This is fascinating. But what happens when all VCs move to being this data-driven? This seems like a differentiator for now (and the patent pending bit is interesting), but won't more investors expect more access to raw data, rather than relying on the glowy presentations of founders?
And, how does the Traction API correct for abuse/cooked books? What if I send them all sorts of data that merely looks like traction, but is just made up? What if my app is huge with robots? Will I get an investment?
@chrismessina All VCs are pretty much data-driven already. Try raising money from one and the first question they'll ask you is "what traction are you getting?"
As far as investment, traction is only the initial signal. We still conduct full due diligence to verify the data that we received via the API. We also look at the team, vision and market potential before proceeding with any investment.
@chrismessina@clarencewooten I can't help but think this would be a much more attractive product for entrepreneurs if it was more of a platform rather than a glorified deal funnel.
Trust is paramount in a relationship like this.
Had you thought about creating a marketplace instead of using it as deal flow tool at any point?
As an entrepreneur when thinking about raising capital, one of the first things I am thinking about is how does this investor help me strategically. The actual capital is a commodity at this point.
@chrismessina@BlendahTom I agree 100%. As an entrepreneur myself having raised plenty of venture capital... I recognize the desire for a value added investor. As a result, we are providing lot more than then a glorified deal funnel. We're interesting in helping all founders get to product/market fit... even if we never end up investing.
As far as becoming a marketplace. It isn't mutually exclusive. We ultimately intended to be that as well. Our primary goal right now is to be helpful to all founders by providing data-driven insights, tips and more.
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I have zero idea what this actually is; whether it's a product or what. Their description says "Yes. We are an early-stage venture capital fund." - so this is not a product it's just a VC fund that has made an api to grab all your traction data?
@BlendahTom That's what I understood it as when I looked over everything. I wouldn't have hunted it if the API solely pushed data back to one fund.
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@clarencewooten ok - well that's not clear from your website at all, as the first question in your FAQ is "are you a venture fund" - answer = yes. and the website is called venturefund.io lol.
As I say, the website and even press articles gave me zero insight as to what the product(?) actually is. I think that including actual screenshots or a link to a demo account could be highly beneficial.
How is this not obviously the coolest thing ever? Better, someone needs to launch an api like this one where the company sends in data and the investors can only see the category / data and don't see the company. Then the company can get inbound intros and decide whether to show who they are.
@clarencewooten why would you need an API to get the key data from someone? Is this a way to mass screen large quantities of start-ups?
You only have to ask, and as a credible VC/Angel most folks will give you an insight into their traction. I'd hope. And as you point out, these KPIs are just the start.
On that note... ;)
* started coding in May, beta in Oct
* 2k users, then 12k, then 25k
* see http://www.producthunt.com/posts...
This is a great concept but there's not enough information about the methodology, the team, or the fund for me to believe in it. There's also no case studies of companies you've funded. So, great concept but I don't trust it from the website.
@TO That's fair. We need to walk before we can fly. Stay tuned.
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While this conversation is philosophically interesting, I feel like this "product" is bumping up against the blurred line of product and service.
I would strongly avoid this product. Giving your data away for free to strangers to judge you on? NDA might be needed? This is like a forward announcement of the data ethics that Uber has gotten in trouble with.
I'm all for sharing data and KPI, but give the user some control over their data (hide from VentureFund, publish to website), and provide an immediate gain (dashboard, KPI->live pitch deck) before calling your lead gen funnel a product / platform.
The Traction API enables startups to connect to VentureFund.io and start sharing metrics about their user traction, such as user numbers, growth, engagement, and so on. The idea is that startups should be able to easily use their data to pitch instead of using countless time pitching investors.
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