Christine Tsai
Founding Partner at 500Startups
Discussion
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
Hello world - I'm Christine Tsai, founding partner at 500 Startups. Excited to be here, and happy to answer questions about 500 and our seed program (née accelerator), investing/VC, diversity, building a strong culture, Taco Bell, you name it. In terms of companies, I led 500's investment in ipsy, RealtyShares, Bombfell, Sprig, Magoosh, StackCommerce, and more. Ask me anything!
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Ahmed▲Fagiry
@aos101 · Formatio
Hello there, this is pretty exciting.
Could we know how can an engineering/recycling/high tech start-up and a non US company be linked or connected to investors in the US? do investors in the US still have the appetite to fund an overseas company?
thanks a lot, wishing you all the achievements you desire.
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@aos101 I think more investors are starting to pay attention to global companies - because they have to. Unfortunately, a lot of Silicon Valley still prefers to invest in Silicon Valley. I would recommend looking for investors (or even accelerators) who have invested internationally, esp in your market. It may be more challenging if you're not a US entity though - depends on where you're incorporated.
Sherad Louis-Charles
@slouischarles
If you have a business/product that can be copied easily, what are some things that would sell you on why that business would succeed despite copycats?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@slouischarles The cold harsh reality (or maybe not) is that your idea is not unique. For every "unique" idea, there are likely 10 other startups pursuing the same thing. If I'm meeting a company and there is already a big incumbent in the space they're in, or there are a lot of other startups doing the same thing, I try to keep an open mind but I will want to be convinced that: (1) they have some unfair advantage that the others don't, (2) they put the customer/user first and really understand who they're targeting, and (3) they are focused on building a strong brand. When I met Ipsy, the big incumbent out there was Birchbox. But what stood out about Ipsy was their focus on building a bigger community around beauty and beauty influencers. They were more than just subscription commerce. That convinced me to invest.
What things need to be keep in mind while pitching to investors as a first time founder?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@keyul Understand who's on the other side of the table. It makes a big difference when you have done your legwork and research, and show the investor that you want THEM in your round. That means what companies they've invested in, what their investment stage / criteria is, any backchannel feedback you've heard from their founders, etc. I'm always impressed when founders have done their homework before they come into our meeting.
The other big thing is to know whether you're pitching on vision vs. traction. If you're early stage, most likely it'll be on vision and the problem you're solving, why that investor should care, etc. Depending on who the investor is again, you may tweak your pitch slightly. Not change it entirely, but focus more on what will resonate w/ that particular investor.
Dylan Bathurst
@dylanbathurst · CEO, Upright
Thanks for doing this chat Christine!
Of all the companies accepted into 500, what percentage would you classify as a marketplace?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@dylanbathurst TBH I don't know a specific %, but we do like marketplaces and have invested in a lot of them. The challenge with marketplaces is if they're generating sustainable revenue, not just GMV. So that's what I look closely at when evaluating a marketplace company. Also how sticky it is - how often does the demand side come back to buy?
Hey Christine! Thanks for joining us :-)
What signs do you look for first before knowing if you'd like to invest in a startup? (or at least being open to investing, all other things being equal)
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@nivo0o0 Team, stage, customer target / problem they're solving
Ayrton De Craene
@ayrton · Code @ Product Hunt
What have been the biggest challenges you've had to overcome in your career?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@ayrton One of the biggest challenges - being an introvert. Being told I am too quiet / not vocal enough / not "strong" enough is the story of my life and something I've heard ever since I was a kid in school who did great, but didn't raise her hand. The world (especially in the professional context) tells introverts that they need to be louder, and that a leader must be extroverted. However, that's unhealthy and certainly not the case. The loud asshole leaders of the world - I firmly believe they got to where they are DESPITE that behavior, not BECAUSE of that behavior. Being introverted has a number of great advantages when it comes to leadership and GSD. So I've started to own my introversion, embrace it, and hopefully inspire others to do the same. #QuietLeadership
Dave McClure
@davemcclure · troublemaker @500startups
@christine_tsai wait... loud asshole... why, who could that be ;) ❤️ (srsly: christine is an amazing leader who has helped us make 500 what it is today)
Jacqueline von Tesmar
@jacqvon · Community, Product Hunt ✌️😻
What growth tips can you share with the Product Hunt community?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@jacqvon My growth tips are now non-existent, but our GROWTH MARKETING team at 500 has a ton of tips. A lot of it is here: http://www.growth.500.co/
Javiperez
@javiperezsea · Owner and CEO, It24.io It24 Inc.
Why today all startups and VC's are so focus in investment when should be in customers or monetization?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@javiperezsea Because it's seen as necessary and/or "trendy". Nowadays a lot of founders read TechCrunch or other tech blogs, see what's in their social media feeds - and there is so much focus on fundraising, how to pitch investors, companies closing $X million in funding, etc. It's what catches headlines. However, I completely agree that startups should be focused first and foremost on building a business. VC funding should be a catalyst for growth, but not the end goal. Monetization should be figured out independently of VC funding - e.g. figure out how your customers will actually pay you for your product, and how you will keep things afloat in rough times, esp if fundraising is tough. (because it ALWAYS IS)
Javiperez
@javiperezsea · Owner and CEO, It24.io It24 Inc.
@christine_tsai Thanks, Christine, we at @it24io as spanish start-up It24.io CEO maybe I´m wrong but from an ethic point of view we prefer not to take any investment from any VC until we don´t monetize enough, what do you think about this?
Francois Patry
@patry_francois · Founder @ Fifome.com & Nser.io
Hi Christine. Do you prefer investing in early-stage startup/project/idea or in a more mature products and team?
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Christine Tsai
@christine_tsai
@patry_francois I tend to invest and prefer early stage, but the company must be an actual company w/ a launched product and customers. There aren't too many cases where I / 500 would invest in a pre-customer pre-product company. We have invested in "mature" products, e.g. ones that were past Series A in funding and generating strong revenue, etc. which is a bit out of thesis for 500, but there are always exceptions.