The struggles businesses face when leveraging AI – high setup costs, skills shortages, and lengthy integration processes – are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. AI Workers emerge as a remarkable solution, tackling diverse tasks thanks to their extensive training using a wide array of publicly accessible data. The outcome is a far-reaching understanding of their respective fields, adaptability, and proficiency in managing diverse tasks.

These AI Workers continuously learn and adapt, using their broad knowledge to efficiently manage routine tasks, process large data volumes, and provide support in fields that require broad understanding rather than niche expertise. The end result is an increase in operational efficiency, freeing human teams and other specialized AI experts to focus on strategic, high-value activities.

The AI market is on a steep growth trajectory, spurred by technological advances, increased data accessibility, and widespread adoption of AI across various sectors. The market’s potential is staggering, with estimates pegging its value at around $100 billion.

Primeclass is already garnering significant traction, having developed 5 AI Workers and secured 10 contracts ahead of its private beta launch.

“The partnership with Cross Ocean Ventures validates our mission to revolutionize businesses with our AI Workers,” said Ivan Kovpak, co-founder, and CEO of Primeclass.ai. “Primeclass is thrilled to have Cross Ocean Ventures on board as investors. Their support will undoubtedly propel our expansion plans,” he added.

“We are proud to align with Ivan and his innovative team at Primeclass,” expressed Zeynep Ilgaz, Partner at Cross Ocean Ventures. “With the evolution of generative AI and an increasing churn rate in the US job market, we foresee innovators like Primeclass becoming household names,” she added. 

About Cross Ocean Ventures

Cross Ocean Ventures is the premier early-stage investment fund for international founders with global ambitions. As general partners of Cross Ocean Venture, we’ve been there and done that – we’ve started and built companies, experienced failures and successes, and navigated through various entrepreneurial journeys. Many of us immigrated across oceans to establish our ventures and achieved success despite being part of underrepresented demographic groups. Our own experiences as founders help us better connect with, evaluate, and support the founders we fund. 

For more information, visit https://crossoceanfund.com/.

About Primeclass.ai

Primeclass.ai, founded by immigrant founders from Ukraine and headquartered in Los Angeles, is an innovative tech start-up disrupting the market with their novel approach to integrating AI into businesses. It offers a unique service, providing ready-to-deploy AI Workers who are capable of seamlessly integrating into teams across a wide range of industries. These AI Workers are trained using extensive public data, making them a versatile, adaptable solution capable of managing a multitude of tasks. From handling routine work to managing large volumes of data, Primeclass’s AI Workers are transforming the way businesses operate.

For more information, visit https://primeclass.ai

The post Cross Ocean Ventures Invests in Primeclass.ai: Empowering Businesses with Ready-to-Deploy AI Experts, Founded by Immigrant Founders from Ukraine appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

According to straits research, the global wearable fitness tracker market was valued at $45bn in 2021 and is expected to reach $192bn by 2030, growing at 17.5% CAGR. 

ROOK is a B2B SaaS play with an immediate focus on fitness, corp wellness/insurance in the medium term and digital health/clinical trials in the long run. Since its commercial launch in August of 2022, Rookmotion has already signed 11 enterprise customers at a value of $2.6 ARR.

Cross Ocean is one of many investors seeing the value. The $1.7M USD round is complemented by investors including NuFund Venture Group, AlliedVC, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels Chicago, Hilltop Venture Partners, InstaVC, IrieVC, IQ Ventures, Liebenthal, Mana Ventures, MCMA VC, Stadia Ventures, Techstars, and The SageHouse.

ROOK has also been accepted into the EndeavorLAB and Stadia Ventures accelerator programs and looks forward to active participation over the next 3-6 months.

“We are excited to exploring new opportunities and expanding our offerings through Cross Ocean Venture’s support.” said Marco Benitez, CEO of Rook

“ROOK is the only solution on the market that standardizes and normalizes health data in real-time and with greater detail. People love tracking their health & fitness data. There are more than 1 billion connected wearable devices worldwide, which continues to grow. The timing could not be better,” said Serhat Pala, General Partner at Cross Ocean. Rook’s AI models offer personalized recommendations based on user behavior, habits, and health status. Given the large and rapidly-expanding market for health & fitness data, we believe this current adoption trend among large-scale enterprises will continue,” he continued.  

