Evan Baehr & Evan Loomis
Authors of Get Backed
Discussion
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
Hi Product Hunt! Evan Loomis and Evan Baehr here, co-authors of Get Backed. We wrote Get Backed because we wanted to give founders what we wished we had when we we’re first raising money. Evan Baehr is the cofounder of Able, a tech company committed to growing the "fortune five million” with collaborative, low-interest loans. He's worked at the White House, a hedge fund, and Facebook and is a graduate of Princeton, Yale, and Harvard Business School. Evan Loomis is an entrepreneur and investor, and currently serves as the President of Clarion. Loomis also cofounded the home improvement store TreeHouse and the national angel investment group Wedgwood Circle, and is a mentor through the startup accelerators Techstars and Praxis. Excited to be answering your questions!
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Jacqueline von Tesmar
@jacqvon · Community, Product Hunt ✌️😻
What industries would you place your bets on in the next 10-20 years?
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Evan Loomis
@evanloomis · Co-Author, Get Backed
@jacqvon Okay, i'm going to be "guessing" here since nobody knows. My hunch is that these eight industries / sectors will be big in 20 years:
1. Artificial intelligence (Google is probably all over this stuff)
2. Robotics (check out the DARPA robotics awards)
3. Nanotech
4. Space travel (check out SpaceX)
5. Financial services (check out a company called Able Lending)
6. Life extension (anything that lengthens the average life span:-)
7. Quantum Computing (check out Rigetti Quantum Computing)
8. 3D printing anything (food, houses, cars, biological tissue, etc.)
9. Sustainable buildings and homes (check out TreeHouse in Austin, TX; we need to figure this one out for future generations....watch the movie Wall E from Pixar (haha))
That said, there's a ton of opportunity in most established industries. Don't get down if your idea is not on this list:-)
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Evan Loomis
@evanloomis · Co-Author, Get Backed
@jacqvon One more thought. Reid Hoffman suggested in this article that the best businesses embrace the Seven Deadly Sins - http://www.businessinsider.com/l... pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.
That may work today, but the long arch of history will show that the biggest and best ideas will be the complete opposite of these. Look for redemptive ideas that embody the following characteristics: faith, hope, love (theological virtues) and natural virtues of justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude, as defined by Plato and Aristotle and adopted by the Church Fathers.
Arpit Gupta
@arpitgupta · Product Manager
Any insights on fundraising differences between software and hardware startups?
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Evan Loomis
@evanloomis · Co-Author, Get Backed
@arpitgupta the biggest differences we noticed during our interviews had to do with timing of "demos". The hardware startups showed the investors the device first and allowed them to experience it before pitching them on the merits of the idea. The software startups demoed their technology in the middle and/or at the end of an investor pitch. So, no major differences. There's a really cool company called Karma and Freight Farms that we wrote about in the book...they had cool approaches to raising money for a hardware company.
Ariella
@v_ariella · Founder/ Mychefit.com
@evanbaehr How to tell a story on a pitch deck and what are your favourite pitch decks that I can use as an inspiration? Thanks :)
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Evan Loomis
@evanloomis · Co-Author, Get Backed
@v_ariella Great question, Ariella!
re stories: Great fundraisers are master storytellers. They develop their own versions of 4 basic story archetypes that answer 4 critical questions about their ventures: the origin story (why are you doing this?), the customer story (what problem are you solving?), the industry story (why now?), and the venture growth story (what have you done?).
re pitchdecks: We included 15 pitch decks that you can use for inspiration in our book Get Backed. Those are some of our favorites.
Ariella
@v_ariella · Founder/ Mychefit.com
@evanloomis @v_ariella Thank you Evan. But I found it still very difficult to craft something that tells the story and yet in one slice with couple of words. This is the real challenge. Apart from slideshare, is there any other resource you recommend for inspiration? Thank you so very much
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
@evanbaehr & @evanloomis Thanks for both being here today! This question is directed at both of you: During your career to date, what has been your a) most challenging moment and how did you overcome it? b) proudest moment and why? c) most surprising moment?
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
@ems_hodge Hardest moment: deciding to shut down my last company Outbox - right after raising a $5m investor round... we had a VERY tough call to make after a set of very discouraging data and getting shut down by the federal government... proudest moment was right after that when our investors said: keep all the money - and go build something awesome. Was the biggest vote of confidence I have ever received... other than my wife accepting my proposal!
Corley
@corleyh · COO @ Product Hunt
@evanbaehr & @evanloomis thanks for joining! Can you both share a defining moment in your life and how it shaped your perspective and who you are today?
