Launch a company

Heres a summary of a great resource i found on Guy Kawasakis blog. The full article is available atCritical Factors for VC

1. Compelling Idea

Ideas are dime n dozen.. Express a deep understanding of a problem along with an elegant solution.

2. Team

Idea alone is not sufficient. Have atleast one partner. Its critical to build a team that has the credibility to launch a company. People skills matter.

3. Market Opportunity

Venture capital is for businesses that can create value through technology. Exploit a unique opportunity that adds tremendous value. Its not ALL about the market size. Some great companies have created big markets because of the value they add.

4. Technology

IP/patents are not sufficient to sustain competitive advantage. You will need to have the talent within your team to be able to stay ahead of the curve.

5. Competitive Advantage

What have you got to show that no one else has? Can you sustain your advantage over time? Analyze all forms of competition and be passionate about the solution you bring to the table.

6. Financial Projections

Its vital that as an entrepreneur you understand the numbers: growth potential, profit drivers, and how you envision your company in the next few years.

7. Validation

Validating your product/solution in the market place is vital. Do you have beta customers, partners in the industry , an advisory board or better still paying customers?

I came across a great article on Paul Graham and his latest endeavour YCombinator in the latest issue of Inc magazine. As you may know, Paul Graham is a successful serial tech entrepreneur. YCombinator provides funding to early stage start ups but Ycombinator is way beyond just another vc fund. It provides not just the funds, but is an incubator in all respects, where the entrepreneurs are provided with guidance/coaching, exposure to other vcs and investors, chance to present to potential customers, and the icing on the cake: Food : -)

YCombinator claims to have launched around 145 companies thus far of which several have been successful. Their claim to fame is to be able to mass produce a successful start up.

The concept of an incubator is not new. It has been around in university campuses all over the world. Both university based incubators and privately managed incubators have yieled decent results in the past.

This year with the Obama administration rolling out plans to support organizations that foster innovation and create jobs, this effort is gaining further impetus.

Heres a list of top tech incubators :

1) YCombinator ;
2) BetaWorks : Average Investment : $100K

3)ATDC -Georgia

4)Slingshoit Labs-Myspace

5) Capital Factory

6) Tech Stars

7) Shotput Ventures

Start At Spark

9) LaunchBoxDigital

10) Dream IT Ventures

Most entrepreneurs are stuck wondering what the right path should be for raising capital when trying to launch their companies, or grow them further.

The article below on gigaom lays out some criteria that can be used to help with this decision:Venture Capital, Angels or Bootstrap