“An investor is not a mythological creature or a monster”, says Javier Megias, “but someone who, like the entrepreneur, is busy and worried about business possibilities”. And that is where resides, according to Megias, one of the biggest mistakes that, on the part of the entrepreneurs, is made in a first meeting with a possible investor: “the thing is about business, not about the product. To consider that your company is your product is an error that is usually committed. Investors invest in businesses with the ability to scale up. Obviously, the product is the basis to build that business, but there is much more: marketing, business model, how it will scale up, etc.”, says Javier Megias in conversation with José Manuel Carol, director of BStartup10 at Banco Sabadell.
Javier Megias és un emprenedor i inversor apassionat per les startups i l’emprenedoria. Actualment és CEO i cofundador de STARTUPXPLORE, la plataforma premium d’inversió en startups. A més de ser conseller de diverses startups i fons d’inversió, ha treballat assessorant desenes d’empreses i organismes, com la Comissió Europea, cosa que compagina amb la seva tasca de business angel i membre de la junta de BigBAN Angels. En la seva conversa amb José Manuel Carol, director de BStartup10, Megias detalla sis punts clau per tenir una primera reunió reeixida amb un inversor:
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- Do not try to tell everything: “You have to understand that, although for the entrepreneur what he tells is very well explained, it is normally hard for the investor to grasp a high degree of detail. You have to give enough information to the investor (but only the necessary one) to be able to arrive at the second appointment, in which it will be possible to go deeper into details.
- This is about business, not the product: considering that your company is your product is a mistake that is commonly committed. Investors invest in businesses with ability to scale up. Obviously, the product is the basis to build that business, but there is much more: marketing, business model, how it is going to scale up.
- Do not display monologues: “we must use at most 50% of the time they have granted us. Let the investor ask. “
- The content is as important as the format. Your presentation must be excellent.
- Assume you do not know everything
- Never argue with the investor
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And of course, you have to prepare the meeting well: know the investor beforehand, who he is and what he has done. And once you are in the meeting, do not be afraid to ask him about his doubts, like the degree of involvement he offers or the time of the investment.
BANCO SABADELL EXCEEDS € 175M IN FINANCING STARTUPS AND HAS 64 EMERGING COMPANIES IN ITS PORTFOLIO
Since the creation of BStartup in 2013, Banco Sabadell already has 64 emerging companies in its portfolio thanks to the management of its three investment vehicles in this field: BStartup 10, Sabadell Venture Capital and Innocells. The entity has provided financing to innovative and technological companies for an amount exceeding € 175 million in the last four years.
The launch of BStartup in 2013 ratified the firm and constant commitment to the entrepreneur that characterizes Banco Sabadell. In 2014, in order to continue advancing in this field, the vehicle BStartup 10 was activated: an annual program that brings together companies that are in early stages of development and, after passing a rigorous selection process, works with a group of 10 startups during a year, in which the bank invests 100,000 euros in each of them in order to consolidate and reinforce its potential.
In 2015, the entity took a new step with the creation of Sabadell Venture Capital, aimed at startups in advanced phases and A series. And in 2016 launched its latest initiative in this area by introducing Innocells, the digital business hub of the bank that makes strategic investments of digital and technological nature in seed phase, A and B series.
