Hold my champagne — I got this, week 4 at APX
Great week, still don’t have my Porsche but getting closer.
21st day
Monday and 3 more Startups join our floor.
- Henry Mobility
- Imagine cargo
- ChemSquare
The office is getting full. Nice!
22nd day
It is a Pitch Tuesday once more, but this time “Scopes” is hosting it. “Scopes” is a series of events powered by Porsche. In Berlin, they are located in a beautiful venue in an old theatre. For me, Porsche has a special status as I fell in love with it while playing IMO the best racing game — Need for Speed: Porsche 2000.
But for some reason, not everyone thinks that they are the coolest car brand so Scopes is their attempt to show that they are.
In the morning we had a workshop with Ole Tillmann, from Peak. We went once more through our pitch deck, analysing every slide. The workshop was very useful and practical: commenting, making changes, polishing graphics and the story on the spot. Seriously, the best, most logical and direct feedback on the presentation ever. After almost 2 hours we leave the workshop totally convinced that we have to change our pitch again. 3 hours left until the “Scopes” event.
Stage. Lights. Fancy. This time the public can vote for the best idea with the “real unicorn money”. Dogo rides home with most unicorns in their pockets and a big bottle of Moet. Glitter glitter in our dreams…
23rd day
We have our first personal meeting with the APX managing director Jörg Rheinboldt to talk about our communication and strategy. It was great and useful to talk in person. There are a few things that stuck in my head that he said:
- it is important to find “nice” investors that will ideally accompany us through the whole journey; it’s not only about the money;
- we have to decide what we want our company to be and build the strategy accordingly.
Unfortunately, there is no magic recipe that would guarantee a startup success if applied. Every company is individual and different ingredients apply. However, it saves a lot of stress to have a good investor on board, who not only give money but is also able to mentor you during the journey. Having a strong investor is also a strong positive signal for others, who are potentially interested in your company. Of course, delivering results, showing traction, growth are the strongest clues for a strong startup.
Although in early stage, it is still important to decide on our vision and what we feel comfortable with that Dogo will become. Are we ready for restless nights and having to adapt to the wishes of our future investors? Or do we want to keep the organic growth with less velocity and stay the decision makers? So drawing a cap table and planning our investment rounds is our next task. However, so far the feedback from German investors have left a feeling, that in Germany it is unusual to skip financing rounds, you also have to establish a company in Germany. Of course everything is negotiable and with great traction and results you can get more but there is a pressure to follow the “expected” path.
It is great to have APX on board. They help us better understand what it is important for investors and help us decide how we communicate.The programme stresses often that you are the decision maker and path taker, so make it nice and comfortable for yourself.
24th day
Yoni introduces us to William Van Tubbs and Lukas Metzmacher, who consulted us on ASO and shared their insights. Katy matched us with her friend Monica, who gave us tips on media in the Netherlands. Isn’t it amazing, that people are willing to give free consultations to others? Yes, it is!
25th day
Friday! Actually, not that happy about it. The time flies, deadlines approach and one more week is over. On a good note, after work Corinne organised a French buffet, we pop the champagne from Tuesday and had a relaxing moment together. 😍
Tutsi tutsi tutsi, new music for the weekend:
