IIM-A CIIE FinTech GrowthCamp

Kaushik Gala

What is FinTech?

2

Companies vs. Startups

Treadmill or Uphill?

4

Search vs. Execute

A startup is a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

A company is a permanent organization designed to execute a repeatable and scalable business model.

5http://steveblank.com/category/big-companies-versus-startups-durant-versus-sloan/

Panel Prep

Panel Do’s

• Do– Listen. Attentively.

– Be brief. Be specific.

– Be kind.

– Be (appropriately) provocative, not (inappropriately) aggressive.

– Ask enabling questions• E.g. Have you considered integrating your product with XYZ’s API?

• E.g. At what price point have you seen the best sales conversion?

– Provide insights• E.g. At Company, we found that XYZ feature was the most compelling for customers

• E.g. At Company, we re-positioned our product to address the ABC pain point

– Help the startup see upcoming challenges, risks.

– Suggest analogs, role models.

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Panel Don’ts

• Don’t– Conduct a job interview.

– Ramble.

– Rush into answers after hearing half the problem/question.

– Judge.

– Roast.

– Make the founders defensive.

– Get offended by a brash entrepreneur.

– Use too much jargon.

– Get into debates on the best technology/language/platform/…

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Business Questions - 1• What’s the evidence that you are solving a real pain point for a customer/user?

• What was the reason you signed up your first paying customer?

• How, why did you choose your co-founder?

• What are the top 3 business metrics you are tracking?

• What is the best argument for not using your product?

• What is the decision making / purchasing process for your customer?

• What (time, money, resources) would it take for someone to build a similar solution?

• Why would a customer switch to your product? Why would they stick to your product?

• Who has a vested interest in the status quo, or in your product failing?

• What are the barriers to scaling your revenue?

• Who will be your next key hire? Why?

• How did you determine the appropriate price point for your product?

• What is the one thing that can completely destroy your current business model?

• Talk about a major technology change on the horizon that will impact you.9

Business Questions - 2• Can you explain the Unit Economics for your company?

• Have you figured out your Customer Acquisition Cost? Customer Lifetime Value?

• Have you pivoted your business model since inception? If yes, why?

• If you are unable to raise any venture funding, how will you ensure the survival of your business?

• Which large company is most likely to compete with you? Why?

• Have you chosen any independent/external people on your Board of Directors? Board of Advisors? How are they incentivized to help you?

• What is the one growth metric that you are tracking (or can track) on a weekly basis?

• What is the biggest mistake you have made so far? Could you have avoided it?

• Is there a specific government regulation that can make or break your business?

• If you had to choose between India and the US as a market, which one would you choose for your venture? Why?

• If you had to sell your company today, who would you sell it to? Why would they buy you?

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Companies & Startups

Company =

– Beta User

– Beta Customer

– Supplier (cloud, OS, SaaS, raw materials, …)

– IP/Technology Development Partner

– Channel Partner

– Strategic Partner

– Seed/VC Investor

– Acquirer (acqui-hire, secondary sale, …)

for a startup.

12http://www.slideshare.net/nextbigwhat/how-startups-can-do-business-with-corporates

The Possibilities are Endless

B2B | B2B

• Startup trying to sell to a Company Empanelment criteria, NDAs

Free pilots, Exclusivity, Branding rights

Long sales cycle, late payments

• Company trying to buy from a Startup Track record, documentation, testing

Confidentiality, reliability, scalability

After-sales support, professionalism

13http://www.slideshare.net/nextbigwhat/how-startups-can-do-business-with-corporates

Corporate Support for Startups

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• Microsoft BizSpark– https://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/

• Amazon AWS Activate– http://aws.amazon.com/activate/

• Google Launchpad– https://developers.google.com/startups/

• Facebook fbStart– http://fbstart.com/

• VMWare vCloud Air Edge– http://vcloud.vmware.com/partner-programs/edge

Generally a mix of ‘credits’, online forums/KBs, expert access, testing, events; occasionally, sales & marketing assistance.

Corporate Venturing

15http://galatime.com/CVC.pdf

• Corp Venturing (aka New Ventures & Business Development) is the group within companies that invests in startups.

• Many successful CVCs – Intel, Motorola, Google, Salesforce, …

• More cyclical than VC/PE

• Strategic Fit > IRR

Corporate Development

16http://www.paulgraham.com/corpdev.html

• Corp Dev (aka M&A) is the group within companies that buys other companies.

• Sell your startup

– Understand the Company’s M&A Strategy

– Seek multiple bids

– Prepare for 3 - 6 months of time, resource commitment

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/106015/Corporate-Development-101-

What-Every-Startup-Should-Know.aspx

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/the-m-a-strategies-of-the-top-10-tech-companies/

Thanks.

Kaushik Gala