#2 Deconstructing the Raise

Welcome to Season 1 Episode 2 of Deconstructing the Raise - a show powered by Ventroduce

Konstantin Miska is the CEO of Hirio, which is an all-in-one data-driven platform enabling high-volume recruiters to fill jobs within days.

In January 2021, Hirio raised $400k in an Angel led Seed round involving some prominent names in our industry such as Ragnar Sass, Founder of PipeDrive.

..I think it's not new that at this stage, all the assumptions are very vague, and it's quite difficult to predict accurately the growth...

Konstantin Miska

During this episode of DTR, Alex Theuma asks Konstantin about where he met and how he chose the Angles investors to work with, the challenges he faced closing the deal, and what he would do differently next time.

You should listen to the full episode for better context but.. here are 3 key takeaways about how to choose the right Angles to work with

Keep them in the loop

Especially in the early days of a startup, it’s very difficult to predict future growth. From an Angles perspective, it’s even harder.

Making predictions on the future is based just on pitch decks and founder meetings is tough… Konstant suggests when you’re leading up to your fundraise, update your (soon to be) Angel investors on the progress of the company. This gives them context and more information to judge the velocity of your company.

“..We are sent weekly updates to all these investors, this gave them a very clear understanding how fast we are moving…”

Have a clear vision

What would the product look like in two or three years?

While the Investors don’t want to know everything, it’s important to have some strategy.. a clear vision about your products fit in the market will help. But, you should be able to communicate this vision in a very clear and simple way.

“..Of course you don't know everything.. in the early stage, but you should have some strategy. You should have some vision..”

Make sure on the same page

Can this investor impact your progress?

It’s extremely important to understand how that specific Angel investor can move the needle forward for your company (outside of the capital). In the early days, it’s helpful that you have people who are willing to be champions of your company on the cap table.

It’s worth identifying if your investors can help by making connections, taking any advisory roles or helping with specific market insights. Your aim should be to raise “smart money”

“it's very important to have synergy, a synergy that shows that they can help you with progress”

Seed rounds are very difficult to navigate as a Founder. I hope we were able to share some useful learnings which increase your chances.

Thanks for listening to Deconstructing the Raise! A show powered by Ventroduce - a European fundraising and investment platform built for SaaS Founders and Funders.

Ventroduce helps early stage companies increase their exposure to the right funding and connects with their best-fit Investors. If you’re looking to raise your first, or next round. You can join in less than 5 minutes..