Pawel Chudzinski on how to raise money from early-stage investors

Startup Notes

Pawel Chudzinski belongs to the most renowned VCs in Germany and Europe. Working and living in Berlin, he is Co-Founder of early-stage venture capital firm Point Nine Capital. The firm is focused on early-stage investments related to SaaS and digital marketplaces. Startups like Revolut, Typeform, and Delivery Hero belong to its portfolio.

In this episode, we are talking to Pawel about best practices on how to raise early-stage funding, stand out among the startups that ask for investments, and what the ideal relationship between VCs and founders should be like.

Full list of topics that we discussed with early stage investor Pawel Chudzinski:

[00:48 - 03:56] Introduction of Pawel and his professional background

[03:57 - 09:15] The ‚secret sauce‘ behind the success of Point Nine Capital

[09:16 - 11:33] On the right timing for raising funding at an early stage

[11:34 - 13:57] How to find the right balance between bootstrapping and raising VC money

[13:58 - 16:20] Point Nine Capital’s criteria when evaluating investment opportunities

[16:21 - 18:45] How Point Nine Capital assesses startups with B2B/B2C products

[18:46 - 21:15] On the importance and best practices of a good pitch deck

[21:16 - 26:15] How to balance honesty and over-selling your startup when pitching

[26:16 - 29:12] How to stand out among all the startups that are seeking funding

[29:13 - 31:46] Why the valuation of startups is very subjective

[31:47 - 35:00] What to be aware of regarding liquidation preferences

[35:01 - 37:45] How to choose the right VC as a founder

[37:46 - 39:29] Open positions at Point Nine Capital and its portfolio companies