Fundraising 101: Level-Up Your Fundraising Strategy

• The event kicked off with a seminar on how to level up one’s fundraising strategy by Paddy Tan and Jeslin Bay, Co-Founders of BlackStorm Consulting
• Together with Edgar Chiu, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Sparklabs Taipei, Paddy Tan and Harvey Ma, Co-Founders of BlackStorm Consulting discussed about getting into the right “marriage” in the context of fundraising

August 13, 2019: We are proud and privileged to work with Centre of Industry Accelerator and Patent Strategy (IAPS) of National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) and Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) again to co-organise our second event on 13 August 2019, at TTA.

The event lasted for four hours and covered mainly on the fundamentals of fundraising and how to strategise fundraising activities to achieve one’s ideal results.

Seminar – Fundraising 101: Level-up Your Fundraising Strategy

The event kicked off with the seminar on strategising the whole funding process. Many entrepreneurs may tend to understate this section and perceive it to be simple. However, one must understand that fundraising is not just taking the monetary funds from the investors. It is more to it – understand the stages of funding, the types of funding, the profiles of investor and what is beyond funding. Startups will require different combinations to be strategic and value-added. Therefore, it is important for entrepreneurs to stand on different angles, look out for pitfalls and devise plans for their fundraising exercise.

The seminar, conducted by our Co-Founders Paddy and Jeslin, went through many fundamentals, overview on the investment landscape in Southeast Asia and some underlying issues that may occur during the fundraising process. This increased awareness of the public members who had attended and it was well-received.

Fireside Chat – Fundraising 101: Getting into the Right “Marriage”

The seminar was soon transited to the fireside chat where Jeslin Bay being the moderator and Paddy Tan as one of the panellists. They were accompanied by Edgar Chiu, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SparkLabs Taipei and Harvey Ma, Co-Founder of BlackStorm Consulting Taiwan.

The topic was engaging as the panel discussed about startups and investors finding the suitable ones for themselves. In many instances, startups will match themselves with any investors when they need the funding. However, this will cause incompatibility as the investors may not provide any values other than money. Over time, there will be misalignment of goals and can cause great disparities between the startups and investors. Thus, it is recommended for both sides to suit each other strategically so that down the road, the business will not be adversely affected, and the objectives can be achieved easier.

In the ecosystems of Southeast Asia, it is a usual trend for startups to approach investors, mainly the Venture Capital (VC) firm, when comes to funding. Chasing after investors can be time-consuming and costly. However, interestingly, Paddy recommended that startups should ‘flip it around’ by positioning themselves well and let the investors approach them. This can ensure that the startups are prioritised by the VCs and the values can be aligned to form synergies.

Harvey shared that the attention span of investors can be very short, and it is important for the startups to deliver their messages fast and precise.

In addition, Edgar stated that many startups do not really have concrete solutions. Being faster or cheaper than the competitors is not solving the problems. And even there are solutions, they may not lead to potential markets. Thus, it is significant for startups to focus on problem statement and the execution. As such, traction can be gained, and investors can use that as a gauge for potentialities.

All in all, the responses are overwhelming, and everyone left the room with many fruitful takeaways. This is crucial as more and more startups are emerging in Taiwan and looking to scale into Southeast Asia. BlackStorm Consulting is honoured to be part of the startup ecosystem and mark our presence in Taiwan.

BlackStorm Consulting will also like to dedicate special thanks to IAPS, TTA as well as our guest speaker, Edgar Chiu. Without their supports, the event would not be made possible and successful. We certainly hope to work with them again to co-organise similar future events.

About BlackStorm Consulting

BlackStorm Consulting (http://blackstormco.asia/) is a boutique growth consultancy firm that specialises in corporate strategy, profit management and investment management. We mainly serve clients in four sectors: FinTech, Gaming, Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT), and Manufacturing.

Our clients and connections are internationally present and range from small and medium sized businesses, MNCs, to government agencies.

About Industry Accelerator & Patent Strategy (IAPS)

IAPS (http://iaps.nctu.edu.tw/) is a university-affiliated and tech-focused startup accelerator. We are building the most diverse startup ecosystem that serves startups, investors and corporates on a global scale. IAPS’s acceleration services include investment, corporate engagement, global market development, deep mentoring, government resources, co-working space and more.

About Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA)

Taiwan Tech Arena (https://taiwanarena.tech/) champions entrepreneurship and innovation with the goal of building a vibrant international startup ecosystem in Taiwan.