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Data Monetization: A Guide for Startups

Data Monetization: A Guide for Startups

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Fundraising, Investing

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    The Future of Work

    2 min read The US workforce has faced a tough time amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the United States is recording over 43 million people unemployed across the country. As the US struggles to find normalcy, many people are wondering: So what is the future of work? The truth is, there’s a lot of exceptional talent out there looking to get back to work and struggling to find the means to do so. The US previously had a problem with employers struggling to find the right talent; this is no longer the case as the scales have shifted. We now have employers struggling to find the right talent amidst thousands of resumes. There are an overwhelming number of qualified applicants to sift through to find the person who is the right fit for both the job and the company. Since so many people are looking for work, there has been a massive uptick in opportunities for upskilling. These people are essentially looking at how they can reskill themselves to get back into the workforce. As a result, online learning platforms like Udemy and Coursera have exploded in popularity, especially considering the current restrictions placed on traditional learning. As businesses attempt to get back to productivity, there has been a significant rise in remote work as both employers and employees adjust to a new working way. While remote work has been rising in popularity, what we see happening is a shift from popular to essential. As we look towards the future of work, we’re going to see continued changes away from what has long been considered the traditional workforce. Remote work, upskilling, and online learning are becoming the “new normal” and providing the building blocks to shift work as we know it altogether. Read more: http://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/eguide/ Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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    Tissue Culture and Cannabis

    2 min read Of the many emerging technologies in the cannabis market currently gaining steam in the North American market is called tissue culture. Tissue culture itself is not a new technology. Many fruits grown around the world use this same technology. Tissue culture means that growers are creating a seed that has known genetics. Using known genetics ensures that the apple or banana a customer buys at a grocery store in New York is the same as the apple or banana a customer would buy at a grocery store in LA. Tissue culture ensures that things like taste and ripening time remain consistent across the board. Most cannabis is grown using mother plants. At the end of each 4-month harvest, the growers clip the top of the plants. These clippings are planted as seedlings to produce the next crop, and so on. The problem with this is, you can’t determine whether the mother plant has consistent, stable genetics from one growth cycle to another. There has been so much genetic drift over thousands of years of growing cannabis. In turn, you can’t have an infused drink or chocolate bar without knowing that the genetics is stable. This is where tissue culture comes into play. Growers are looking to technology to ensure that the plant: Tastes the same every time Works the same every time Grows the same every time While the tissue culture trend is just starting to emerge in the cannabis space, and it will likely become a standard means of growing soon. Today, most consumers are no longer purchasing cannabis to smoke the flower. Instead, they are purchasing cannabis-infused products where consistency is critical. Due to this shift in the market, we are likely to see the cannabis industry turn more toward tissue culture so that suppliers can ensure that customers are receiving a consistent product. Read more: http://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/education Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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    Have a Little Fun, Make a Little Money, Do a Little Good

    1 min read There’s an old saying about angel investing: “Angels like to have a little fun, do a little good, and make a little money.” Angel investing is more than just about money. I’ve found the successful investments covered all three of the elements of the old angel saying.  It was fun. The people were great to work with.  It had an element of making the world a better place albeit on a small scale. Finally, it provided a positive return on investment so I could continue funding startups. Have a little fun Pursue deals you like. If you don’t like the deal, then why spend the time? Ask yourself, do I want to work with these people? Do I value the work they are doing? If you can answer yes to these questions, you are well on the path to finding a deal that lets you ‘have a little fun.’  Do a little good Once you have a deal you like, then ask, “does the company align with my interests?” Invest in startups that further that in which you believe. You may want to support your local entrepreneur ecosystem, or further a technology that can solve problems that benefit the general public.  Make a little money Get agreement on the terms of the investment with a defined exit. Use the 3X in 3 redemption to define the exit. If you can help the company then consider setting up an advisory position with them.  One of the biggest sources of burnout is uncompensated work. There’s an almost unlimited amount of work that needs to be done and the startup will load you up.  Set boundaries on what you are going to do and how you will be compensated. Consider including these negotiations in the term sheet, even if you don’t intend to provide advisory work as you may later be drawn into it. Having your time negotiated in the terms upfront makes it much easier to navigate the process. Remember, successful investments let you make some money, have some fun, and do some good. Read more: http://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/education Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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    The Importance of Diversity in Your Portfolio

    1 min read According to a Harvard Business Review study on increasing diversity in venture capital partnerships, the more similar the backgrounds shared by the investment partners, the lower the investment performance. Diversity, simply put, leads to better performing teams. Diversity of perspective breeds a startup that has a better understanding of the pain points that they’re trying to solve. The more a startup ensures that its team includes both women and minorities, the more likely it is to uncover the solution to the problem it set out to solve, and the more likely it is to yield a high performance. However, the fact remains that minority and women-owned businesses still struggle with funding when compared to their white, male, counterparts. While the investment space is working to shift this imbalance, the work is far from over and many still face an uphill battle toward equality. Minorities and women continue to face both structural barriers and biases when it comes to career paths. These individuals are expected to fit within a certain mold and stay within that mold. For example, less than 30% of the CEOs within the US are women. Statistically, however, there are more women in the US than men at roughly 97 men to 100 women. As Ola Gambari, COO of Hungry Fan explains: “It’s the idea of this preconceived notion that we have a lane, and we’re supposed to stay in it and, as a minority, if I’m not running a business focused on minority problems, I shouldn’t be running that business, neglecting the fact that I share all of the other pain points of other human beings in this society.” Instead, investors should be evaluating the business on its merits, not just the fact that it has minority founders. Again, it breaks down to recognizing that different perspectives matter and yield better results. As more investors embrace this knowledge, the more equality we’ll begin to see. Read more: http://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/education Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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    Your Pitch Deck Slides

