Source of motivation

"Without actions, the world would still be an idea"

— General Georges Doriot Founder, INSEAD.

Startup Discovery Digest

* Kiwi Launch provides an all-in-one scheduling and online booking software for service-based businesses to easily manage their online presence and generate bookings with real-time availability. (Seed, UAE)

* Legal Karma is an embedded legal products company that provides easy, affordable and accessible legal services to customers through a white-label service offered by banks and credit unions. Their solution offers a unique value proposition with trained customer support, automation, and white-labeling that is not currently offered in the market. (Seed, Austin/US)

* Lease Simple is a platform that simplifies the finance experience of renting a home for Gen Z renters. It offers flexible rent payment plans, security deposit insurance, and credit building tools. The company is focused on consolidating the finance experience for renters and is well-positioned in a growing market. (Pre-seed, Canada)

Handling Investor Relations and Steering Through Due Diligence for Early-Stage Startups

Upon showing initial curiosity following the first discussion, I can share insights into our everyday approach for planning and executing due diligence.

Family Relationships Among Co-founders: Co-founders who are related by romantic or family relationships  can be tricky to judge. I do not necessarily consider this a red flag but a yellow sign. The team can entirely be made up of family members, or the co-founders can be a couples/significant others. However, this information should be shared during calls or meetings, as it can be difficult to extract at times and it leaves a bad taste when discovered later

Team Composition and Presentation: Early-stage startups often include all team members on a team slide, including advisors, VCs, relatives, entertainers, and interns. However, having a crowded team slide is unnecessary. As an investor, I focus on whether the product, market, and founder capabilities  are well-matched rather than the team size, whether it's two or twenty. It's not expected to have a large and excellent team in the pre-seed or seed stage. Quality is more important than quantity.

Conflicting Visions  among co-founders: Detecting disagreements or potential conflicts among co-founders, especially concerning the startup's future direction, may signal future issues or even a potential breakup.

Complicated cap table: A complex capitalization table with various share classes, differing liquidation preferences, and unclear ownership structures can make future fundraising and exits more challenging. Any non-active x-founding team member is especially a huge concern.

Overemphasis on "serial" entrepreneurs and complex structures: Startups that prioritize "serial" entrepreneurs or "advisor" figures, or involve intricate structures like tech leads and phantom shares, might focus more on superficial aspects rather than the actual business.

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