Masterclass on Early-Stage Financing

Grit & Growth

Welcome to Grit & Growth’s masterclass on raising capital, featuring Zach George, general partner at Launch Africa Ventures and co-founder of Startup Bootcamp Africa. Zach provides honest, practical advice on what founders really need to focus on to attract and secure the right investors.

Zach George has been investing on the African continent for over 10 years, but his advice to entrepreneurs at any stage of the funding journey — from pre-seed to Series C — is universal.

After earning a master's at Stanford University, a short holiday to see the World Cup in 2010 led Zach to make Capetown, South Africa his home. Today, he is a general partner at one of the largest Pan-African specialist seed venture capital funds with $15 million in funding and investments in 50 - 60 of the largest or most prominent tech founders in the continent. So, he understands what investors are looking for and what makes founders stand out from the crowd.

Top Six Masterclass Takeaways

1. Ask for advice early, while you’re building the business. As the old adage goes: if you ask for advice you may get some money; if you ask for money, you may get some advice.

2. Know your market and your competition really, really well.

3. Articulate your value proposition. Before you even think about asking for money.

4. Perform due diligence on potential investors. Know their mandate, strategy, portfolio performance, and how you can add value.

5. Look for investors who add significantly more than just capital, including help with customer acquisition, recruitment, and talent sourcing. “Smart founders have learned to say no to investors that don't add any of that value.”

6. Spend more time on operations than raising funds. Especially in the early rounds.

Listen to Zach’s investor insights, founder advice, and capital-raising strategies to help grow and fund your own company.

Resources:

Launch Africa Ventures: https://www.launchafrica.vc/

Zach George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachariahgeorge/?originalSubdomain=za

Crossing the Chasm (book): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm

Stanford Seed: http://stanfordseed.co/Grit

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