This round of fundraising comes alongside a rebrand, as the company formerly known as RookMotion has shifted to a B2B SaaS focus. ROOK’s new brand identity better encapsulates and communicates who they are and what they do. Their vision for the future–going beyond the fitness world into healthcare, insurance, wellness, and more.

About Cross Ocean Ventures

Cross Ocean Ventures is the premier early-stage investment fund for international founders with global ambitions. As Cross Ocean Venture general partners, we have started companies, failed, and succeeded in building organizations with life-changing exits multiple times. We have immigrated from across the oceans to build enterprises. Our experiences as founders help us better connect with and evaluate founders before funding and communicate with and support the founders after funding.

For more information, visit https://crossoceanfund.com/

About ROOK

ROOK’s API empowers companies with more meaningful health data. Easily process and embed data from hundreds of wearables with a single integration and gain access to deeper understanding and more actionable insights that allow you to make more informed decisions, find better solutions, and drive innovation.For more information, visit https://www.tryrook.io/

The post <strong>Cross Ocean Ventures Announces Investment In ROOK (previously RookMotion): to Empower Companies With More Actionable Health Data, Rebrands to Rook</strong> appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

The Contact Center software market size was worth USD 29.5 billion in 2021 and is predicted to reach USD 165 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 21% during the forecast period, according to Straits Research. The rising number of scam communications have a negative impact on the number which are replied to. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for example warned self-assessment tax customers to be particularly vigilant of calls, texts and email scams. In the twelve-month period to January 2022 nearly 220,000 scams offering fake tax refunds were reported to HMRC.

Currently, calls from unidentified organizations are intrusive and unpleasant, and voice-only interactions are outdated. PicUP’s technology adds a personalized digital layer to the incoming call that allows the caller to inform the recipient who is calling and why. This is done with a beautifully designed message, as well as engaging and efficient digital interactions between the agent and the customer before, during, and even after the call. PicUp already works with some of the largest telecom companies and financial institutions in Europe, and is currently installed on over 25 million devices, helping millions of customers get better calls from their service providers.

With their initial client deployments and pilots, The Company has already impressive results including a 71% call attempt reduction and a 66% answer rate uplift.

“We are proud to have Cross Ocean Ventures on board as our investors. Cross Ocean Venture’s extensive expertise and valuable insights make them the ideal partner to support our growth. This partnership will enable us to continue to refine our platform and bring our exceptional calling experience to an even wider audience of leading brands in Europe and the US. We look forward to exploring new opportunities and expanding our offerings through Cross Ocean Venture’s support.” said Lior Shacham, CEO of PicUP.

With their initial client deployments and pilots, The Company has already impressive results including a 71% call attempt reduction and a 66% answer rate uplift.

“We are proud to have Cross Ocean Ventures on board as our investors. Cross Ocean Venture’s extensive expertise and valuable insights make them the ideal partner to support our growth. This partnership will enable us to continue to refine our platform and bring our exceptional calling experience to an even wider audience of leading brands in Europe and the US. We look forward to exploring new opportunities and expanding our offerings through Cross Ocean Venture’s support.” said Lior Shacham, CEO of PicUP

With a customized digital layer, mobile phone screens can reveal a caller’s intentions instantly, resulting in a feeling of connection between the receiver and the caller. PicUP’s technology enables call centers to improve customer service, which increases sales. Through data analytics, personalisation of the user experience, safety measures, and real-time tracking, businesses can identify their customers and their reasons for calling before they even pick up the phone information.

This kind of communication enables secure, personalized, interactive communications that lead to improved customer service and, ultimately, highly effective calls.

“ PicUP has a unique approach to improving the efficiency of call centers and service providers. By using their technology, businesses and consumers can interact more deeply with their clients. PicUP is a team of professionals with growth ambitions, and we are proud to have them in our portfolio to explore new markets and opportunities.” said Serhat Pala, General Partner at Cross Ocean. PicUp is a great example of Israeli ecosystem ingenuity. A great founder team, with deep experience, global perspective and persistent resourcefulness.” he continued.

About PicUp

PicUp is an award winning AI-based visualization, optimization, and personalization platform system for outbound calls that makes it easier for businesses to engage with consumers. PicUps unique patented technology helps

call centers to improve their customer service and increase sales by adding a personalized digital layer and connecting digital channels to the phone call’s interface.

