April 27 NTJC Elevate Series Webinar with Tim Draper, Founder of Draper Associates
The NJTC community had the pleasure of sitting down and interviewing Tim Draper, Founder of Draper Associates. Tim is a well-known American venture capital investor who loves entrepreneurs with bold, industry-transforming ideas.
Some of his most prominent investments include Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, Ring, Twitter, DocuSign, Robinhood and Ancestry.com.
Tim Draper helps entrepreneurs drive their visions through funding and education and shared with the NTJC community how to catch the eye of investors.
Catching Eyes
The pandemic has changed the outlook for investors as tectonic shifts are being made in the markets. As an investor, Tim isn’t making any bets in certain industries such as travel, transportation and hospitality.
As of late-April, Tim predicts the market will shape as a long “L” and will need three years to ensure Draper Associates can support the companies they’re already backing.
Although there have been shifts in the markets, Draper Associates still looks for the same fundamentals for companies they invest in.
Draper Associates is looking to invest in companies that if successful, will have a huge impact on the world. An entrepreneur will catch Tim’s eye and his investment if they’re creating a whole new field.
The Culture of Failing
The sixth line of Tim Draper’s Draper University pledge is “I will fail and fail again until I succeed.” It’s the foundation of his entrepreneurial training program and one of the main ideas in his book “How to be the Startup Hero”.
But why is failing so important?
An entrepreneur must be willing to take chances and be unafraid to fail. To try and try again in order to be successful. Because Tim instilled this culture of failing into his students at Draper University, they have gone on to create wildly successful businesses and patents all over the world.
Pitch Perfect
An entrepreneur has 90 seconds to catch the attention of an investor, so how do they win a meeting? As a venture capitalist, Tim encourages entrepreneurs to email him their business plan.
Don’t send your life story to an investor, get straight to the point from the very first line.
Ensure your pitch deck includes what you’re doing, why it’s important, how big the market is and how you’re going to make money.
When you win a meeting, practice the pitch and make sure you get along with your co-founders. Investors want to see, hear and feel the passion you have for your ideas and want to know you’ll persevere until the end.
Tim shares if your idea or business plan isn’t what you were meant to do in your life, do something else. Find what matters to you.
Watch The Full Webinar Presentation:
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