Managing the Tech Startups Series - No.2 Jorge Mata

Well, well, well. Here we are again., the infamous"Managing the Tech Startup series". This entry might be a little different because it is written at two different times and then all mashed up. The first part was written on the AVE on the way to Valencia (Friday), and the second part after an interesting session with Jorge Mata (Tuesday).

Who is Jorge Mata? slight cough, according to some "a professional fundraiser" a potential investor, but he calls himself a successful entrepreneur.  (Just added: Daniel Couto offers a very comprehensive look of Jorge Mata’s profile in his blog)

In this session we discussed various aspects of fund-raising. From entrepreneurship and watermelons (yes, the fruit); luncheons with wine and tapas, or (warning, stereotype coming) sandwiches & a coke Palo Alto-style (for the record, Nicolai enjoys nice luncheons and he's American); cultural & ego clashes; the importance of foodiesquare.com on our lives; to the relevance of tuning your message to suit your investor. Jorge was very keen to stress out the importance of building trust & reputation with your investor, using pertinent and timely communication. And that money is always green.

Well, from that conversation with Jorge Mata here are 5 points I consider relevant either for a tech start-up or a social-entrepreneurship for-profit start-up.

1. Ego matters. Entrepreneurship is a matter of ego in the end. Either making a lot of money, or doing something people will talk about or change things. Achtung! Social entrepreneurs: “business angels” also look to satisfy their “do-good” ego. For-profits are a not a fad.
2. First valuation is critical. It is very important to have a correct first valuation when you are looking to sell the company. You don’t want to sell cheap or sell a “big chunk” & end up working for $500,000 nothing.
3. Look for synergies. Have your ego in-check. Yes, your ego is important but sometimes you have to put it aside and find synergies, partnerships and bring people on-board that will add expertise., knowledge and reputation. Leverage your relationships. Bring “gray hairs” to the table.
4. Scalability is the name of the game. Investors are looking for growth opportunities. And in the words of Jorge: “I don’t want ideas to invest, I’m looking for companies to invest”. 
5. Learn how to gauge right-timing. A classmate (if someone knows who was, please let me know) wrote: “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity”. Well, in that sense Jorge said: “if a VC asks for your money it’s not a good sign. You are looking for a partner willing to take the risk”. So don’t rush things!

This post is dedicated to my South African friends of Enke: Make your mark