For more information visit https://www.picup.io/

About Cross Ocean Ventures

Cross Ocean Ventures is the premier early-stage investment fund for international founders with global ambitions. As Cross Ocean Venture general partners, we have all started companies, failed, and succeeded in building organizations with life-changing exits multiple times. We have immigrated from across the oceans to build enterprises. We have achieved this despite being part of underrepresented demographic groups. Our own experiences as founders help us better connect with and evaluate founders before funding and communicate with and support the founders after funding.

The post <strong>Cross Ocean Ventures Announces Investment In PicUP: Award winning AI-powered optimization and personalization platform for outbound sales and customer service calls.</strong> appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

The post Cross Ocean Ventures Announces Investment In Leadsales: The first WhatsApp CRM in Latin America appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

Here are a few observations from my latest interactions and my humble tips as a former founder (and with experience as a current investor).

1-) Do not try to raise a larger amount than you need:

The critical point about the above issue is “the amount you need.” Some of the feedback the founders have gotten lately, and these points are entirely valid.  

Times are tough; raise as much as you can. That makes sense, but this was a bit of better advice last year, not anymore. The seed level has been tough to raise for several months, especially as investors want to keep dry powder to support their Series A and beyond the portfolio. For the seed level, they want to see either significant momentum that shows a feasible path to Series A, signs of a survivable company that can bootstrap if needed, or want to get a great deal with the valuation on a good company. And in none of those cases, it is favorable for the founders from a dilution perspective.

Raise funding as much as possible so you can focus on your business and not have to raise funding for a long time. As a former founder, this makes so much sense to me since the least favorite thing for any founder in building a business (except those that make raising funding their actual business) is to look for investors. Yet when you raise funding, you have to consider the impact of dilution on your existing shareholders (including yourself). Generally, after your seed funding, you expect to have 12-18 months of runway to reach your next set of milestones and significant inflection points. You don’t have to get to the position of Series A, but get to a point where getting the Series A (or not) will be predictable, and you will have a solid plan. 

2-) Your seed valuation is not a goal but a tool. 

Unfortunately, it is a common mistake for many founders to get stuck on the seed funding valuation. Don’t get me wrong, valuation at the seed level is important, but there are other important things. Your Seed Level is a tool to get to Series A, and get there strong. It is not a goal itself. 

By getting stuck on the valuation, you might be trading off several essential things, like closing your seed level fast and with more than one potential lead investor competing for the opportunity. 

As founders, potentially the most significant dilution + exit liquidity decrease happens at the Series A level. Most founders do not realize that during Series A, Venture Capital firms use various tools such as “liquidation preference” (Founders, if you don’t know what this term is, please research the Venture Capital terms and what they mean). So use your seed level funding round for what it is as the best way to get to your next step Series A. Do not do anything that could put you at a disadvantage with your Series A

With seed, getting the best strategic investors (venture capital or angel investor) should be your primary goal. Instead of having to work with investors that will accept your valuation at a higher level, have investors compete for your great valuation so you can choose the ones that will serve your purpose. Don’t forget, just like promising founders and companies, good investors have options too. Unless seed is the last round you will be raising, you are using the seed level to get to your next stop strong. 

3-) The amount you raise and the valuation you seek are interrelated.

This relation is not a general rule but a best practice to keep in mind. You are doing what you are doing as a founder because you expect to be successful. And more likely than not, you will need to at least raise a Series A (or Series B) before you exit. That means you will have to go through at least three or even four rounds. 

This Finerva article summarizes very informative research done by Radicle mining data from 8000 funding rounds and outlines how much dilution generally takes place at each funding round. In summary, averages look like these:

Pre-Seed 10-15%

Seed 10-15%

Series A 20-25%

Series B 15-20%

Series C 12-15%

So if a founder team finds themselves trying to raise $3mil on a $7mil pre-money valuation at the seed round, they may be diluting themselves too much. They should have a very good reason for doing what they are doing. 

I can add more points and tips to these observations, but the above takes care of the most important ones. 

So seed level company founders, please think with the long term in mind. If you are going to succeed, you probably have at least five more years to exit and are going to raise at least two more rounds after this. 

The post Founder Tips for Seed Round Size and Valuation Determination for Raising Funding in 2022 appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

You might be in a position where you want to do everything for everyone. Unfortunately, this lack of focus can lead to a chaotic list of goals that is nearly impossible to keep track of. Whatever the case, your company’s goals are meaningless if you don’t have a united team behind them.

The key to success is alignment. It’s natural for teams that aren’t aligned with their company’s goals to feel disengaged and unmotivated. It is possible for them to go through the motions, unenthusiastic about what they do each day. As a result, morale suffers, output decreases and mediocrity results.

