product offering clearly to avoid confusion, focusing on scalability options and differentiation from competitors, and ensuring our solution effectively addresses the specific problem.

While you’re here we want to publicly express our genuine admiration and support for the growth of these four startups in The Founder Games. It's not just about the ideas; the passionate individuals behind these startups are sure to succeed very soon!

All in all, success isn’t just about steering clear of mistakes; it’s about embracing them as opportunities to grow. Every piece of feedback is a chance to refine your approach and move forward.

Yesterday's lessons fuel tomorrow's triumphs 🚀

LEVEL UP ⬆️

Let’s talk about funding!

So, you've got this awesome idea, right?

Now, you're ready to take on the world with your startup.

But hold on a sec!

Before you dive headfirst into the entrepreneurial ocean, let's talk about startup funding rounds.

These funding rounds are the lifeblood of your venture. They give you the fuel needed to turn the idea into reality. From seed funding to Series A, B and beyond, each round has a pivotal role in your startup’s growth and success.

Startup funding rounds are stages in the process where a startup company seeks investment to fuel its growth and development. These rounds reflect the company’s progression from a nascent idea to a fully operational business.

Here’s a breakdown of the typical funding rounds 👇

💰 PRE-SEED FUNDING

Why it’s crucial? You should transform your idea to the initial concept, conduct market research and develop an MVP.

Where to find it? Family, friends, fellow founders and angel investors.

How much to expect? It varies widely, but typically it’s small amounts from thousands to hundreds of thousands.

💰 SEED FUNDING

Why it’s crucial? You need to launch the product, conduct further market research and hire the initial team members.

Where to find it? Angel investors, seed venture capital (VC) firms, incubators and accelerators.

How much to expect? In general, it ranges from $100,000 to $2 million.

What about equity? Investors often receive 10-25% equity in exchange for their investment.

💰 SERIES A FUNDING

Why it’s crucial? Because you need to scale the product, expand the user base and refine the business model.

Where to find it? Venture capital firms.

How much to expect? Typically between $2 million and $15 million.

The valuation? Usually between $10 million and $15 million pre-money valuation.

What about equity? Investors often receive around 15-30% equity in exchange for their investment.

💰 SERIES B FUNDING

Why it’s crucial? Because you need to expand the market reach, increase the operational capacity and grow the team.

Where to find it? Venture capital firms and larger institutional investors.

How much to expect? Generally ranges from $10 million to $50 million.

The valuation? Usually between $30 million and $60 million.

What about equity? Investors often receive around 15-25% equity in exchange for their investment.

💰 SERIES C FUNDING AND BEYOND

Why it’s crucial? Because you need to scale further, enter new markets, develop new products and potentially prepare for an IPO.

Where to find it? Late-stage venture capital firms, private equity firms, hedge funds and investment banks.

How much to expect? It can range from tens to hundreds of millions.

The valuation? Often exceeds $100 million.

What about equity? Varies widely but generally lower percentages due to higher valuations.

💰 INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING (IPO)

Why it’s crucial? To raise capital from public investors and provide liquidity for early investors and founders.

What does it take? It involves selling shares to the public on a stock exchange.

What to expect? The company becomes publicly traded and is subject to regulatory requirements and public reporting.

As you can see in the pattern, each funding round signifies a milestone in your startup’s growth coming with increased amounts of capital and more sophisticated investor expectations at each stage.

Whether through early seed investments or later funding rounds, securing capital is key to turning innovative ideas into successful, leading businesses, and it's something an ambitious startup founder can't afford to ignore.

🎥 How Startup Funding Works by YCombinator

🎥 Fundraising Fundamentals by Geoff Ralston

🎥 How to Raise Money?

STARTUP NEWS RADAR 📡

_{What’s happening these days?}

• Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company with a market cap reaching $3.335 trillion (yes, with a T) dethroning Microsoft’s first position at $3.317T.

• Amazon will commit up to $230 million to support AI generative startups, with the application window closing on July 19.

• The Crunchbase Unicorn Board welcomed six new companies in May, with xAI becoming the latest member after raising $6 billion.

P.S. you may wanna attend these:

• Apply to the Zephyr Pitching Session by Zephyr Angels on June 25 in Skopje

• How to Raise Your 1st Round on June 27, a webinar by Sputnik ATX VC

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