The One Where SeedSwipe is Launched
Post is meant as fun and not the actual launch of a business. It is meant to walk through a problem, layout a business idea and explore what next steps might be.
Today, I am excited to announce a new company – or at least the idea and framework for a new company. Introducing SeedSwipe, the “Tinder of Venture Investing”. Don’t worry, this isn’t about helping VCs find dates; however, the intent is to help VCs and startups find a match! My plan is to build all of this out in the open, starting with where the idea came from, what the idea is, current problems as I see them, why this idea solves some problems and, finally, the business model and long-term plan for the company. A few reasons for why I am building in the open:
Primarily, I think it will make for the most fun!
I can share my experiences real time.
I’m not overly concerned with openly sharing my ideas, especially since this is a fun side project. Also, a great podcast I recently listened to touches on this concept of not worrying about sharing ideas: Spencer Skates - Challenging Big Ideas.
You may wonder why I’m doing this at all. I am doing this because I love building things and love learning about new start-ups and trying to help them succeed. Best case, I end up with a positive solution to offer in the market. Worst case, I learn more about two topics I’m passionate about.
The Idea Formation
The main idea behind the company is that raising capital should be easier and not strictly be about who you know: enter SeedSwipe. Now, before we get too deep into SeedSwipe, I want to detail how I got here. Over the past year, a few things happened that led to the idea of SeedSwipe:
I started helping with my company’s private investments
I started using AngelList to invest in private companies on my own
A colleague sent an email about building a platform where “early-stage startups agreed to share their monthly or quarterly updates. They were searchable. Investors could be vetted and follow them.”
One thing I quickly learned as I was researching companies was how important having a network is. Admittedly, I have a smaller network, but I’m doing everything I can to expand this (i.e., tweeting 😂🤣, you can find me here: https://twitter.com/azakmay). As I have been slowly building my network, SeedSwipe began percolating in my brain. I figured founders may have the same problem I did. If a founder has a limited network, they’re reliant on building their network via introductions, cold calls, and emails. Surely there is a better way to connect capital providers and start-ups. Being a programmer, I thought “why not build the network for everyone that connects start-ups with capital”. This would be beneficial not only to someone like myself and my company, but ultimately to start-ups. I believe a start-up’s success should be based on idea and product market fit; however, some start-ups are limited due to the inability to find funding. The goal for SeedSwipe is to give a broadcasting platform to these start-ups and anyone who wants to invest in them.
I’ve had a very positive experience using AngelList. However, while using the platform I couldn’t help but wonder if there is opportunity to remove some friction associated with syndicates. On SeedSwipe, a start-up can directly list and setup their own meetings with venture investors (or skip the meeting and allow for investments directly), versus a syndicate raising money on behalf of the company. SeedSwipe gives more control of the process back into the hands of the start-up to make meetings and fund-raising as simple and efficient as possible.
Finally, the email from my colleague gave me Colossus vibes and got me to thinking: What about a platform like Tinder, where startups who are actively raising can go out and say “hey, I’m looking for a match, any interested parties up for a learning more?”.
With all this in mind, I naturally took to Figma and started designing what would become the first iteration of SeedSwipe. With that, a quick demo of the product most likely makes sense.
This is the potential flow from an investor’s perspective when they match with a company.
You first see the company and read a quick pitch
You then determine if you are interested
If so, you agree to learn more
Once matched, you determine a date and time to schedule a Zoom with the company.
It’s that simple! Let’s discuss the problems that this platform solves.
The Problem
As I see it, there remains a series of problems related to raising capital for start-ups.
Equal access to capital
Opaqueness around what companies is raising and when
Deck complexity
Emails! There is always a better way here
Fun
Equal access to capital should be something we all strive towards. As a community, it is beneficial that the best start-ups can raise capital as easily as the best-connected ones. This hopefully makes for a more diverse start-up ecosystem and greater benefits for society. A platform that keeps track of startups in a searchable database and alerts investors to when they’re raising should allow for companies to raise capital in an organized manner and within a certain timeframe. For example, when I am trying to sell my house, that is when I am open to being approached about offers for my house. Most founders want to spend time building but are constantly interrupted by request to meet with future investors. Back to the house example: If I am not selling my house, I do not want people approaching me about buying my house. I think the same thing holds true for founders. However, they often take these meetings because their future livelihood depends on it and a pipeline of interested investors is the best way to ensure a future. There should and could be a better way.