Setting goals early on and aligning your people around them can prevent this negative mindset from developing. Increase your team’s morale, retention, and engagement by fostering a sense of ownership and pride. According to a survey conducted by Robert Half– 88 percent of professionals think goal setting is essential to their work performance.

So, how exactly do you unify a team around your business objectives? 

Start by clarifying team objectives

A deeply rooted sense of mission drives successful teams. Make sure everyone understands the mission from the beginning. This approach emphasizes shared team goals over individual agendas. These objectives help bind a team together and keep it cohesive, even when obstacles or disagreements arise. 

Collaborate on setting goals

Everyone should play a role in achieving your goals, so why not let them set them themselves? Setting goals shouldn’t occur behind closed doors with only senior leaders present; it should be a collaborative effort that incorporates input from employees across the organization. By taking a holistic approach, you can demonstrate your value to employees and ensure the goals you settle on are relevant to all.

Underscore expectations

It is not enough to have relevant goals; there must also be a clear strategy for achieving them. Highlight each department’s unique role in achieving your goals when communicating them to your team. Establish clear expectations for everyone’s performance and explain their responsibilities.

Help everyone participate

It may be necessary for team leaders or managers to step in to provide the right balance of participation. Make sure everyone has an opportunity to contribute by inviting less experienced or quiet members to participate. You might ask their opinions in meetings or steer certain aspects of a project their way. Ensure everyone can be heard on your team. It’s generally fine for top performers to take on a more significant role or responsibility than others. Ensure that your star employees do not feel overburdened – or that other team members don’t feel squeezed.

Track, analyze, and adjust

It is crucial to track your progress over time to identify goals that can be quantified. If, for example, you aim to drive a certain number of visitors to your website over three months, then check your traffic stats daily, share these statistics with your team and work together to find ways to improve if you’re on pace to come up short.

Instill short-term (weekly and monthly) and long-term (annual) goals for your team. Then, during regular check-ins, your staff will feel accomplished when it has exceeded a weekly goal and motivated when it sees its progress toward an annual plan.

Keeping your staff aligned with your organization’s goals will help everyone stay organized, focused, and on track.

The post How to Unify Your Team- In 5 Steps appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

The late 90s brought us nonsensical (too early, too fast) flops for its times like Boo.com, Geocities, Kozmo, Pets.com, Flooz.com, and the starts of the giants of today like Google, Amazon, eBay, and Booking Holdings.  

Before I knew it, I was starting my first Internet company that provided an internal website search tool provider for large community websites called vortals (one of those old terms of the past that are hardly heard of nowadays). 

We had a great start with that company, with a few clients piloting the technology. We were gaining traction among retail investors and gaining recognition in community website circles of the time. Then, as we turned the corner around Y2K and AOL concluded their giant merger with Time Warner in Jan 2000, we felt we were at a great place. We had investors calling us, and we were picky and selective about whom we brought on board. The plan was to hold off until we increased our MRR to the next level and then go for the next fundraising round. We had a low but growing burn rate, and many of the pilots by our clients will be turning into large-paying contracts. So 9-12 month runway felt like more than enough time. 

Then things changed so quickly and drastically. First, Microsoft stock (mainly due to an antitrust ruling) dropped, starting a significant down trajectory for Nasdaq, which was followed by back-to-back days of substantial drops in stock market indexes. Investor sentiment changed so quickly that it was hard for founders to grasp what might lie ahead. Venture Capital was no longer available, and the mindsets of everyone in the technology startup ecosystem drastically changed. 

What did that mean for us, as a technology solution provider startup in the changing landscape? 

• Investors were nowhere to be found, and we quickly realized we had to have a plan B for no funding coming in anytime soon. 
• Our clients’ investors were nowhere to be found, all our paying customers stopped paying, and none of the pilots we were expecting to go to paying contracts were going to happen.
• Our 9-12 runway, despite quick adjustments in spending, decreased to 4-5 months without existing clients paying.

What were the lessons learned for me as a founder from that experience?