    2 min read Every startup is going to need a pitch deck if they intend to raise funding. So, if you’re new to the startup world, here’s a brief overview of the slides in a pitch deck and their purpose: Title – This will always be the first of your pitch deck slides. Your title slide should be unmistakably clear. It should convey the style and culture of the company. Problem – It’s important to start the pitch with the problem you are solving so the investor has a frame of reference for your startup. Show how this is an important problem that must be solved. Solution – After you have presented a problem to the investors, this becomes your chance to show how you intend to solve that problem. This gives you a chance to sell your startup to the investor. Make it count. Market – The market slide shows the size of the opportunity. The bigger the opportunity, the better. Monetization – The monetization slide has one basic goal: it answers the question of how you make money. Traction – For this slide, you should be able to show current sales as well as the funnel of upcoming sales opportunities. Be sure to include forecast numbers for each opportunity. Competition – The competition slide is useful because it often helps highlight the market size. Competitive Advantage – Make it a point to show what value the customer receives from your product/service. Team – This is your chance to showcase the people you’ve brought on board with your company. Value Proposition – The value proposition slide serves to show what value your product/service brings to the customer. Financial – The financial slide is used to give the current status of the company with respect to revenue, expenses, and profit. Investment Opportunity – This slide functions to show your fundraise target and how much is raised so far. Read more: http://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/how-to-build-a-pitch-deck/ Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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    The Importance of Your Pitch Deck

    1 min read A pitch deck is a huge step toward funding for a startup. In many cases, this is the first tool of communication you’ll reach for when presenting your ideas to an audience and first impressions count. A good first impression during a job interview may lead an individual to the career of their dreams, however, a good first impression during a pitch can lead an entrepreneur toward funding their dreams. A pitch deck is a brief presentation that provides your audience with an overview of your business. Ideally, the deck should answer any general questions an investor might have. The goal of the pitch deck is to introduce your startup to an investor. Additionally, the pitch deck should also serve as a way to highlight any essentials to an investor who may be considering your startup as an investment opportunity. What a pitch deck is not is a means to explain the full history of your company. It is also not a means to explain how your product works. These topics can be covered later on. Instead, focus on making a strong introduction of your company to the investor and do everything you can to leave a good and memorable first impression. Just as important as a strong first impression, is the proper follow up with an investor. After you’ve made your pitch, be sure to schedule a follow-up meeting with them. Use your meeting time to answer any questions the investor might have. Also, take advantage of this time and ask the investor questions you might have. Make sure you have new information to share. Give the investor a reason to join the call to learn more. The goal here is to keep the investor engaged well after you’ve made your pitch. Read more: http://staging.startupfundingespresso.com/how-to-build-a-pitch-deck/ Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network.TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group

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    Coronavirus Economy Trends: Sports

    In the Coronavirus lockdown we’re seeing trends that will establish the next cycle of startup innovation. While physical events for esports have been canceled and future events may be postponed, in general, esports continues with online activity. Online competitive gaming will continue to accelerate through platforms such as Twitch. Online access provides more opportunities to engage the audience and allow for audience communication with each other. Startups in this area will find investor interest if they provide the following: Physical arena sports such as football, basketball, and baseball will go on hold with esports taking over as the audience moves to online viewing. Imposed quarantine has increased consumer playtime. Software development for games carry on with remote workers. While already underway, there’s an accelerating shift to online sports. Some sports programs such as Formula One are creating virtual events to showcase their events. We may see traditional sports teams in football, basketball and baseball launch a virtual version of their team to continue to play in the rapidly-growing esports market.

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    Coronavirus Economy Trends: Government

    In this Coronavirus lockdown, we see trends that are establishing the next cycle of startup innovation. We’ll see the government shift to building out the infrastructure and response programs for healthcare and public safety initiatives and establish flexible manufacturing and secure supply-chain to build equipment on demand, like ventilators and masks. The government will declare specific industries as strategically important, and look to establish safety nets through direct and indirect means. There will be a move to provide support for gig workers and other small business workers with a basic income during times of pandemic. Medicare will update HIPAA laws to allow for the use of commonly used communication tools such as Skype and will allow for Medicare billing for telemedicine. In education, the government will look to allow homeschooling and online learning for K-12 kids. Taxes will most likely rise to cover the costs of these changes.

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    Coronavirus Economy Trends: The Shift to Digital

    In the Coronavirus lockdown, we see trends that will establish the next cycle of startup innovation. While already underway, there’s an accelerating shift to digital. Startups in this area will find investor interest if they can provide the following: Ability to work online, from anywhere Evergreen products that are always in demand Efficient delivery of products and services both online and offline, such as the internet or delivery to the customer’s doorstep Some examples of startups best suited to the shift include restaurants that can move from in-house dining to curbside delivery, businesses ready to sell online rather than in the store, and local gyms streaming live classes online. These trends were already underway; the Coronavirus is only accelerating that progress.

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