JJ RAMBERG: Do you guys think it’s a good time to get funding right now?
DAVID S. ROSE: Absolutely. The cost of starting a company is dropping drastically, by literally orders of magnitude over where it’s been in p- … past years. And so that means the potential funding sources are greatly opened up.
BRIAN HALLIGAN: I think it’s a great time to raise capital. Uh … the … the public equity markets are doing really well. Um … the NASDAQ is doing well. It’s because there’s so many people that want to invest in startups, valuations are quite good so you don’t have to give up a big chunk of your company.
JJ RAMBERG: How do you know when you’re looking for money, where to go?
NICK MARSH: When you’re doing your research as to what are the potential sources of capital, and you read peoples’ websites or you read their material as to what types of investments they’re trying to make find something that meshes with your industry, your investment size, and the … and the stage of your business.
JJ RAMBERG: How does somebody even meet somebody like you guys?
DAVID S. ROSE: This is a big start. You’re all sitting this room. They’re there, and we’re here. And the last thing, there wasn’t a giant wall between us. Right? So coming to events like this where investors like us are here, is a very good start. Is there anybody in this room who is not on Facebook or LinkedIn, or … or something else? That’s a way to find people. I … I checked last week and it turns out that there are something like 10 million people in America who can get to me, personally, through, you know, two friends in the middle. It is impossible that you couldn’t get to at least a dozen angels or VCs by yourself, just through people in your extended network.
JJ RAMBERG: What things can somebody say to peak your interest?
DAVID S. ROSE: Well, the … the first question is, we look at you. We look at you as the entrepreneur. We’re buying a vision and a future. And above all, we’re buying your ability to get it done, and to execute it. And that … requires a whole host of things. The first thing we look for is integrity. I mean, we have to know that we can trust you absolutely. But then after that, there’s a host of things we look for in terms of passion, and experience as an entrepreneur, and experience in the … in the area, the domain that you’re working in. Uh … the ability to handle the various tasks that are involved. And a host of other things. And so we call it betting the jockey, not the horse. If we think that you’re the person who can really take this idea, and make it work, we will do what we can to try and help you do that.
NICK MARSH: … prove that you, as an individual, could be organized enough, aggressive enough, could do everything you needed to do. The underlying things, right, are proof of concept and then through the … the character.
JJ RAMBERG: What are the three things somebody needs to say to just get you interested right away?
BRIAN HALLIGAN: Show me some evidence that someone on the planet other than you thinks this is a good idea. Like, if … can you convince your mom and your sister, and your boyfriend and your girlfriend, can you have a little bit of traction on your website? Can you show me some sort of traction?
NICK MARSH: The one advantage that you have is … it’s actually your court to define what that traction is. You’re probably talking about a topic that you more about than the person you’re talking to. So you can define for them, where you started, and where you’ve gotten to.
JJ RAMBERG: When should you start looking for money? How long does it take?
BRIAN HALLIGAN: If you’re a founder and CEO, you’re always fundraising.
NICK MARSH: Always (Overlapped).
JJ RAMBERG: And I want to end this with how we started it, which is, you all said it’s a great time to be starting a business and looking for money.
BRIAN HALLIGAN: Yes, great.
DAVID S. ROSE: Absolutely.
NICK MARSH: Absolutely.
(END OF TAPE)