Find a way in

One thing we will all have to learn this year, almost by force, is how to be resourceful.

Identifying your startup's needs and filling these gaps in a resourceful way are definitely qualities of a great entrepreneur.

And no, Franciso, not everybody has them. Especially not in the right intensity for some industries and VCs.

Mercedes Bent, a partner at Lightspeed Ventures, looks for 3 important characteristics in a founder before sliding the check:

• The scrappiness,
• The hustle-fast factor,
• And the execution intensity.

"The urgency of what these founders want to do is very palpable, is very right now, and if they can't find a front door, they’re going to find a side door or a basement. They're going to find a way in somehow. I look for that."

Mercedes highlights that execution intensity is one of the hardest things to evaluate as an investor because it takes time to understand a founder's ability to stick with it.

However, since she's a badass 💅, of course she has developed a way to detect all of that in 1 meeting or 2. It's something she calls an "animal learning" skill.

What is that? Well, you see how nobody in the pre-Seed or Seed stage has the ideal amount of resources for what they want to do? 🙋

Instead of complaining about it, how urgent are you being about learning what you have to learn and getting the things you need to get? Mercedes will come and ask all of us what we're doing to get those resources and opportunities for ourselves, our team, and our company.

And she has met some new-to-the-industry founders that contacted the right people, mastered the right skill, and put their teams on the right path to accomplish product and company objectives.

That's the world-class way of GSD that she's looking for. (That's Get Sh*t Done, in case you didn't know).

Mercedes Bent joined us for the Latitud Podcast to talk about fintech, crypto, NFTs, LatAm investing, and team diversity.

Do you need resources on any of these topics? Then you know what to do 😉.

Fundraising recipes by Latitud

🍋 Recipe #5: Don't downplay the risk of your startup

In your pitch presentation, you might be tempted to assure investors that the business will do well, and use conservative metrics to make sure it delivers on that promise.

But the thing is that investors are looking for a startup to invest in. It's a venture, not a public company.

VCs know there's a good chance that your business won't stay afloat. On the other hand, they are also expecting your business to bring a big return if it sails. Some VC firms even work on a "fund returner" basis: one bet should pay off the whole amount raised for a fund.

Hot News Ahoy! ⛵

(Hot for April 2023)

📈 Congrats to Kala

Kala raised US$4M in an investment round led by Cometa. Investors like Canary, Acrew, Clocktower, and 99 Startups also participated in the round. The new funding brings the company’s total funds to US$6M.

💴 En español

We've talked to you before about equity dilution and why you should keep an eye on it. Why wouldn't you listen to us when BBVA shared the tips WE give about founder equity dilution? That's just a mystery for us.

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