Part of the Bizzvenue team was lucky enough to catch Gil Ben-Artzy, UpWest Labs partner, talk about making it in the Silicon Valley, and we decided to share his insights. Just in case you don’t know, UpWest Labs is huge! UpWest Labs graduates have raised more than $50M in funding – with an average seed round of over $1M per company; Over 70% of the startups have raised follow-up funding, with a few of them being acquired by the likes of Google and Priceline.
It’s easy right?
So you have an idea that sounds feasible (in your mind at least), you have a landing page, you gained some traction on social media and you even have a sketchy prototype. Only problem is, you are located in London, Berlin, Tel Aviv, or maybe Sydney. The big fish swim in the Silicon Valley. “It’s easy to raise money there”… right? Wrong! Would you write a fat check for an entrepreneur you have never heard of from the other end of globe? Of course not.
There are a few crucial steps you need to follow in order to avoid a Silicon Valley catastrophe.
You need to get traction!
One of the most important things you need in Silicon Valley is traction. You need traction and momentum before you catch a plane to the Silicon Valley in an attempt to raise money (or to do anything valuable). In fact, it could be argued that you don’t go to the Silicon Valley for money at all. Gil Ben-Artzy UpWest Labs partner said:
You go to the Silicon Valley to build products and companies. People there are willing to partner up with others and try new products. There is a real atmosphere of community. That’s the reason to go to the Silicon Valley. The Valley is full of early adapters.
Creating momentum remotely?
Do you just show up in Silicon Valley for a few days and hope for the best? No. Of course not. It’s best to head over in mid January. Entrepreneurs are always saying “I know I need to come to the valley, but…”. Many entrepreneurs prefer to beta test their product in smaller markets before they come to the Valley. Just in case the product is a disaster, they don’t want to burn themselves in the Valley. Is this a good strategy? It depends on the circumstances and the product. There isn’t a cookie cutter one-size-fits-all answer here. Just don’t make excuses. Coming every few weeks isn’t enough. If you want to increase your chances of success, come from January to June.
Why don’t I just hire a local?
“Hiring a local there is okay”. Wrong. An employee will never do what you will do. Consider this, your local employee is trying to pitch and sell your new product in the Valley. He goes door to door and keeps getting the thumbs down. He will just keep on going to the next door. You, the CEO will ask “why?” before moving on. The CEO has far more to lose.
Just do it!
If you keep waiting and continue working on your product until it is perfect, you may end up building the wrong product. Once you land in Silicon Valley you may realise that you need to make significant adjustments and undo months of work. All this could have been avoided had you just gone to the Valley sooner.
What to do once you arrive?
Actually, the first step needs to happen even before you arrive. Set up a list of potential customers look for events and conferences that are related to your product.
Another great tip is asking for help. Go on LinkedIn and look for people located in the Valley that happen to your list. Ask them for help. Try and get them to set you up with people you need to meet. Send 20 names to 30 people on LinkedIn and you will be surprised how far you can get. Just be sure to send them a paragraph about your company and know your product. Keep it short though. 3-4 lines, anything more and no one will read it.
You can’t just shown up and run
It’s absolutely necessary that you build relationships. You can’t just shown up and run. If you make a connection, follow up! No meeting should end without a plan of action. This could be a follow up meeting, scheduling a phone call or anything else.
A completely unscientifically backed stat claims that 99% of entrepreneurs don’t follow up once they head back home. This is ludicrous. You invest so much time and money on your trip to the Silicon Valley yet you won’t spend a few hours following up. Do yourself a favour and follow up. Just make sure to send personalised messages.
Photo credit: Christian Rondeau
