1. Nicholas Lovell
GAMESbrief
GamesInvest, London
September 22nd 2011
RAISING MONEY FOR GAMESPitch your company, not your product

2. Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbrief
Author, How to Publish a Game
Director, GAMESbrief
Clients include Atari, Channel 4, Channelflip, Firefly, IPC, nDreams, Rebellion and Square Enix
@nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief
With Nic Brisbourne of DFJ Esprit, writing 50 questions you should ask when raising venture capital
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4. Come to my masterclass
How to make money from social games
Early bird price: 325 + VAT (until 28th September)
Bring a colleague for half price
www.gamesdevmasterclasses.com
5. Some definitions
6. Seed capital
7. Series A
8. Series B
9. Whats the point of a startup?
10. Steve Blank says:
11. We used to know the business model
Put a game in a box. Sell it.
12. Now we dont
Platform?
Pricing model?
Free?
Whales and true fans?
Conversion rates?
TRACTION?
13. So what is the business plan?
I dont care about your year 3 revenues
I care about the levers that will move your business
I dont want a feature list that shows that your product has everything your competitors have
Theyre normally better funded than you
I want to see that you:
Have identified one to two things that your market really wants
That you can show how CPA < LTV, preferably lots less
14. The biggest mistake I see
Pitching a PROJECT, not a COMPANY
Creatives pitch businesses like theyd pitch a TV show or game
All about making money from the investment, not using the investment to create wealth
Corporate types pitch businesses like new divisions:
All risk mitigation and competitive analysis
Business plans become arse-covering exercises
Show investors a plan that :
identifies the market need,
shows the funnel that will fuel it,
and the levers you need to pull to get there
15. Why funding is the last resort
16. Funding is expensive
Time
6-12 months
Money
Lawyers, bankers, PR agents, travel expenses
Equity
25-50%
Revenue is MUCH cheaper
17. Are you funding for the right thing
Many funders just arent right for your stage of business
No matter the stage
Too big, too small
Too tech-heavy, too marketing-heavy
Too domestic, too international
Can you take all that effort you would have put into raising money and build a damned product instead?
Particularly true for web-focused businesses
18. So what have I learned
19. My learnings
Start-ups are fun (even failed ones)
Although failed ones are *incredibly stressful
Spend as much time as possible talking to investors
The more you can learn about how they think, the better
Your plan is a guide, not an answer
Never be fooled into believing it
Know what stage your business is at, and hence what investors will look for
Pitch a company, not a product
20. Thank younicholas@gamesbrief.comFollow my blogwww.gamesbrief.comCome to my masterclasswww.gamesdevmasterclasses.com