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Ginsberg also proposed crowdfund- Lawrence has found his investment banking background advantageous in all
ing campaigns as a low-cost way to stages of planning. Many technology startups don't realize the time and effort
test a product's viability. "Kickstarter involved in fundraising, he stated. "Series A fundraising can be a five to 10-
and Indiegogo are great ways to vali- year process, and getting funded doesn't mean your financial worries go away,"
date people's interest in your prod- he said. "The funding may allow you to focus more on the company and less on
uct," he said. "If people sign up, you how you pay bills, but you won't be getting a salary."
know they're interested."
Lawrence has observed some technology startups are not fully aware of the
Learn to pivot differences between funding and liquidity. "When investors put $5 million into
your company, you can't access that money; that's not a new car or house," he
Mitchell Cobrin, founder and Chief said. He further described the following stages to illustrate a typical product
Catalyst at AnywhereCommerce, a investment cycle:
mobile commerce technology provid-
er, described his company as dexter- • First round, $500,000 to $1 million: Typically these funds are used to
ous, nimble, open-minded and ready create a market viable product.
to pivot when necessary. In 2006, he
led an initiative designed to provide • Second round, $250,000 to $1 million: An additional seed round will
card-present transactions and PIN be used to assess how the product works and the market's degree of
debit to ecommerce. interest in it.

"We assumed we'd be well received • Third round, $2 million or more: The company will then enter the
in the ecommerce marketplace, but commercialization stage, using high net-worth institutional money to
met with skepticism and ultimately build a sales team, fill a prospect pipeline and go to market with the
pivoted, turning our attention to mo- first client.
bile merchants," he said. "Fortunately,
we found a receptive audience for our • Additional rounds, $10 million or more: The company will become
omnichannel solution." fully operational, and spend more time building client relationships
and looking for top talent. They may hire a Vice President of Sales and
Cobrin attributes the company's con-
tinued success to a talented team
and problem-solving mindset. "Our
clients and ISO channel partners are
happy to actively participate in driv-
ing solutions," he said. "Our business
development team appreciates the
opportunity to work with clients on
viable product strategies that are not
off the shelf."

Cobrin added that "off-the-rack"
problems are rare and recommended
keeping an eye on the market. "If you
recognize a problem, propose a solu-
tion," he said. "Prepare to do a lot of
listening. Some of your best opportu-
nities could be an outgrowth of your
experience as a customer."

Invest wisely

Todd Lawrence is CEO of Just Cash, a
mobile money company currently in
pilot with plans to launch nationwide
in 2017. The company is working with
leading ATM manufacturers on a
mobile app that enables users to send
and receive cash and digital currency
and withdraw cash at ATMs without
using credit or debit cards.

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