Funding Post Panel

Last week I was part of an investor panel for FundingPost.com, a company that travels the country presenting pitch workshops, giving entrepreneurs the chance to make elevator pitches, featuring investor panels and organizing networking time with cocktails and food at the end of the event.  This model is not completely unlike many of the services that ZINO Society also offers, but ZINO Society provides these services in Seattle 11 months of the year.

Joe Rubin of FundingPost.com facilitated the panel and other featured panelists included ZINO Society member and active angel investor Peter Weiss, Conceivian CEO and angel investor, Saqib Rasool, Southern California angel investor, Jay Chavez, and Voyager Capital Senior Analyst, Daniel Gallagher.

We each talked about some of the things we look for when making an angel investment and what we find most important.  Daniel shared a quick list of the eight things they look for at Voyager when they are considering a venture capital investment:

1. strong business model
2. market size (they consider 1%-5% of a total market huge)
3. first-class team involved
4. the quality of the technology (how will it scale or fail?)
5. the product (how does it address the pain?)
6. valuation and terms
7. Is Voyager able to add value? (do they have expertise in that area as a value add?)
8. sustainable competitive advantage (what are the barriers to others doing the same thing?)

During the networking time following several entrepreneur elevator pitches and the panel discussion, I never made it to the hors d'oeuvres or wine table because there was a long lineup of entrepreneurs who were eager to talk with me about how they could work with ZINO Society to find resources and funding.  Thankfully, ZINO Society Dealflow & Operations Manager, Kate DesRosier, and Membership VP, Jamee Nunnelee, attended the event with me and were able to help answer questions and connect with the entrepreneurs attending.

There were several entrepreneurs with whom I was impressed that I hope to see pitching at a ZINO Society investment event soon!