Kiran Bettadapur – entrepreneur, engineer, lawyer and author is Cofounder/CEO of Cylive Corporation. He is also an advisor to the Government of Karnataka, with the aim of revamping innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in the State. He has also served as President & CEO, Kenware Inc, VP (Banking, Finance & Insurance), Birlasoft Inc and Business Manager HCL HP Ltd, India and has also written a book called “Gita and the Art of Selling”. An alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur and IISc-Bangalore Kiran is passionate about propagating Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Maneuvering your way towards funding your start is not without pitfalls. Understanding the do’s and dont’s along the way is key.

“Do’s & Dont’s of Funding” was last Saturday’s session. It was a run-down of case study briefs to demonstrate the realities of funding. Here is the Lounge47 Summary:

1) Do not be in a hurry to get funded. Bootstrap as much as you can

2) Understand the “funding” paradigm. VC initial agreement to fund (term sheet) do not automatically translate into success; it just signifies the beginning of even harder work.

3) Research, seek professional advice, pick a VC carefully, and keep your pitch understandable and credible.

4) Your VC pitch is about selling you, your company and your product. Let passion tell your story

5) Prepare for your ask. And, be able to communicate a detailed plan of your spend

6) Think through profit, scalability, predictability, sustainability and de-risking your Startup upfront

7) Consider other funding sources like ex-entrepreneurs or executives

8) Getting the attention of the funding community is difficult; get resilient

9) If your Startup is generating receipts, you will gain leverage on funding, and in some cases, it may lead to self-sustenance without funding.

10) Do’s: Focus on the business model, have self-belief, be detailed and thorough, drill down on use cases, be disruptive, focus on cash flows, be realistic. Dont’s: don’t rush things, don’t screw up after funding.