Deck complexity has turned me away from a few investments. I believe that a standard approach to information dissemination would force founders to articulate their idea in the least amount of complexity as possible. A great video that all founders should watch is this one by Vinod Kholsa in which he describes how founders should be pitching their ideas the way that VCs think. As an investor, I should be able to have a sense of the idea and problem you’re trying to solve from your pitch deck. The simplicity with which SeedSwipe cards are designed forces founders to make sure this is the case. As a founder you must distill your idea down to 3 minutes’ worth of reading time and this must capture the attention of an investor. Exhibit the card below that I created for EPIC games (Note: the actual app would allow for longer descriptions via scrolling, but same idea applies). Now, this is an extremely well-known company, but even if it was not known, I get a decent sense of the company just from the simple selected information on their cards. Think of these cards as “Elevator Decks”. In 2 – 3 minutes of reading, I should have a sense of whether I am interested or not. These elevator decks allow for just that.
Emails. Let’s cut down the number of emails. Typically, scheduling a single meeting takes 4 - 5 emails at a minimum:
VC 1: Intro email to founder
VC 2 to founder: Moving VC 1 to bcc. Nice to meet you. Is there a good time to catchup in the next couple of weeks?
Founder: Yea, I am free these times (prays these times work)
VC 2: Perfect. I’ll send a zoom for X date
VC 2: Sends Zoom
If we can cut down on the number of emails. That would be an amazing win for all parties involved. In fact, anything that cuts down emails has a place in this world, IMO.
Finally, learning and investing is fun. This process is just more fun for everyone involved because it removes friction, and the sleek interface replicates a game-like experience.
Addressing the Problems
For showing why SeedSwipe addresses these problems let’s look at a full demo:
This just feels more fun and more productive. An investor can now review an idea from a start-up and have a scheduled call in 10 minutes. The simplicity of this process also allows for information to be disseminated in a concise and easy manner to capital providers. Founders would be able to toggle on and off if they were raising – like single and being in a relationship. When you’re looking to raise, you list on the platform and once you are oversubscribed, you no longer show up as looking for matches. SeedSwipe is a simple solution to address the problems listed above and streamlines the process for all parties involved.
With the launch of so many new ways to get started in Venture, it just feels like the time is now for further disruption. The following is a quick list of new things happening in Venture Investing:
Packy McCormick launching Not Boring Capital
Turner Novak with Banana Capital
Josh Buckley with Hyper
Weekend Fund with 1,000 true lps
SeedSwipe aims to help setup connections industry-wide that might be less accessible without the platform. It does so in a fun and frictionless manner. Company building and capital raising is hard, might as well try to make it a little easier.
The Business Model
Going to leave this as a placeholder and discuss on next month’s post. This will include a pitch deck and business model, like any other start-up.
The Issues
There are some obvious issues that SeedSwipe faces as I attempt to get it going. The biggest issue is that VCs may be reluctant to being on the platform and giving up their proprietary deal flow, which is one thing VCs use to sell their funds to LPs. However, I think a few great VCs and start-ups on the platform can quickly shift the hesitancy from others. If SeedSwipe is where you go to see companies raising money, then the VCs will come. Same with start-ups. If great relationships and capital can be raised from the platform, I am confident in the success of the platform. Value creation to both parties is critical – it will be tough initially but should take off if it does grow due to high value network effects. Since capital and networking are critical to a start-up success, democratizing the process should unlock value.
The Long-Term Plan
I’d love this platform to take-off and help build a new network around venture. Eventually, I’d love it to be the place GPs found LPs, and start-ups find talent in much the same process that start-ups and VCs connect. Overtime, a system of recommendations and referrals could be layered on top: a start-up could recognize the helpfulness of an investor by a quick referral on the platform, helping the success of the most useful VCs. VCs could recommend and share notes on start-ups to other investors via the platform and offer introductions with a click, instead of sending emails about the company. A venture system that disintermediates unnecessary steps seems like a helpful place to be.
If things do not work, well, I like building things and working with founders so this will be a fun ride regardless. Part of this experience is to have fun and build something. Ideally, that thing is useful to the VC ecosystem. If it isn’t, I have no doubt I’ll learn a lot in the process and fully intend on sharing my experiences.
In the following months, I will work on building a pitch deck and getting an MVP up and running. Every step of the way I will share what I’ve learned and address any challenges I’ve faced. Hopefully everything I share and learn will helper others on their own adventure to build a great company. Stay tuned on the progress of SeedSwipe!
If anyone would like to learn more, help out, or connect, please do not hesitate to reach out: zak@oldwellpartners.com