• Things can change faster than you expect. Even as a small team, keeping up with changing market conditions will be challenging, so you must always be alert and ready to act. As a founder, you do not have the luxury of waiting a little longer to observe and execute change. 
• Your products and services are dispensable when your startup operates in the innovative and early adopter phase of a new market. So know and observe your beachhead very well. Do not depend on the continuation of existing revenue metrics. 
• Don’t wait to pivot. If you believe you need to pivot anything like your value proposition, business model, go to market strategy, then act quickly and move forward fast. Often pivots take longer than expected, and you need to give a buffer to your team for hitting milestones.
• Get good advice often, but make your own decisions. Having intelligent, experienced, and trustworthy advisors is always a critical success factor. However, in turbulent times, it is even more so. Therefore, make sure you have diverse sources of good advice. Smart money, early investors that have entrepreneurial experience, pays the most in these turbulent times. 
• Invest in your mental health with a combination of a personal support network (family, friends), short but frequent short “me times,” doing meditation as a part of your daily routine, and proactively trying to have a good sleep schedule. The last one is probably the hardest of all, given that you have more reasons that will keep you awake at night. However, some tips can at least improve your sleeping regimen and, in return, give you more ammunition to cope with stress. 

The current economic climate reminds me a lot of the Internet bubble burst times. Yet as founders and investors, we have the experience of the past that can help us guide better this time. Plus, startup and early-stage investment ecosystems are more robust and established. So, as a former (and always in the heart) founder, I chose to be an optimist. Afterall: 

“Nothing of any importance has ever been accomplished by a pessimist.” – Jack Welch.

The post Lessons Learned as a Founder From Surviving the Internet Crash of 2000 appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

According to the US Labor Statistics, Roughly 20% of small businesses fail within the first year. Managing your business correctly could be a make it or break it factor when it comes to your start up survival.  

Luckily, management is something that can be learned. Effective business management is crucial not only for you as an entrepreneur but also for you as a person. You should be able to get your priorities straight in all aspects of your life.

1. Prioritizing

The key to successful business management is prioritizing. Many entrepreneurs forget about the importance of prioritizing and time their tasks, and time management and it’s their downfall.

Essentially, prioritizing and effective time management is critical to successful business management. According to a study by Basex Research, interruptions cost the U.S. economy $588 billion a year. 

When you clearly understand what short-term and long-term goals should be achieved and in what order, it becomes easier for you to evaluate the benefits versus risks of your ideas and to prepare accordingly.

2. Set Specific Goals

With all of the success you want your business to see; you need to be sure that you are heading in the right direction. To properly determine the correct path for your business, you must consider where it will end up. Many things can lead a business in the wrong direction.

Setting goals for your business is significant. It delivers a vibrant path to follow and the inspiration to reach a predetermined destination. Without goals, your business is just functioning instead of achieving. Goals give employees a purpose, motivation, and a reason to work hard because they know they are working toward something which is going to grow. According to the Academy of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict– setting goals can help employees feel a greater connection to their organization. Not only does this contribute to increased optimism in the office, but it also encourages better employee performance.

The best way to stay focused on your long-term objectives is to set specific goals and to monitor your progress so that you can see whether or not you’re moving in the right direction. Therefore, your goals should be not only specific but also measurable. 

3. Delegate

Many entrepreneurs are more than used to wearing more than one hat. That’s great for when things are just getting started and funds aren’t available to hire staff or bring on consultants and vendors. Unfortunately, jumping into any role when a need arises no longer becomes an efficient use of your time once a certain level of growth has been achieved. This is something that many entrepreneurs never fully grasp. Instead, they see it as a point of pride that they are able to jump in and save the day.

There are many factors that affect the success of your business, and one of them is your ability to manage your employees. As we’ve already mentioned above, the lack of time is one of the main problems for many entrepreneurs, but if you learn to delegate tasks, you’ll be able to save a lot of time and effort. Of course, you’ll want to have an overview of what your employees are working on, but try not to micromanage.

Make sure that your employees can take responsibility for the necessary tasks and act without any help from you. Remember you might need to train them before they get ready for autonomous work!

4. Embrace Technology

First of all, you should adopt advanced technology, because your customers will expect you to do so. Companies that invest in technology to provide a better customer experience.

For example, your customers might expect you to have a convenient mobile app, and if you don’t have one, they might feel let down, or as though your business isn’t as forward-thinking as they’d like.

Making your business more appealing to customers is a part of business management. Therefore, one of the most important business management tips is that you should build a high-quality website.

Obviously, you should also keep up with the developments in your industry. If your competitors start to use a certain technology and you see that they outperform you, you should also consider investing in this technology.

5.Use Automation

Your revenue depends on your efficiency. This factor is especially important for small businesses, as people who run small businesses have to deal with too many everyday operations and often lack time to complete all of them successfully.

