VCNetwork.co launches personalised, worldwide mentorship programme

• Leaders of VCNetwork.co will mentor one to two startups, at no cost, per month
• Accepts business plans from startups and personally reviews them, offers feedback

VCNETWORK.co, a comprehensive database of independent venture capitalists around the world who are seeking viable startups to fund, launched a worldwide mentorship programme to help startups secure funding, while increasing scalability through one-on-one time with its founders, Jenny Q. Ta and Shinta Witoyo Dhanuwardoyo.

The founders will personally mentor one to two startups, at no cost, per month to start. The selection process will be random when startups submit their information to VCNetwork.co’s platform, effective immediately. They plan to expand the program with mentors from their network of VCs, professionals and investors in early 2017.

Startups from all over the world will be considered with the mentorship process via digital communication. Startups wanting to secure their spot in the programme have the option to pay US$199 (RM821) for half an hour of one-on-one time. Founders of VCNetwork.co will also mentor startup founders for free at local events they speak at, upon request.

Alongside the mentorship programme, VCNetwork.co accepts business plans from startups and personally reviews them, offers feedback and shares select ones with their network. In the process of accepting business plans, the leaders of VCNetwork.co realised that more than 60% of startups applying for funding desperately needed guidance in creating “fund-worthy pitch decks and ideas.” Hence, the idea for the mentorship program was born.

“After reviewing many new business proposals in our first few months of business, what the VCNetwork.co leadership team noticed immediately is what ‘entrepreneurs’ need, more than anything, is direct one-on-one time with VCs worldwide to learn precisely what funders are looking for in startups, from an interpersonal and professional level,” said VCNetwork.co CEO and co-founder Jenny Q.

“Our mentorship program is going to hugely impact the startup community because my co-Founder, Shinta, and I are giving a rounded approach to promote successful startups, offering our expertise in business and the tech ecosystem, while helping them understand what VCs are looking for before we fund a startup. We want to give knowledge that helps startups raise money from VCs in the US and abroad, and push them beyond the bubble for startups to make better decisions and find the next level of success, beyond borders.”

Koowalla CEO Ethan Montoya, a free mobile app for video editing and storytelling, is one of the first startups in the program and shares his experience with VCNetwork.co’s Mentorship Programme.

"Jenny coached me to stop thinking about going after small checks and focus on building the right plan to ask for what I really need to move my business forward,” said Montoya. “Drawing from her own experience as an entrepreneur, she gave me her personal tips to get more value from my network.”

VCNetwork.co’s mission in breaking the “good ole boys club” and their top-down approach - a reverse model of competitors’ bottom-up - promotes higher fund ratios to help startups break through. Its Mentorship Programme is another way they’re bringing change to shake up outdated VC models; truly going beyond borders for startups and VCs worldwide to connect.

How does VCNetwork.co work?
Entrepreneurs create a profile on VCNetwork.co, which includes the founder's and team information, as well as how much funding the startup is seeking. Once they submit a business plan and select the industry they're most closely related to, VCNetwork.co's intelligent system pairs them with the best business match for their funding needs.

To protect the privacy of individual VCs and firms, email addresses and phone numbers are not shared with the public. Business plans are securely emailed from VCNetwork.co to each paired VC's point-person. The startup then receives a notification that their profile/business plan have been shared with that particular VC, and they can then refer to the VC's website for further information.
 
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