Mustafa Rasheed, a Desi Startup Advisor cum Angel Investor from Singapore shares his knowledge and advice which helps APAC founders raise funding from investors.
Startups, Entrepreneurship and Business have a never ending learning curve, and whatever we soak in from the experts every now and then is only going to be advantageous for all us enthusiasts.
A vast majority of startups fail because they are unable to raise investor money. We need to learn to communicate with investors, perfect our pitch deck, and confidently tackle tough questions, all while gaining insights from seasoned angel investors. Access to venture capital firms, angel investor groups, and government grants are necessary in ensuring we are well-equipped to navigate and thrive in this dynamic ecosystem.
To navigate through this route, we sat down with an Active Angel Investor and Advisor to multiple global startups, Mustafa Rasheed for an one on one interview, in helping us understand their inputs, experience and advice better, and also learn their future goals and vision. He has over a decade of experience in the Singapore startup and innovation ecosystem and helps APAC startups get funding and investments. Do go through their interview conducted by Desi Founder Team.
Also find the product they made to help APAC founders raise funding from investors in Singapore.
My journey in the startup ecosystem started in 2013 when I had just recently graduated from my bachelors degree. At that time I was researching the feasibility of starting a tablet pc brand using OEM suppliers. Thankfully some very useful conversations and research saved me from spending too much time, resources and money on an idea where the market was already saturated.
After that I was lucky to get a job as a consultant/advisor in an organization called SME Centre, which is the advisory arm of Singapore government agency called Enterprise Singapore. Over there I built a very strong network in the startup ecosystem by providing advisory services to startups, incubators, accelerators, VCs, co-working spaces and entrepreneur communities. Not proceeding with my first startup idea allowed me the opportunity to learn so much and eventually meet and advise over 3,000 startups in this role while contributing to Singapore’s large and vibrant startup ecosystem.
Post government work I worked as a venture builder in the innovation lab of ING bank and after that I built an accelerator program for series A startups KPMG all in Singapore. Since then I have made multiple angel investments and sit on the advisory boards of a few startups and organizations while also doing fractional and consulting gigs.
I can break this down into a few key points.
1. Start validating your idea by speaking to potential customers/users before you build it
2. Structure your startup in an investor friendly location if you intend to raise funds from international investors
3. Communicating effectively to customers and investors is extremely important
4. Make data driven decisions and go where the response is best
5. One of the most difficult things for startups to do is fundraise. Learn as much about it as you can before you start having investor conversations.
Yes, most definitely. I often reflect on my learnings when advising and investing in startups. As an advisor I like to relate case studies of startups I’ve met before and pass on the learnings to new teams so that they don’t make the same mistakes. When it comes to investing I strongly believe that coachable founders are the best since they are able to take advice and feedback in a mature way.
The first angel investment I made was a complete failure. I paid to learn in this case. The founders were terrible, they didn’t do any investor updates, they had no proper plans and would only reach out to their angel investors when they needed more money to extend their runway. From there I learned that effective communication is super important for founders and I would not invest in any startups unless they gave regular updates and were able to take advice and guidance in a useful manner. In my own entrepreneurial journey I’ve built digital products, some have done well and some have also failed. I have built a consulting business from the ground up where I’ve also been lucky to learn a lot from the customers I’ve served. Sales conversations were something that I was very scared of in the beginning. Talking about money and deliverables used to make me uncomfortable but I learned a lot from taking courses, practicing and breaking out of my comfort zone.
I’ve invested in a diverse range of startups. The first one was an animation studio, the second one was b2b supply chain platform for micro SMEs with over 60k merchants today, the third was a restaurant loyalty and ordering app which is quickly spreading in the Middle East and Africa. I don’t have a specific industry or sector preference but I prefer to believe in the founders and if they can make a compelling business case for their startup. As an investor we are seldom particular about the industry but more particular about when and how we will get a return.
Homefectionary is a Bangladesh based startup that serves about 10,000 meals per day. They’re making a social impact while making a handsome profit by signing up home-chefs that can cook about 40 meals per day and selling them in batches to offices, factories, embassies, universities etc. The food is healthier and cheaper than commercially made meals.
Another startup I advise is called Stufbase which is a platform for digital products. Creators can upload their PDF, Course, Music, etc and sell it globally to customers. These are just 2 from many which I have had the pleasure of working with over the years in Singapore and globally.
I like to take the role of an advisor / mentor / board member. My role entails taking regular calls with the founders and working through any problems they might face. Some of the things I have advised them on are fundraising, strategy, partnerships, growth, company structure and compensation related best practices. No 2 startups are the same so usually the challenges are quite unique.
I use LinkedIn a lot. In fact I post regularly there and try to educate people about the startup ecosystem, particular things like terminology that we use and how the startup venture building process typically looks like. As a result of this I get a lot of in-bound messages from startups asking for advice, funding, consultancy and invitations to judge events and sit on boards. I typically evaluate startups by having a brief call with them and asking them some key questions about their value proposition, research and investor materials.