By improving the efficiency of your business processes, you can solve the problem of limited time. When it comes to increasing efficiency, automation is one of the best approaches.

There are many automation solutions for inventory tracking, budget management, email communication, and many other applications that can help you plan your working days and keep track of important tasks.

They can also be easily tailored to your business size, so you can always find an option that works best for you.

6. Manage Your Inventory

Managing your inventory is one of your key responsibilities as a manager. This is where automation comes in handy. There are many software solutions that can help you track products that you sell, as well as shipping.

If you’re selling services, you should also manage your supplies and manpower to make sure that your customers will always get what they want.

7. Keep Your Expenses Down

One of the most common reasons why startups fail is because they are unable to implement a successful business model. Many business owners forget that their success to a large extent depends on keeping their expenses down, especially if they don’t yet have a stable stream of revenue.

If you’re thinking about renting a high-end office space or buying expensive furniture, you should understand that these things are not necessary for your business growth, and this growth should be your top priority. It might seem like a nice thing to do, but focus on your goals, and try and make sure every decision is aligned with them, particularly when it comes to decisions regarding money.

8. Let Your Marketing Tell Your Story

The main point of successful marketing is to convey your story and familiarize your customers with your brand image. Many people make purchasing decisions based on whether or not a company’s message and brand values resonate with them.

Make sure, therefore, that you have strong, clear brand values and a well-defined narrative. Your employees should all be aware of these and have them in the back of their minds with everything they do.

This will make it easier to convey those messages to your target audience – potential customers. You could try writing them down and sending them to all your employees, or having a page on your website or a section of your About page dedicated to your brand values.

9. Don’t Give Up

If you run your small business, you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. You’re going to have to deal with unforeseen challenges and difficult decisions.

So remember: don’t give up! Follow our advice and have clear goals, invest in technology, treat your employees well and manage your time and money effectively, and you’ll be prepared for anything the business world has to throw at you.

Work hard, make informed decisions, and stick to your goals.

Developing a good business management strategy doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to do some trial and error to see what works best for you and your company, and integrate these strategies over time. Trust the process and listen to your instincts along the way. We believe that these five management strategies detailed above can be effective in ensuring the happiness of your employees, and also help to make you a better leader.

The post 9 Business Management Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

Angel investors are often your first investors. Their investments may be as small as $25,000 or as large as $200,000, but they are essential to the success of a young company. In addition, once a business receives an angel investment, it is easier to convince others of the value of the business and then convince them to invest as well.

Angel investors know that startups have a high failure rate. Nearly one in five U.S. businesses fail within the first year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In the end, an angel investor must be confident that the potential upside/rewards of investing outweigh the downside risks. Before investing in a startup, angel investors review several vital issues and conduct due diligence. Below are the top five things angel investors look for before deciding whether to invest in a startup:

1. Founder/management team: The management team behind a startup is often considered more important than the idea or product. Investors want to know that the team has the skills, drive, experience and temperament necessary to grow the business. The investor must decide whether the founder and team will be enjoyable to work with. How confident is the investor in the team? Does the CEO have experience, and is he/she willing to listen? How trustworthy is the CEO? Involving experienced advisors can also be very beneficial in the early stages to help bridge an early-stage team that is still growing.

Along with showing commitment to the company and the ability to bring value, investors want to see smooth and risk-free interaction among members of the startup team, to ensure long-term success.

2. Business potential and return: Angel investors are looking for businesses that are scalable and able to grow. Make sure you explain upfront why your business has the potential to be significant. Avoid small ideas. Investors will want to know how much of the addressable market you plan to capture over time. The investor must believe that the opportunity has a clear value proposition, there is a large and growing market (TAM, Total Addressable Market), that your solution is unique, the time to build it is now, that you and your team are the ones who can build it, and that you will make lots of money doing it. A good rule of thumb is the 7-to-1 rule: a seven (after-tax) dollar return for every dollar of capital an angel investor invests within seven years.

 3. What makes your product/ service great? Angel investors aren’t afraid to invest in high-risk ventures as long as they believe the idea is excellent. First, demonstrate your product’s uniqueness. Having an Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is important when pitching to angels — or at least a very good framework of what it will look like once you use the funding to build it. Describe the unique problems it solves and why users care about it. Is it a game-changing piece of technology? And what makes it stand out?

