Raising investment in the early stages of your startup. How a CFO can help grow your project.
Joaquín Vila Antúnez, entrepreneur, and a leading figure in financial management for startups, will speak to us about raising investment in the early stages of your project.
From the perspective of a CFO serving “as a service” for several startups that have raised investment in different stages, he will share his insights on the current situation and the aftermath of having a new member on the board. He will discuss how to approach this change in a constructive manner.
Ximo, from his perspective as an entrepreneur, highlights the importance of time in the startup phase. He emphasizes that ideas are worthless on their own; what truly matters is the execution of your project. Bringing that idea into reality and validating the business concept are crucial. He shares examples of market validation, such as the case of Dropbox.
In the early stages, relying on personal resources and being highly creative is essential until the minimum viable product is launched. Once you have it, you need to release it to the market and validate the hypotheses that the product solves.
Ximo discusses the differences between incubators and accelerators based on his personal experience. He emphasizes the importance of the team rather than solely relying on a good CEO. The team must be passionate about the project because there will be challenging moments, and it is during those moments of doubt that the project’s passion makes a difference.
Our friend emphasizes the importance of failure from a learning perspective for entrepreneurs. Constant learning can make the difference between the survival or failure of your project.
Having a good CFO who can help define the key performance indicators (KPIs) for your business is one of the main tasks of an effective financial manager. As Ximo explains, this role evolves and adapts as the company grows.
Here are some good references that Ximo suggests:
- El Método Lean StartUp, Eric Risk
- Running Lean, Ash Maurya
And regarding the learning Ximo wishes he had known earlier, he says, “Understanding that, more than projects, it’s about people… how important it is to surround yourself with the right people in the entrepreneurial phase.“
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