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
@corleyh I was once in a meeting convened by a billionaire - I had pitched him on an idea and asked him for his feedback... he said: come to lunch with a few friends of mine. So we had a small lunch, brainstormed for an hour, and then he asked: "did you acheive everything you wanted to at this lunch?" I said, "well, yes - thank you for the great feedback..." He said: "how about $250,000?" Stumbling around, I said: well, YES that would help! This taught me: (1) ask for what you need - or you'll not likely get it; (2) if you want money, ask for advice; if you want advice, ask for money... and (3) increase your luck surface area ! (a concept from the book) which is really about getting to know more people, connecting with them in authentic ways, and staying front of mind for them.
Arpit Gupta
@arpitgupta · Product Manager
@evanbaehr @corleyh great story. Did you negotiate the terms of that $250k or you were confident that it was going to come with the standard terms?
Yamillet Rivas
@yamilletrivas · Associate Director, Labs Relationship
In reading all of the comments on the main page, it seems that a lot of people are focusing on products etc, but what if what you feel at your core is more around helping other human beings connect to their raw nature. More about living an authentic life and not so much about a product. Would this book be good for people who are looking to sell the idea that intention and value base living is important in order for people to realize their true potential?
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
@yamilletrivas Great idea here, Yamillet. I like where you are going. As a side project I've helped a few dozen people build 'personal narratives' - these consist of the basic building blocks of any narrative: where have you been, where you are going, how you are going to get there, and why it matters. To me these are the components of any narrative - whether personal or corporate. I think the key missing component for most people is the WHY; this can serve as an elegant invitation to another person to buy into your own personal vision. You should tell and share your own story such that it motivates, inspires, and invites others to join in with you. Believe it or not, I have actually created a 'personal pitch deck' for myself - applying these principles to my own life. Some things aren't a great fit (e.g. do I personally have product market fit? uhhhhhh... ), but it's still helpful. I love the direction you are going - and hope you''ll keep keep asking these questions.
Kate
@katesegrin · Community @ Product Hunt
Who are some of the people that have had the most impact on your life? (Stories, please!)
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Evan Loomis
@evanloomis · Co-Author, Get Backed
@katesegrin Hi Kate - this may be "long" but there have been a lot of people that shaped me at different points in my life...for the better. I'm a firm believer that we are the "average" of our closest friends and that we all need mentorship from older / people. That said, here's my short list:
Mom and Dad for always saying “go for it” and funding every crazy startup idea I’ve had – from lawn mowing and pressure washing – and even wedding videography (what the heck was I thinking? I was terrible).
Former President H.W. Bush invited me to serve as his assistant during college. Watching him genuinely care for people and write countless handwritten notes humbled me, and helped me understand why he was one of the most powerful people in the world.
Former Secretary Robert Gates and Jim Olsen, two former cold war spies and professors at Texas A&M University, casually suggested that I look into investment banking post graduation. Their counsel changed the course of my life.
Ian Sugarman, now Vice Chairman of Retail Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, gave me my first job on Wall Street, meticulously taught me how to create pitch decks, and helped me realize that I love people more than cubicles and Microsoft Excel.
Scott Erwin an American hero and friend, who got shot in Iraq, almost died, and lived to do an Ironman and swim the English Channel. He constantly inspires me to dream bigger and keep going when you get knocked down.
Dr. Steven Garber and Mark Rodgers, my former colleagues at Wedgwood Circle, have committed their lives to the advancement of the “common good”.
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
@katesegrin I had a pretty epic first meeting at Facebook: I was in a meeting with Sheryl Sandberg literally on a tour... at the end of the meeting I asked a few questions. She came across the room after her talk and said: you should work at facebook. And I was like: really? A few weeks later she introduced me to Mark Zuckerberg saying, "Mark - meet Evan - he's the only person I have ever hired because he asked good questions." Moral of the story? raise your hand!
Kate
@katesegrin · Community @ Product Hunt
What was one pivotal moment in your career and in your personal life?
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
@katesegrin when I was a second year in b-school... a dear friend @willydavisjr said to me: we need to start a company together... and you are the right guy b/c no one else I know could I trust to take care of my family if something ever happened... that was an invitation of a lifetime, which has yielded the craziest journey I could ever imagine.
TheIndy Wholesaler
@indywholesaler · Entrepreneur, Real Estate/Business Dev
@evanbaehr Where is the best place to find investors for an already proven franchise? I'd be opening some as a franchisee. The majority of the financing will be through SBA but we need investors for the initial capital. I'm in Indianapolis and venture capital is in short supply here in Indiana.
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Evan Baehr
@evanbaehr · cofounder, able
@indywholesaler Well done! Congrats on getting things running. So an easy offer here is to chat with an underwriter on my team at Able Lending - check out our site here: www.ablelending.com - you can book a call with our team here: https://www.ablelending.com/ask-... We might not be a fit... but they can give you some direction. Early stage equity in general can be tough - but there are some great investor groups that do financing. Also, I'm assuming that the franchise does not have financing options? Probably the easiest money to close would be from investors who have backed this franchise before. The person most likely to do your deal is someone who has done a very similar deal very recently.