Charles Hudson shares the common mistakes he’s seen after investing in 500+ startups
In this week’s episode of Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen talks with Precursor Ventures’ Charles Hudson about the headwinds facing early-stage founders today and the most common mistakes founders should avoid in order to get funded.
In this week’s episode of Build Mode, Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannessen talks with Hudson about the headwinds facing early-stage founders today and the most common mistakes founders should avoid in order to get funded. Optimizing for high valuations over prudent planning A high valuation doesn’t make sense for every company. While it can garner attention from media and legitimize the company to other investors, founders should be realistic about the expectations they are setting for their company with their valuation and most importantly think about who they’re choosing for their cap table. Is a big check worth working with a bad-fit investor for the next 10 years? “The real risk with these big rounds is you end up being a prisoner of your own company. You raise all this money, and you’ve sold people on a big vision. They don’t want the money back — they want you to find a way to build something that’s worthy of what they gave you,” Hudson said. Run your own due diligence on prospective investors Talk to portfolio founders to see the kind of value-add the investor can offer. Verify claims they make about recruitment, GTM support, and connections to other platform teams. Remember, the VCs are courting you as much as you’re courting them. Know whether venture capital is right for your business Great businesses aren’t always venture-scale businesses. Venture capital only works if you’re building a company capable of returning a fund. “I’ve been more successful lately in telling people, ‘This is what venture capital needs you to do. Let’s abstract away from your company. This is the kind of business you need to want to build. Is that your desire?’” Hudson said. Venture capital has changed dramatically in the past few years.
