Ep 20: Jone Vaituleviciute
on what investors want to see in founders, why B2B SaaS is so demanded, and how to avoid getting screwed when raising money
Jone Vaituleviciute is Partner at Startup Wise Guys that was just named The Hottest Startup Accelerator in Europe. In this episode Jone shares the perspective of the accelerator - with 1-2% acceptance rate, what are they looking for in business models and founders. We also discuss why investors like to invest in B2B SaaS and the value that early-stage support organizations can bring to startups in the pre-accelerator stage
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The topics covered in this episode (with Timestamps)
🔈 [6:00] Startup Wise Guys and early-stage investing/accelerating
Accelerator wants you to move 6x faster than without it
It’s not school, nobody checks attendance
The key value add of the accelerator is the community of founders who are struggling the same as you
The average age of founders is increasing
Beware of passive accelerators - if you are giving up equity, you want to maximize the value
Think very hard whether you want and need accelerating as many companies are already matured past and might give up equity without the necessary value
🔈 [22:40] What accelerators want to see in founders and companies
Revenue can be a vanity metric and not say anything about traction and trajectory
If founder just wants money, they should go to a Non-accelerator investor
If the founder is not committed to full time, it’s a big red flag
Founder decisiveness is a key requirement
🔈 [38:00] What to expect from the acceleration program
The acceptance rate is 1-2%
This is a long term relationship, accelerator stays on your capable 5-7 years while the accelerating phase usually lasts around 12 months
Support for founders in the further round and help avoid big mistakes
🔈 [48:20] B2B SaaS - Why is it the favorite business model for VCs
B2B SAAS is extremely broad, also Fintech can be B2B SaaS
The model is relatively easier to build for the founder
The traction metrics are easy to track and compare to others, thus it is less risky for the investor to take a bet
The importance of revenue in the earliest stages should not be overstated
Big corporates develop quickly from product user to acquisition of the provider
Edtech and health tech as biggest opportunities in B2B SaaS
The next generation of blockchain companies
🔈 [1:06:30] The role of support organizations for startups
Internationalization of local startup ecosystems
Taking care of startups that are not ready for investment/accelerators yet
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