373760
Steph from OpenVC

@stephnass #373760

Co-founder at http://OpenVC.app. Building the front door into venture capital. I tweet incredible tools and terrible insights for VCs and founders. 🫡
47 Follower 74 Following
Just posted a little tutorial on how to build the perfect investor list (including links to 50+ databases).

Completely free, no signup required: https://openvc.app/blog/investor-list
/VC
Wanna raise a seed round from VCs?

For most ppl, it's not as straightforward as you'd expect.
/VC
New behavior I'm seeing: web3 startups "hiding" that they are web3.

Here are two web3 startups on OpenVC. No mention of NFT, crypto, blockchain... Very unusual.

Better chance to get your deck opened? 🤔
You don't need need VC money to build:
- A simple e-commerce website
- A simple dating app
- A simple marketplace
- A simple SaaS

If you leverage cloud + low-code + AI, you can realistically bootstrap your MVP to $20k-$100k MRR/mGMV.

No investors needed.

From there, you can raise to scale OR bootstrap some more.
Who says you need VC?

Chess․com
Revenue: $100M+
VC: $0

Mailchimp
Revenue: $700M+
VC: $0

Zoho
Revenue: $1B+
VC: $0

Midjourney
Revenue: $200M+
VC: $0

Butcherbox
Revenue: $600M
VC: $0

Dyson
Revenue: $8B+
VC: $0

Who else?
"$500k committed"? Really?

If you're raising on SAFE/notes, only money in da bank counts. 💰

If you're raising a priced round, a term sheet is a commit. But committed DOES NOT MEAN secured. Many VCs have called off an investment after giving a term sheet... 💀

And Verbal Commits? They are 💩.
Showing the relationship between (a) round size, (b) dilution, and (c) valuation.

Still WIP. Wdyt?
Trying to explain how VC works to first-time founders.

(WIP, oversimplified on purpose)

Is it clear? helpful? correct?
I frequently (1/week) get anxious emails from founders asking:

"Who invests in founders with no product and no track record?"

My honest answer is:
1️⃣ Yourself
2️⃣ Family & Friends
3️⃣ Incubators & Accelerators
4️⃣ Grants & Prizes