Goood morning! I hope you had a lovely weekend, and welcome back! And in the spirit of starting The Art of War audio book on Audible this morning, here’s a quote from Sun Tzu…
Daily quote:
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
— Sun Tzu, The Art of War
On gun control.
Another deadly massacre hits a US elementary school. And the NRA holds strong to their decided response since 1999: to remain indifferent and bear no responsibility. I don’t think this is a matter of whether or not guns are the cause of these shootings anymore. Even if they are not, something with such dangerous side effects must be restricted.
Banks step in.
Weird? lol. Trying to pick up all those “morality” tokens wherever they don’t have to concede anything really worth a damn.
After Parkland, a bunch of banks including JPMorgan and Citibank made their claim to moral superiority by noting their relationships with gunmakers “have come down significantly and are pretty limited.”
Look at you saying the most minimal you could say to try and gain some moral creds. Hooray!
They undercut their sincerity even further, when being challenged to put something real on the line this month. A new law in Texas banned state agencies from working with a firm that “discriminates” against companies or individuals in the gun industry. In a letter to the Texas AG, JPMorgan was quick to confirm their willingness to continue working with the firearm industry, noting their “longstanding business relationships” and “anticipat[ion of] continuing such relationships into the future.”
Oh great.
On nobody caring.
When you fail. Nobody cares. It literally does not matter if you fail. There will be no news reports. No party. If you don’t win, nobody cares. People will move on with their lives. So stop worrying about failing. And start worrying about winning. When that win comes does not matter.
On raising.
Here are a few questions Alejandro Cremades suggests we consider:
How are you different?
Tagline
SWOT analysis
Competitor slide
Product slide
What is the one thing you can excel at and defend? Not just this week, but between now and through an eventual exit?
Tell me about a time when things didn’t go your way, and how you handled the challenge?
What protects an investor’s investment?
Most do not have what it takes to stick with it
Those who can, find way to create value and deliver investors ROI and return on their capital
How can you show grit, resilience and problem solving?
Are you willing to move?
Investors may want to operate locally and hands on
They may want you to relocate near them
Decide in advance if you are willing to make that move
Who on your team will and won’t be willing to go with you?
How much has to be offered to make the move worth it for you?
Why do you want to do this?
This is what keeps you going
It drives your decisions at each fork in the road
It influences how you operate on day-to-day
Is it just for the money?
Is it out of a deep personal frustration you have been peeved by for years?
Is it because you are uniquely qualified?
Do you feel it is your duty?
Why do you think you are uniquely best to execute on this idea?
Ideas = Cheap & rarely unique
Investors likely see more than 1 pitch similar to yours this month
It doesn’t matter, all that matters is you have the best team to execute this idea
Beyond grit and passion, why is your team the best?
What collective experience do you have in this space?
What deep experience do you have in this industry?
How about business, startups and scaling large companies in general?
Who can you point to (team, founders, execs, advisors) that are best in each of these areas?
What is your marketing plan?
Marketing is 90% of success
What channels and strategies will you use?
What are your customer acquisition costs?
What are your plans based on?
Who is your marketing genius and what have they accomplished before?
Who absolutely needs and must have your product?
Freshers who just arrived
Extremely clear who your customers are
What feedback have you received so far?
Questions they will ask you after reviewing your pitch deck
How do you know your product is a great fit?
How many people have you got feedback from so far?
Who are they?
What common threads have you seen?
How have you funded this business so far?
Notable investors
Show grit, commitment and financial sense through saying: you’ve bootstrapped and self-funded
How many months of runway do you have left?
Monthly burn
Level of desperation or negotiability
Who else has committed to invest this round?
That’s it for today, have a fucking fantastic week!
With love,
Angeline
Resources:
“Negotiating with Yourself.” Brain Food, No. 474, Farnam Street, May 29, 2022.
“Imperial measures.” The Bloomberg Open, Europe Edition, Bloomberg, May 30, 2022.
Cremades, Alejandro. “Questions Investors Will Ask You After Reviewing Your Pitch Deck.” Panthera Advisors, The Inner Circle, May 28, 2022.
Gandel, Stephen. “The Texas Law That Has Banks Saying They Don’t ‘Discriminate’ Against Guns.” The New York Times, May 28, 2022.
Horowitz, Andreesen. “Nobody Cares.” a16z, October 8, 2011.
Iqbal, Nosheen & Safi, Michael. “Inside the US gun industry.” Today in Focus, The Guardian, May 30, 2022.
Sorkin, Andrew Ross. “In Texas, it’s guns versus banks.” DealBook, The New York Times, May 28, 2022.