MLG Blockchain Roadshows

MLG Blockchain Roadshow Recap — North American East Coast

Each month, five promising blockchain projects get the opportunity to pitch to over 50 accredited investors and investment groups in New York City, Toronto & Montreal. Over the first quarter of 2019, 15 projects attended the East Coast roadshows, allowing them to secure new funds, partnerships and industry insights.

This is part of the MLG Blockchain Roadshows, a capital advisory service offered by MLG Blockchain in association with our partners to help promising blockchain projects secure partnerships & investments from strategic investors in the blockchain space. Over the course of the roadshow, founders are trained to refine their pitch and materials, all the while meeting accredited investors, investment groups & prominent members of the blockchain ecosystem.

Memorable Experiences & Full Days

After getting up bright and early to arrive ahead of time for the first meeting, the founders pitch their projects to a group of investors with some time left over for networking.

One of our clients pitching in a refurbished bank vault of the BNC in Montreal.

Each day is different but after the last morning meeting, the lunch event is either comprised of an investor luncheon during which founders pitch their projects to a new group of investors or private pitch sessions with food ordered to the boardroom. Given everyone’s hectic schedules we make the most of each day the founders are on the roadshow by ensuring back-to-back meetings.

In the afternoon the founders have the opportunity to tell their story to another group embedded in the blockchain world, occurring either in their office or in one of the MLG boardrooms. The meetings last roughly 2 hours, giving ample time for a pitch, questions & answers and networking thereafter.

In the evenings, both the investors that were present during the day as well as other individuals involved in the local blockchain space are invited to evening drinks and dinners in order to spend time getting to know each other on a more personal level. We are firm believers that partnerships are more likely to occur if investors have the chance to get to know the team behind the project.

This makes for a lot of great events in a short time frame, allowing the founders to build both their capital network and their personal network.

Valuable Partnerships

The five projects that went through the March edition of the MLG Blockchain Roadshow had the opportunity to build partnerships with key stakeholders in the industry. Given the blockchain industry is just beginning to burgeon, everyone in the room has a vested interest in having their counterparts succeed.

Through some back and forth, projects are able to grow their network and even gain friends, mentors and advisors. In a blue ocean space, like that of the blockchain industry, it is clear that there are multiple opportunities for partnerships that result in gains on every side. From our experience we’ve come to the conclusion that these partnerships prove to be invaluable, as it propels the projects much closer towards their goals.

Kyle Collier, Founder & CEO of Phaze, speaking with interested investors.

This was the case for one of our clients, Phaze. Kyle Collier, Founder & CEO of Phaze, entered into a partnership that will allow his Phaze API to be implemented into 100+ cryptocurrency exchanges, instantly increasing the volume of crypto being phazed into digital gift cards.

Refining The Pitch & Cross-Collaboration

Kerem Kolcuoglu, MLG’s Director of Strategy & Transformation, and Neil Harounian, MLG’s Director of Corporate Development, travelled with the founders throughout the entirety of the roadshow, in order to refine their pitch on an ongoing basis and to serve as the liaison between the investors, the MLG Blockchain team and the projects on the roadshow.

Kerem Kolcuoglu, Director of Strategy & Transformation, providing feedback to a founder after a pitch to a group of investors.

One of the organic outcomes of every roadshow we’ve run to date is the collaboration of each project with one another. We ensure that the projects on each roadshow don’t overlap in offerings, therefore allowing synergies that entice everyone involved to help each other rather than compete against one another. Many of our clients have remained in contact with one another after the previous roadshows, some even forming partnerships between their start-ups.

The founders on a panel speaking about entrepreneurship and their current efforts during the February 2019 roadshow.

Capital Roadshows — An Up-and-Coming Fundraising Vehicle

We believe that as crowdfunding and newer token-based investment tools increase in adoption, roadshows will become an integral part of every raise. Rather than spending money to sponsor a conference or to fly to scattered investors, blockchain capital roadshows offer start-ups and established companies an opportunity to meet hundreds of accredited investors face to face in a relatively short time frame. This greatly reduces the amount of back and forth between interested investors and projects trying to raise capital.

If you are a promising blockchain project in the process of looking to expand, please reach out to us at partnerships@mlgblockchain.com to get more details on upcoming roadshows.

Onwards & Upwards,

The MLG Blockchain Team