風投榮景不再?誠研創新聚焦兩原則助創業公司資本加速
In recent years, many startups have felt the challenges of securing venture capital, experiencing even tougher conditions than during the pandemic. Alex Chung, President of Legend Innovation, attributes this trend to two primary factors: global elections influencing economic policies that divert funds to stock markets and the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on major tech companies, leading to layoffs and a pessimistic outlook for tech entrepreneurship.
To navigate this challenging funding environment, Alex emphasizes two strategies for startups: "focus on strengths" and "direct engagement." This involves understanding market trends and efficiently scouting for quality investment opportunities. Startups must validate their business models to gain market support, ensuring that their fundraising strategies align with their entrepreneurial capabilities. Traditional models of merely replicating successful ventures from places like the U.S. or Japan are no longer effective in the current climate.
Legend Innovation has actively invested in semiconductor startup ALES Tech, assisting with market establishment and capital planning, while connecting them with angel investors and corporate venture capital firms for cash increases.
Alex stresses that entrepreneurs should avoid overly optimistic projections and instead identify their core advantages to carve out a niche in existing markets. Establishing a reasonable growth ceiling and developing a fundraising strategy to capture market share is crucial. The focus should be on achieving a stable market presence of 5% before expanding further.
Legend Innovation collaborates with domestic and international VC and corporate strategy investment firms to conduct joint investment review events annually. Their goal is to streamline the process of securing investments and providing valuable resources for business model validation and fundraising strategy assessment.
With an emphasis on "focusing on strengths" and "direct engagement," both startups and small to medium enterprises aiming for IPOs can pursue their dreams of capital success.
這兩年,不少創業公司應該都感受到風險資本取得相較以往更為不易,甚至比起疫情期間更加乏人問津。對於這個現象,長期專注於早期創業投資陪跑以及中小企業成長轉型的誠研創新股份有限公司董事長鍾金峯給出他的觀點,他認為主要來自兩個原因交互作用所導致,首先是全球幾個主要經濟體都相繼進入大選年,在此期間,各國執政者會利用政策工具協助造市,進而讓股市產生欣欣向榮的前景,加上房地產打房措施也會有意地放緩,以利延續執政,但這樣會導致熱錢過度往股市集中;第二個原因即是從2020年新冠疫情爆發以來,不少指標型科技龍頭公司與金融業未蒙其利卻深受其害,各地紛紛傳出大裁員,甚至有一夜倒閉情況,使得一級資本市場更加看衰科技創業,認為科技泡沫已來且連帶可能引發新一波金融危機,故大幅減少風險投資,轉而投向股市等二級市場或直接暫停募集新一輪的風投基金。所以全球的新創公司或正在等著籌資進行資本加速的中小企業正面臨2000年網路泡沫以來的最嚴苛籌 資環境,讓不少的好公司因為籌資不順,而錯失最好的發展機會。
對於這個情況,鍾金峯認為所有人都無法左右大環境走勢與政策風向,除了等待下一個好時機到來之外,現在可以做的就是「聚焦優勢」(持續發展與核心能力高度相關的事)以及「直球對決」(提出讓投資人或市場願意買單的唯一原因)這兩件事。落實在資本市場的做法,就是身為投資方要更加理解創業市場與科技發展趨勢,有目的且高效的自主探勘培養好案源,懂得精準投資且能危機入市,那種人云亦云,誰投了,我們就跟著投一點的美好時光已一去不歸。而對於創業公司,一定要做好商業模式驗證,讓市場(早期願意買單的人)幫你的技術與產品服務來說話,當然,合理的募資策略與創業家的商業能力養成都是必要的元素,過去靠著把美國、日本等地方創業成功模式搬來台灣重做一遍的「純模式複製」融資套路在目前的環境氛圍已經不再適用。
再來就是所有的創業家要避免高談錢景無限、市場很大很大的創業大餅,必須先理解自身核心優勢來想辦法分食既有市場的一塊小餅,然後把成長天花板合理估算出來並搭配募資策略來加速達到預期的市場份額,這樣就非常棒了,因為任何創業市場都存在地區性的成長天花板限制,必須先在一個地區市場力求站穩5%市佔率,才能上得了牌桌,才有基本規模經濟與更好的策略玩法。當專業投資人說你畫的市場不夠大,很可能的原因在於你沒有做好橫向市場的發展連結,或者沒有「以終為始」的說明你的募資終點站會把公司帶到哪裡,以及終點站與過程各站(各募資輪)的預期股東權益報酬率(ROE)與合理的人均產值是多少?
對此,誠研創新與十多家國內外創投(VC)與企業策略投資機構(CVC)合作,相約每年舉辦1-2次的線上聯合看案投資活動,最近一次會在2024年的3月份舉行,目的在於高效聚焦合適案源並促成快速進入投資協商階段,誠研創新主要負責探勘案源並邀請不同專業領域的成功創業家或專業經理人來有償或有條件無償協助團隊完成商模驗證規劃與募資BP(商業計劃書)合理性評估這件重要的工作,最後把你的募資想法與公司發展計畫端上檯面,讓誠研創新在內的專業投資人有機會一起陪你走接下來的創業旅程。只要懂得「聚焦優勢」與「直球對決」,無論是新創或想要往IPO股票上市的中小企業都有機會一圓夢想。詳情可查詢誠研創新官網或搜尋加入誠研創新LINE官方帳號。