Reflex Capital → Blog → We Are the Hot Girl in Town
Your investor is your partner in good and in bad times. You need to get along well with him – similarly that you need to align values with your partner for life. And that requires some picking, right?
Are you selecting your life partner by sending an unsolicited email to all the girls you were able to get the contact to? Showing off your refined muscles, time of your last Iron Man race, a carefully selected picture of your striking BMW and inviting them to tender offers?
Yet many startups are doing exactly that. They download an extensive database of investors somewhere. The more, the better – they do not care about the profiles. They send out an unsolicited bulk pitch … and hurry up, you stupid investors, we are the hot girl in town, so send us your proposal by August 12, 12:00 PST. As little diligence they put into selection of the investors, the pitch itself is almost inadequately rehearsed. The best colors, photographs, charts, buzzwords, the right CAGR of 60% and 30% EBITDA … and skillfully hidden “projected numbers” disclaimer :-).
This behavior is unfortunately endorsed by many investment boutique advisers, who only care about their commissions. The higher the valuation gets, the higher fee they charge. Nothing else matters – a contract with a devil with higher fee is better than a contract with a real partner. Who gives a fuck?
We at Reflex Capital do not believe in partnerships that are only based on money values. We do not need a superpitch. On the contrary, our bullshit detectors start flashing when we get one. We need to see your desire to have us as your partner. And then, maybe, the desire will be mutual and we’ll create a partnership that lasts.
April 29th, 2024 • Ondřej Fryc
I’m not gonna pretend anything, I was trapped too. It felt good to have our company and myself in the media! It boosted my ego, which grew. There are some people who don’t have that, but I see it in most founders around the age of 30 and let’s be honest – everyone is a bit of a narcissist.
April 20th, 2024 • Eduard Míka
It is said that creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are the engines of economic development and the future prosperity of any country depends on them. In all neighboring countries, this seems to be the case, but not here.
April 10th, 2024 • Eduard Míka
Every investment transaction is essentially a bet on the person of the founder and their vision. There is usually nothing else in a startup.
December 22nd, 2023 • Zdena Macháčková
At the end of October 2023, a strike for women’s equality took place in Iceland. Iceland is considered a world leader in gender equality. In this year’s World Economic Forum rankings, the island is ranked highest for the 14th consecutive year, yet Icelandic women are striking because they earn significantly less than men.
