Editor’s note: This post comes courtesy of Adam Komarnicki. Adam is a Chief Customer Officer at Fundacity, a Santiago-based startup that provides tools connecting startups and investors, to help them select and grow the next big thing. You can contact him at [email protected].
If you are a startup founder based in Latin America and tend to read US tech websites such as TechCrunch or Venture Beat, you wonder if the news about startup valuations and rounds raised is for real. The amounts are sometimes enormous! The reality in Latin America is quite different; serious financing is both harder to get and usually much less smart if you succeed. Don’t lose your hope however, because the situation is improving, especially for early stage startups. Let’s look at the most common options of external funding for such startups – LatAm angels and accelerators.
However, before starting to think where to look for funding, early stage startups should be asking themselves these two questions:
- How much money do I need in the next 8-10 months to grow my business?
- How important it is for me to attract “smart money” i.e. additional benefits from my investor such as advice and contacts?
We will give you an overview of your options based on these criteria.