Majority of startup founders find it hard to fundraise. This is because as people who are passionate about business we seldom learn how to sell our vision and ourselves as high caliber people. We are so hyper focused on building our vision that its hard to switch gears and speak the language of investors. Over the years from speaking with thousands of startups I noticed the same issues were coming up repeatedly. It was a few key gaps that they all faced which I was able to help them address. So I thought why not put this into a recording with some key resources to help global founders improve their international fundraising efforts. I’m happy to share that the course has been taken by over 150 founders globally and provided extremely good results in fundraising.
Singapore is an economic miracle with a strong appetite for business. APAC founders regularly look to Singapore because angel investors and VCs here have funded large amounts of money into the startup ecosystem. Just last year in 2023 over $2.3 Billion was invested in global startups from Singapore. The government here is highly encouraging for startups to set up here and for investors to deploy their capital. Singapore has a thriving startup ecosystem with many accelerators and venture capital funds based here that are continuously scouting for new deals.
Yes I intend to create more content around this subject matter to help new startup founders learn more about the building, validation and funding process. I will also be launching a service where founders and aspiring founders can book calls with me to validate their ideas before they start building. This will help them save time and resources and pivot early if they need to with expert advice.
Lack of knowledge of proper startup best practices in the industry, how to reach out to investors and showcase their idea and vision. I would advise them to take a few things into consideration. Network regularly and meet new people. Use LinkedIn as much as you can and start small conversations with people before sending your pitch deck. I can’t tell you how many times I accept an invite and the next minute I get a LONG message and a pitch deck. No one will read or respond to such a message. I’ve covered it in detail in my Masterclass about the best ways to reach out to investors which are guaranteed to get a response from them. Many small changes make a big difference.
I would be slower to invest in startups and take my time to make a decision. Secondly I would research emerging trends like AI and make investments in that space in the earlier days. There’s a lot of FOMO as I see their valuations in the billions today.
AI, Medtech, Biotech, MicroSME solutions and Fintech. As the world population grows and people have better access to healthcare and better access to realize their aspirations, I feel like our lifespan will become longer and our appetite to purchase things will become stronger.
First identify the type of investor you want. Not all money is good money. You want an investor that will add value to your business or at the very least not disturb you regularly. Many founders take investments from family members, relatives etc which can be very troublesome in the future. I would suggest avoiding this at all costs. The best investors are people who are familiar with the startup ecosystem and corporate executives since they have the disposable income and sound understanding of business.
LinkedIn is the best platform to use. Just make sure you are not spamming people with your pitch decks. Also creating a short 2-3 minute video of your pitch is a great way to get people to see it. People are 10x more likely to watch a video than scroll through a pitch deck.
This is a very difficult question. I don’t have any favorites. All the startups I work closely with are equally awesome.
I attend startup pitching events, demo days and networking events regularly. I’m also a regular content creator on LinkedIn which has allowed me to become a thought leader in the space. I also read a lot of publications and watch a lot of YouTube videos in the startup and innovation space so that I keep learning.
I’m looking forward to joining more startups as an advisor and board member where I can use my knowledge and network to drive value for the business. I also plan to make more investments in startups that have high growth potential ideally in the tech or med space.
Yes I’m very excited about building my next venture where I will be working very closely with founders to validate their problem statements. In this offering, I will develop a framework where we deep dive into the feasibility, viability and market potential of an idea before building it. The second venture is where I will be working closely with slightly more advanced founders to get them into the accelerator program of their dreams.
Advisors:
There will be many startups offering you equity or commission to help them fundraise and its often a slippery slope where some founders will make you a “part-time” staff of their team. Make sure you have open and frank discussions about what you are comfortable doing. Ensure that the amount of time commitment is something you can sustain over a period of time. Ideally a few hours a month is the best way, nothing more than that if you are not receiving cash. Look up a document called a FAST agreement made by Ycombinator which is a great way to document a startup – advisor agreement.
Angel investors:
Don’t feel pressured or in a rush to commit to writing a cheque for any startup. Take your time and do your due diligence. Startups that have been through an accelerator program are usually good since they have already been screened and due diligence is already done to some extent. If the startup has plans to expand globally ensure that they are structuring the company in an investor friendly location (Singapore / Dubai / Delaware etc.) and have strong international networks in the global markets. Only invest money which you are comfortable losing, since angel investing is the most risky class of investment. If you get it right, the startup will be good, they will have strong revenue, high valuation, bigger investors will come in and buy your early stage positions, and you will make several multiples on the amount invested.
That will be a wrap of the interview. Hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as we enjoyed creating it. If you too have an interesting Founder Story to share it with the world, please feel free to submit a request here.
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