from the money and the maker
TRANSCRIPT
FROM THE MONEY AND THE MAKER
The Relationship between Product Management and Fundraising
HELLO!I am Moriya Kassis, Senior Venture Associate at UpWest Labs Product Management Consultant Ex-Co-Founder of MorpheusNot necessarily in this order...
You can find me at [email protected]
I am the Founder of the two biggest
Product Management communities in Israel:
Join us!
This presentation is based on a meetup we held at on June 2016and on my personal experience. Please do keep in mind that there are no rules in building startups. #JustProductizeIt
The Plan:1.What am I Here For?And What It Has To Do With Product?!?
2.Why and When Should StartupsSet Out to Raise Money?
3.Once Decided To Do So, How Can We DoThis Better & Smarter?
4.Assembling the Puzzle.Or: #JustProductizeIt
Let’s start with the basics:
1.What am I here
for?And what it Has
to do with Product?!?!
Building a startup it’s mainly creating a product that offers others value and prove re-maximizing this value every day,in a way that brings those users more value and attracts more of them.
Everything else is just an
enabler for you to get there.
IDEAEARLY
PRODUCT ITERATIO
NS
STARTUP
2.Why and When Should Startups
Set Out to Raise Money?
Please, forget about B2B VS. B2C VS. B2B2C AutoMotive or Impact
Please, forget about B2B VS. B2C VS. B2B2C AutoMotive or Impact
The reason for you to set out to raise money- is for you to get yourproduct to the market
faster.
When?
When? Only when you have:
When? Only when you have: A very solid vision of your product
When? Only when you have: A very solid vision of your product“Something others can play with”
When? Only when you have: A very solid vision of your product“Something others can play with”Feedback from users and partners
When? Only when you have: A very solid vision of your product“Something others can play with”Feedback from users and partnersAnd,
When? Only when you have: A very solid vision of your product“Something others can play with”Feedback from users and partnersAnd,a very detailed understanding ofhow are you going to use moneyfor the benefit of your product.
3.Once Decided To Do So, How Can
We DoThis Better &
Smarter?
You Asked For a Fair Game? You Got It.
One of the most important, however barely known fundraising lessons for startups is that VCs care about the # of users & downloads a product has.
One of the most important, however barely known fundraising lessons for startups is that VCs care about the # of users & downloads a product has.
But, they care more about the habits associated with the product.
Activation, Retention & Engagement
Each business is different. Each VC is different.
But ultimately if you can show that you created something other people
actually want to use, That is a very good start.
4.Building the
Puzzle.Or:
#JustProductizeIt
Don’t have a COO/CMO in charge of the product and its management
One of the founders should be the Product Owner – preferably not the CEO. Over time a dedicated PM should be assigned.
Hire a PM ASAP, and get the R&D used to working with a PM. The more you wait, the harder it gets to adjust.
VCs look for a balance between creativity & realization.
Both are needed.
The product-market-fit process has to be done in the market where you want to launch the product.
Raising money after proving that your customers were willing to pay for your product is significantly easier.
***For an early stage startup, the magic isn’t necessarily lies within showing big numbers but with showing a small number of users and the understanding of how to tie their life and your product in a addicting however seamless way***
Include “product” slides: Competitive Analysis, Product Messaging, Market Research, andquotes from customers.
PM’s location depends on type of business:
Tech product should be closer to R&D. Saas, E-commerce?
the PM should be closer to the market.
We are not in the business of coding,
neither are we in the business of pitching. Rather, we are in the business of creating sustainable, and lifelong hooks using tech, design and the little we know about mankind.
