Three Things Startups Need to Pay Attention to when Doing Fundraising

The success that Aria Rajasa Masna has achieved with the businesses that have been built, namely gantibaju and Tees, can be used as inspiration for prospective entrepreneurs. Although it doesn't always run smoothly from the start, with Tees Aria with partners and investors they have found the right product and the right market for the business they run.

In the #TuesdayStartup session held DailySocial, Co-Founder and CEO Tees Aria Rajasa Masna shares experiences, tips, and tricks that prospective startup players must know when preparing to raise funds.

Avoid doing fundraising when a new startup is being built

In the early days of startups being built, the main focus is how the ideas you have can be implemented into products that work well through experimentation to determine the target market. It was less than ideal to raise funds at that time, because in general startups did not have the material to mental readiness to manage the funding.

In this early period, startup founders are also required to study management to technical matters related to the business to be run. If the founder does not have enough experience and knowledge, it is better to invite a business partner who has the ability and experience.

"It is important for startups to form a team first when a new startup is built. Thus, when the product is ready and the target market has been determined, the startup can determine the next step, namely growth or development. growth," said Aria.

It is important for startups to do product market fit first, before fundraising activities are carried out until product launches. Process Product MarketFit which is not done from the start, will affect the course of the business going forward.

"Do market research first, and make sure you understand the business and who is the most suitable target market for the product or service that you are going to present."

Another thing that is considered not to raise funds for investors in the early startup period is the distribution or agreement demanded by investors which will usually be more detrimental to new startups than when the startup begins to grow and experience a positive increase.

Do fundraising when financial conditions are still safe

Another interesting experience that Aria shared in the #TuesdayStartup Q&A session was that when Tees finally got investors who were interested in investing, Aria and the team never directly carried out fundraising activities. Everything runs organically based on the growth and revenue that has been achieved.

"When the business has started showing stable income, usually there will be offers from investors to provide funding for your startup. The point is to show the potential of your business first, so that it can attract the attention of the right investors to invest."

When funding is finally obtained, use the money wisely, don't focus too much on irrelevant things but prioritize plans and goal of your business going forward.

"Mostly when startups have earned funding think more for existence. Ideally, the funds owned can be used to encourage startup growth. Is it increasing the number of users, application downloads and others," said Aria.

Build good relationship with investors

Approaching investors, especially for new startup owners, takes a long time and a good introduction to investors from VCs to angel investors. Usually investors will be easier to approach when they know you as a previous startup owner, compared to new startup owners who are not familiar with. For that, it's a good idea to have acquaintances or recommendations from other startup actors to investors you are after to start doing pitching or presentation.

"The best way is to build a good relationship first, which is to get acquainted between you and investors. It's even better if you have friends or recommendations from investors, because investors are usually more comfortable doing business with people they already know," said Aria.

For this reason, continue to network and expand your network of friends among startups, investors, and relevant communities.