🛒 🐩 👆🏽 How to get to Silicon Valley: 7 ways for it-startup 🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏾 😟 ⤵️

If you want to build a successful business in the it sphere, then there is no better place to start in the world than Silicon Valley. My experience as a CEO of Master Kit Corporated allowed me to formulate seven ways that would allow a novice entrepreneur from Russia to declare himself in the States.

We must start by coming to Silicon Valley. For most startups, this is for some reason the most difficult step, although it is enough to take a tourist visa. Further, much depends on your ability to communicate and flexibility of thinking.

1. Offer a working idea

If you have only a hypothesis, then you should first check it: start a startup and see how it will develop. The project should reach self-sufficiency and demonstrate impressive results. This will be proof that the product you created is interesting to users. And when you are ready to scale, then it makes sense to look for investors in the Valley. They are open to new offers. The main requirement for a beginner and his startup is the ability to quickly make a pivot and not get stuck on the original idea.

2. Evaluate the market and draw up a two-year development plan

Before asking for money, you need to understand how much and what you need. Of course, your predictions and constructions, most likely, will not materialize. But your goal is not to predict the future, but to present the development of the product on the market. So you can figure out which of the investors you need to look for. In the Valley, reputation and adequacy are very important, so you need to prove the effectiveness of your idea in the first round, otherwise it is either difficult or almost impossible to find funds further.

3. Chat with as many people as possible

Do not immediately look for a meeting with a major venture capitalist - the risk of failure is great. Focus on talking with different people from your industry - any communication will give more ideas about who is developing a similar idea and what successes have been achieved. Your interlocutor can introduce you to someone, become your consultant or business angel, so you need to overcome shyness and limiting beliefs like "I am an introvert and do not like to communicate."

4. Seek advice and offer help

In the Valley, fierce competition and the development of a social network of contacts is one of the keys to success. One investor once said, “If you ask for money, you get advice. If you ask for advice, you get money. ” It's true. When you come to the Valley, nobody knows you. To fix this, go to various events that regularly take place. Ask questions, help others, listen and, of course, talk about your idea and ask her to evaluate. So you can modify your product and at the same time the article as part of the community. One of the mistakes that Russians in the States often make is unfriendliness or the search for exceptionally “useful” connections. The new acquaintance probably works in a different field, but he knows people from your area or more deeply understands the mechanisms of interaction in the Valley.Therefore, initiate as many dialogs as possible and ask the most popular question here: “How can I help you?”

5. Pitch

If some quality can be called the main one for the successful search for an investor, it is self-confidence. A meeting with potential business angels or venture capitalists can happen anywhere: in a cafe, in a parking lot, in an elevator. If you have gone through the previous stages, then through acquaintances you are well aware of the circle of people who can invest in your idea. And if you come across them, use the moment. There is nothing wrong with saying: “Can you take a few minutes of your time to talk about a problem and its solution that you are likely to be interested in?” Since all this happens spontaneously, the pitch itself must be prepared and worked out in advance. By the way, to improve the presentation skill, it is worth attending demo days or pitch competitions.

Train in that at the end and beginning of the pitch indicate the name of the startup, give its description in one sentence and be sure to give your contact details.

6. Register a company in the USA

No matter how good the product may be, investors are reluctant to invest in Russian companies. This is due to the limited number of forms of ownership that exist in our country. Therefore, it makes sense to register G-corp and thereby demonstrate its willingness to cooperate. For the founders of large companies, finding a startup in the United States is another sign that you are part of a community.

7. Get into the accelerator

If you have a working product and sales, but closely within the existing framework, it makes sense to apply for an accelerator. There you will not only receive money, but also a lot of useful knowledge: learn how to speak to investors, learn how to develop a company, find inspiration and learn how to improve a product based on the opinions of users. The selection is usually long and rather strict, so if the company did not pass it, then there is a reason to engage in revising or changing the product.

How to get to Silicon Valley: 7 ways for it-startup