The Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs sponsors an evening panel discussion on how startups can best position themselves to win early funding. Panelists will include Andy Bartley, Associate, The Angels Forum; Ben Choi, Principal, Maveron; Barry Eggars, Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners; and Rob Hayes, Managing Partner, First Round Capital. From the event description: “With the cost for developing anything software related continuing to decline, technology startups need far less cash than they did even a few years ago. However, most startups that want to grow fast still do need some venture capital, so where should you now go to raise that first round beyond friends & family? Do you just need to be one of the pack to get portfolio strategy angels like Ron Conway to throw you a few crumbs? Or, do you need to look bigger than you are to attract the attention of Mike Maples with his ‘Thunder lizard’ approach? What about more conventional angel groups such as the Band of Angels, Sand Hill Angels, and Angels’ Forum? What sort of deals are they looking for? What about individual angels such as those featured on the Venture Hacks Angels List? And, what about the new smaller VC funds? Based on the VC and angel activity at Launch: Silicon Valley 2010, it looks like there ARE investors with real money actively seeking interesting startups investments. Given that, the key question becomes, what does a technology startup need to look like, to cause VCs and angels to reach for their wallets?”
Information and registration here.