 4. Positive early momentum: Angel investors are looking for early signs of traction or customers. Companies that have achieved early traction will likely be able to obtain better terms with investors. In addition, investors will probably ask how early traction can be accelerated. Is there a particular reason for the traction? Could this traction be scaled?

 5. A viable exit strategy: Making sure you have a variety of sound exit strategies can help mitigate their risk and forecast how they will be paid out. Regardless of the venture’s success or failure, an exit strategy provides the investor with security. They should be informed of when they can expect returns, and more importantly, how they can minimize their losses.Angels do not want to invest in companies that cannot guarantee returns. As Allan Riding, Professor at Carleton University, put it, “For every dollar that an angel puts into a company, he or she would like to take seven dollars out, after taxes, in seven years.”

Even though almost every angel investor will consider the above factors at least partially, you must also realize that each angel investor will be unique — they will all have different goals, values and priorities. Angel investors may find something that appeals attractive to one but may turn off another. A financial plan that appeals to one may seem overly ambitious to another. Therefore, while you can optimize your business to be as appealing as possible, you should also prioritize finding the right fit.

The post 5 Things Angel Investors Want to Know Before Investing in Your Startup appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.

Self-driving and electric cars are coming at us fast. The landscape for them right now is similar to what it was for home computers in the early 1980s. We know they’re here to stay and we know they’re going to impact our lives drastically, but we don’t know yet how drastic that impact will be.

While Google and other companies continue to speed ahead with self-driving cars, Elon Musk continues to ramp up the spread of electric cars, and Uber continues to propel ride sharing services forward, you might as well start brainstorming about the possible business ideas these technologies and services present.

Here are five that I came up with:

1. Car customization and decoration

A certain portion of the population already loves customizing and decorating their cars, but many others simply see them as a means to get around and don’t pay much attention to their aesthetics because they just see them as purely utilitarian. But, if those same people no longer have to drive their cars, they might take more of an interest in customizing and decorating the interior since they’ll spend more time looking at it. Might be business opportunities there to create and sell products that will help self-driving car owners customize their vehicle interiors.

2. Car dining

One activity that we already do a lot of in cars is eating and we’re only bound to do more of it if we’re not distracted by that pesky driving thing. There could be products or services related to dining in cars. With no need for a driver, families might be able to have a “regular” meal in their cars and sit around a small table, making for a more natural (if cramped) dining experience on the road.

3. Remote productivity

More time spent in cars means opportunity for increased productivity for work or school. Nowadays, that usually takes the form of apps on our phones, but maybe there are other opportunities to exploit this new realm of increased productivity time like a laptop stand for the car or something else that could promote productivity during commutes.

4. Transitioning businesses

Many pundits believe fewer people will opt to own cars when they become self-driving and more people will simply rent cars or opt for ridesharing services when they need them. This will shift the maintenance burden of vehicles to the rental companies and likely mean a lot of the little oil change and repair shops that service cars won’t be needed anymore.

Likewise, gas stations, highway restaurants, truck stops and other similar places will also have to transition, sell or close down. All those shops needing to transition to a new business or closing down could open up opportunities in consulting or real estate, perhaps.

Places like gas stations also require environmental cleanup before they can be turned into anything else, so there will likely be an increased need for businesses that provide that service. Aside from self-driving cars, gas stations will start decreasing because electric cars will eventually start to overtake them. There are about 150,000 gas stations in the US (down from 200,000 in 1994). As their numbers continue to drop, that is a lot of real estate to clean up and find uses for.

5. Parking spaces

Self-driving cars mean self-parking cars, too. If more people are renting cars or opting for ridesharing services, it stands to reason that there will be less of a need for parking spaces. And for people who still own cars, they’ll be able to send them away to go park themselves in inexpensive lots rather than having to pay for an expensive spot in their downtown condo.

We might see downtown parking garages in both commercial and residential buildings shrinking or disappearing and those empty spaces are going to need to be filled with something. They could hold new commercial or residential properties or they might be used for something else entirely. Deciding what to do with them and actually doing something with them could hold new business opportunities for people.

Self-driving cars may still seem like they’re a long way off, and the point where electric cars outpace gas cars may seem but a distant dot on the horizon, but they’ll be here sooner than any of us realize. Being prepared for that day will ensure that you’re in a prime position to take advantage of the opportunities they present.

The post In the Era of Self-Driving Electric Cars, These 5 Areas Are Ripe for Exploration–And Profits appeared first on Cross Ocean Ventures.