Ascending the Funding Hill
A concept note for a roundtable discussion on the difficult task of getting your startup funded
Startups are here to change the world, but they need money to grow. Many startups’ success depends on their ability to get funded. There has been a surge of startups in the past few years, and most, if not all, startups seek investments. The crowd of startups is getting bigger and bigger, as the business of investments gets more proliferate.
But these are unprecedented and unpredictable times. The pandemic has set a different tone all around the world and businesses have been brought to their knees. Digital companies, on the other hand, continue to leverage the internet and stay in the reckoning. Blockchain and cryptocurrency-based businesses fall in the same category.
However, as suggested, these are unforeseen circumstances and present a new and different challenge to all walks of businesses, including an investor.
So, here is what we would like to know:
- How difficult is it getting for startups to get funded in these times?
- How does the current pandemic situation change the mindsets of VCs, Angel funds, investors in general?
- Can this pandemic offer opportunities despite all the difficulties it presents?
- What opportunities does it present to investors as well as entrepreneurs?
- What is the current outlook of Venture Capitalists and funds towards the funding of Blockchain projects/companies?
- What is an investor looking out for in a prospective project to invest in?
- How can an entrepreneur prepare in these times to ensure that they come out unscathed
- Will crowdfunding ever be a sustainable business model?
- Can we find new blockchain unicorns where the VC is not even looking?
- Are regulatory frameworks around the globe conducive to investments or funding?
- Is the traditional VC or fund risk-averse to crypto-based blockchain projects/companies?
These are some questions that have come from people who are either startups, prospective startups, entrepreneurs who are seeking investments. It is about those people who may have to climb a high hill to get capital and funding in these times.
Let us gather in this roundtable to brainstorm how the world is changing and what might come in the way of blockchain technology!
The Roundtable Knights
- Gaurav Dubey, Managing Partner, O1ex
- Tushar Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO, Persistence
- Ryan Kim, Founder, #Hashed
- Pavel Bains, CEO, Bluzelle
Our Guests
Gaurav is onboarded as Director, Partner, Ambassador, and advisor to more than 10 Blockchain and eight other companies covering different tech and non-tech verticals. He started making money at the age of 12 repairing Electronics. He has invented a groundbreaking personal and Enterprise utilities for VR, Brain/Machine Interface, Intent prediction and response, Behaviour Analysis, Blockchains. He has 8 Patents and 3 Filings in the process.
Tushar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Persistence, a Blockchain/Crypto company focused on bringing institutional capital into the industry through financial services use cases. Prior to founding Persistence, Tushar was the first employee at Southeast Asia’s first properly structured Crypto VC fund called LuneX Ventures, which is the Crypto arm of a traditional VC called Golden Gate Ventures.
Ryan is a Founding Partner at Hashed. He is a serial entrepreneur specializing in data analytics. Previously, Ryan founded a mobile app builder serving more than 100 online retailers and sold the company to a unicorn enterprise. Following this exit, he led the algorithm team at the largest recommendation engine company in Korea. Hashed is a global, early-stage venture fund focused on backing founders who are pioneering the future of blockchain and cryptocurrency. It is a team of blockchain experts and builders based in Seoul and Silicon Valley. They believe that decentralization has the power to transform not only the global economy but the very fabric of the internet.
Pavel is the CEO of Bluzelle, a decentralized database that solves the security, integrity, reliability issues facing data management. Pavel often speaks on panels and conferences about where digital media, finance, and technology are heading. Pavel also is a contributing writer to Fast Company, Venture Beat, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.
Special Thanks
Our entire series was ably managed and moderated by Pavel Bains, CEO, Bluzelle. He brought a 360-degree outlook in fintech, investments, DeFi, and many things blockchain and Crypto. Our gratitude to him for making these discussions much more focussed and directed.
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