From Idea to Investment: How Young Startups Can Attract Their First Major Funding

Achieving the dream of securing an investment that can propel a startup onto the world stage is the aspiration of every team stepping onto the pitching stage. But how can this dream transform into a business idea that investors truly believe in? The experts at IT Meets: Startups offered valuable advice on how ambitious startups can establish collaborations with investors and attract their first significant investments.

On November 2, during IT Meets: Startups, ten tech industry representatives, who were once ambitious beginners, shared their experiences, expertise, and failures. Over 100 participants gathered to engage in the Fuckup Standup, a format that blends sharp humor with advice from successful tech entrepreneurs. They also participated in selecting the winner of the startup “roast battle” in which seven teams competed for a $4,000 prize.

The pitch: your entry ticket to investments

According to Nazar Hembara, CEO and co-founder of BotsCrew, a pitch should have a clear structure while telling a compelling story. The format is simple: state the problem, describe the problem’s scale, present the startup’s solution, introduce the team, and explain what you seek from the investor.

“Today, during the pitches, we saw teams with strong products and visible progress. However, in the end, it was unclear what they wanted. It’s a problem. A successful pitch may not immediately secure an investment, but it serves as an entry ticket to investments,” notes Nazar Hembara.

A thought-out game plan

Speakers at IT Meets: Startups emphasize that attracting investments is a meticulous process. First and foremost, work on expanding your network of investor contacts, consider their feedback for future pitches and stay in regular communication.

“Working with investors should be continuous. Create special updates or newsletters about what’s happening with your startup. Report on what you’ve accomplished and at which stage you currently are. Startups must always address a specific problem because investors need validation that there’s a market for that problem and you have a solution,” emphasizes Oleh Karizskyi, an investment manager at Flyer One Ventures.

A startup is more than an idea

Startups should keep in mind the unique strategic triangle, with the idea as the first point, the system as the second point, and the strategy as the third, says Yevheniya Glizer, co-founder and CEO of Choice31.

“An idea should always be more global than just an impulsive action. The system means that you understand your competitors, not just your clients. You understand the problem and the market in which the startup will operate. When you have an idea and a system, you can build a strategy, which is how to execute the idea,” emphasizes Yevheniya Glizer.

Yevheniya emphasizes that investors are ready to invest in your startup when they understand how the strategy will be implemented. After all, investments are always made in the execution, not just the idea. Give the investor an understanding of how you will reach your target audience, adds Olexandr Kulepin, Deputy Head of the Lviv Regional State Administration for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization:

“I pay a lot of attention to product distribution. How will millions of users or businesses get to know about your product? The startup must show what message it will use to attract its audience. That’s when it has the potential to become the next unicorn,” he says.

Among the seven teams that pitched during IT Meets: Startups, the startup Free Walk emerged as the one that most closely aligned with the speakers’ advice. The developers of a smart cane for partially visually impaired individuals won a $4,000 prize.

“For us, this was an unexpected victory. We’ve never raised such a significant amount before. Now we have the opportunity to improve our product further and acquire the necessary materials to complete the cane prototype,” says Melania Voloshinska, the team leader.

The startup Free Walk was founded by second-year students of the Bachelor’s program in Internet of Things at Lviv Polytechnic National University.

The next event in the IT Meets conference series is scheduled for November 23 and will focus on Management. Learn more on the website. The media partners of IT Meets: Startups: Happy Monday and The Cymes.