Dozens of Sacramento entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts came out to the Urban Hive last Wednesday to the inaugural Founder Academy meet up to learn about available options for financing your business from a range of local resources.

The Panel:

  • Carrie R. Ellinwood : Lead Lender Relations Specialist Sacramento SBA
  • Mike Rizzo : Five Star Bank (Founder Academy Mentor & Sponsor)
  • Robert Winkler, CEO : 5th Planet Games
  • Scott Sanders : CEO Infiniti Consulting Group (Angel, Founder Academy Mentor)
  • Lokesh Sikaria : Moneta Ventures (VC, Founder Academy Mentor & Sponsor)
  • Duane Wilson : Co-Director Founder Academy (Moderator)

 

Following are some rather random notes I captured during the event (apologies for the unorganized nature of this post).

Question: How is bank debt viewed by VCs.

Answer (Lokesh Sikaria): Positively. It shows that the bank thought the business was credible.

Caution – Beware of predatory online banks, VCs, and Angel Investors.

 

Question: What’s required to get a bank loan.

Answer (Mike Rizzo): A bright outlook, filling a niche, revenue, SBA involvement, the presentation; tenacity and patience. They’re looking for how good a business person the applicant is.

 

When asked what angel investors are looking for, Scott Sanders’ answered; the right people, realistic goals and ROI, good, clean numbers in your books. Typical deal sizes can range from $1,000 to $500,000.

 

Revenue First

A recurring theme from the panel throughout the evening ;  you need to show revenue first before people will invest in you.

Prerequisites to Pitching VCs

Asked what the primary prerequisites are for pitching VCs, Moneta’s Lokesh Sikaria replied that those pitching their startup needed to be able to explain succinctly what it is they do and who their market is, along with income statements projects for 12 months, the team’s profile, and a good understanding of your competition – if you don’t identify or disclose your competitors, they, the VCs, will find out anyway during their research.

 

On Non-Disclosure Agreements

An additional point made by several panelists was not to ask for an NDA. They don’t want to have to get their legal teams involved in going over and correcting the NDA, that most likely was just downloaded from the internet. They’re not going to steal or disclose your idea. They don’t have time to. They don’t want to take your idea and turn it into a business. That’s your job.

 

All of the funders also shared the sentiment that their looking for evidence that you’re going to grow and not to go to broad with your idea, but rather focus and pick niches.

All in all the event was very well done, with a lot of great advice and tips from a top notch panel of local startup funding resources in our region. The next Founder Academy Meetup event is being planned for July. Join the Founder Academy Meetup group to stay informed of their events.

About Founder Academy

Founder Academy is a Sacramento-based Silicon Valley training and mentoring program for entrepreneurs. The Founder Academy is being launched by experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders who are filling a critical need in the local ecosystem by providing training, tools and mentorship to Sacramento’s best and brightest entrepreneurs. Founder Academy is currently accepting applications for their inaugural Founder Academy session which will begin in late Summer and are currently accepting applications.