Insights on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurialism - Women & Co.

From Fashion to Finance: Insights on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurialism

Blog Post by Linda Descano CFA???-??05/24/2012 @ 10:00AM

As I shared in my post Inspiring Insights from Phabulous Philly, I go back to my hometown every month or so for coffee and conversation with a group of enterprising women from the area. Each meet-up often has a few new faces -- one of whom was Karen Griffith Gryga (@karengg), an 18-year veteran of the venture capital industry.? Today, Karen is Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Angel Group, Co-Founder and CEO of FashInvest, and a venture partner with Innovation Capital.

Karen is frequently sought out by both professional and academic communities for her insights on the subjects of venture capital and entrepreneurialism, so I asked her what advice she would share with entrepreneurs looking to raise capital through "VC" investors. Below is an edited recap of what Karen shared:

1. Warm introductions are invaluable. So, align yourself with service providers -- accountants, lawyers and others -- who work with emerging growth companies and understand what that means. Tap into their experience to help you formulate your pitch and plan -- and then leverage their network. Along these same lines, surround yourself with an advisory board of mentors who are familiar with the VC fundraising process.
2. Remember that all VC capital isn't created equal. Do your homework and identify those venture funds whose profile matches your business.
3. Look for networking events where your "target" VC investors are. Be strategic in where you network and, of course, how you network once you are at the event.
4. VC fundraising is a numbers game. It takes time and effort. You will probably be talking to a lot of people before you find a fit with a VC portfolio. Learn from every interaction and keep honing your strategy, pitch and plan. Stay resilient, focused and positive.
5. Investors pay attention to a business' risk profile: how is the business going to grow and move forward and what are the risks and headwinds they are facing, whether operational or demand-driven. So it is important that you have a good grasp on your business as it is today, how it will evolve and how you are going to pivot in response to changing circumstances.

At the end of the day, Karen stressed, it's a matter of strength: the strength of your business opportunity, the strength of your pitch and ability to influence, and your inner strength: confidence.

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