About KEC Ventures We are a team of early-stage investors based in New York City. We invest in information technology startups that are pursuing business models with the potential to transform the way business is done in their market. In such startups, we invest in the first institutional Seed Round. Often, but not always, we […]
Tag Archives | Due Diligence
Revisiting What I Know About Intangibles & Startups
By Brian Laung Aoaeh on October 26, 2015 in Business Models, Entrepreneurship, Funding, Innovation, Management, Strategy, Technology, Venture Capital
This is the third post in my series of blog posts on economic moats. I have already written about Network Effects and Switching Costs. The remaining three sources of an economic moat are Cost Advantages, Efficient Scale, and Intangibles.1 In writing this post I am trying to consolidate what I have learned about intangibles & […]
A Note on Startup Business Model Hypotheses
By Brian Laung Aoaeh on March 29, 2015 in Business Models, Customer Development, Entrepreneurship, Funding, How and Why, Innovation, Lean Startup, Long Read, Startups, Venture Capital
One of the observations I have arrived at over the course of meeting founders of early stage startups is that often it is not clear during our conversations if they have spent time examining the hypotheses that underlie the business model for the startup they are building. This post1 is my attempt to outline some […]
What Is Your Business Model?
By Brian Laung Aoaeh on February 1, 2015 in Business Models, Entrepreneurship, How and Why, Innovation, Long Read, Pitching, Uncategorized, Venture Capital
“It is a B2B2C business model.” is generally not what I am hoping to hear when I ask “What is your business model?” #BusinessModelGeneration — Brian Laung Aoaeh (@brianlaungaoaeh) February 2, 2015 Invariably, when I am meeting the founder of a startup for the first time to discuss the possibility that KEC Ventures might invest […]
The Most Important Thing A VC Needs To Know About Your Startup
By Brian Laung Aoaeh on February 12, 2014 in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Pitching, Venture Capital
Over the past 6 months I have been spending more time meeting many first time founders in New York City and elsewhere. One question has arisen over and over again. What are the most important things a venture capitalist wants to know about my start up in order to invest? I will attempt to answer […]
Ceteris Paribus: When A Startup’s History Really Matters
Once in a while I meet a startup that makes me scratch my head in bewilderment. At first glance everything looks fine, but I can’t help but wonder if I might be missing something. In such instances I think to myself; Is there some important detail that is not so obvious, and that is concealed […]
What I Worry About When I Am Studying A Startup
One of the things I really like about my job studying and investing in early stage startups is that I am constantly learning something new. This is true especially when I am encountering a startup for the first time, and begin to study polished and slick pitch materials on my own, listen to the entrepreneur […]