He successfully completed the workshop How to raise financing for a venture capital (VC) organized by the Chilean Venture Capital Association (ACVC) and sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
About thirty participants, including entrepreneurs and members of the accelerator and incubator teams, had two days to learn about how this industry works locally and globally, as well as its importance.
“The VC has an impact on the quality of life of people (…) in addition its access is democratic since it finances good ideas and good businesses regardless of who they are,” said at the beginning of the workshop Magdalena Guzmán, executive director of the ACVC.
Regarding the things that a VC looks for in a startup, its scalability is one of the main factors, assured Cristóbal Silva, general partner of Kayyak Ventures and director of the ACVC.
For his part, Andrés Meirovich, managing partner of Genesis Ventures and director of the ACVC, urged not to be afraid of asking investors for high amounts. “A lot of times you make that mistake,” he said.
Evelyn Von Bischhoffshausen, principal at Kayyak Ventures, recommended that startups look for local VCs in the early stages and then target foreign funds, but keeping in mind what they need. “The relationship that the fund has with startups depends on its size. That is why it is necessary to map CVs and talk to other entrepreneurs (about their experience),” she added.
The legal aspect was in charge of Francisco Guzmán, partner of Carey Abogados and president of the ACVC. In addition to explaining the different relationship alternatives between startups and VCs, he advised always having advice. “If not, you can miss a lot of mistakes and come off very badly,” he warned.
In addition, the lawyer explained why the most important part of the fundraising is the valuation of the startup. Later, Sebastián Gilbert, partner at Dadneo Capital and director of the ACVC, delved into the subject and detailed all the aspects involved, clarifying that the process has a part of science and a part of art.
“Science because there is a financial part behind it and art because there are many soft things that end up affecting the value of the startup,” he said. Even so, the valuation must have a basis, including the commercial value and the value delivered to the client. The team and the technological solution must be included as well, among others.
Sebastián González, head of venture partnerships Hispam Wayra and director of the ACVC, spoke about the perspective of corporate funds and how they manage to boost the industry. He also recommended that entrepreneurs always tell what they are working, because everyone competes for the attention of the VC.
In the last session, Federico Antoni, managing partner of ALLVP, and Pedro Pineda, co-founder, and CEO of Fintual, participated. The first interviewed the second about the startup capital raising process in the VC.
Antonio recalled that although at first, the fund had doubts about financing Fintual, after meeting the team all the hesitations disappeared. Pedro also spoke about the relationship with the fund and what should be prioritized on it. “The size of the check does not matter, but the value that the VC can bring you,” he assured.
