On 7 April, EIC beneficiaries were introduced to the full process of fundraising during the EIC’s first ever Online Community Event. The event was focused on the best ways of finding potential investors, communicating and pitching, and understanding negotiation tactics and terms and conditions. The online training, led by EIC business coach Martin Theyer, combined the suitability of different types of funding to companies in different sectors, stages of growth and market readiness.
When SMEs decide to start seeking investors, one of the most challenging parts can be just actually reach and talk to the right ones. To make it more difficult, many start-ups pitch to many investors without receiving any concrete feedback or just getting back an ambitious “maybe”. In our first Online Community Event of the year, the EIC focused on this process of raising finance. The participants gained an insight into the requirements of investors, ranging from angel groups through to venture capital funds. And many sources of finance were discussed and assessed, both equity and debt.
The EIC Business coach Martin Theyer was responsible for the training during the event. During his presentation, Martin introduced the capital risk market in Europe, providing an overview of different investor types and their needs, focusing on the right funding strategy for companies.
“With these events, start-ups get the opportunity to change their perspective on investor pitches. For example, a lot of start-ups underestimate timing; is this the right time to bring an investor in, and if so, which one? Secondly, it is also a matter of matching their views with the investor views. It’s not just a one-way conversation. You’re in matching position, not a selling one,” added Martin Theyer.
The virtual session was interactive, and designed to invite in-depth sharing of experiences, active participation and real-world problem solving. The EIC innovators had the opportunity to interact with peer companies and get advice from the coach.
Martin Bothe, Managing Director of EIC-backed Smarterials, underlined this:
“It can be difficult to find investors and this EIC Community event was definitely helpful in structuring our investor pitch. All in all, a lot of takeaways for my future meetings!”
Mustafa Ergen, Founder of Ambeent, reiterated this aspect:
“This event gave us a glimpse on what’s going on at the other side of the table, how do investors think. This is a great help for any start-up.”
Franziska Finke, CFO of Leniobio, highlighted the online aspect, which was a first for a EIC Community event:
“The teamwork during the breakout sessions made you really focus about the topic, everyone had to actively participate. This kept the online session very much alive.”
Juan Antonio, founder of Biztribution, especially enjoyed the co-learning aspect:
“It was a rich experience. You learn from other EIC-backed innovators who are in a similar situation. At the same time, you also get feedback from an experienced business coach like Martin Theyer”.
Considering applying next time? The Community Events are a regular part of the European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services. For the month of April 2020, we have planned one additional online event: Community Talk: Ask me Anything on Corporates. Keep your eyes on our EIC Community for further details!
For any questions please do not hesitate to contact us through our contact page (choose ‘Ask a question /get support about an event’).
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.