A Global Funding Ecosystem
This is Part 3 of 3 in a series on Global Startup Success
If you haven’t already, read Part 1 “Consistent Funding is the Necessary Element for a Startup Ecosystem”; and Part 2 “Empowering Excluded Investors”.
Silicon Valley is sui generis — in a class of its own. Because of this, using Silicon Valley as the model for emerging ecosystems ensures failure. This is unfortunate, because the leaders of most emerging ecosystems are fixated on the idea of creating a new Silicon Valley. This is because the one outstanding feature of Silicon Valley is its comprehensive funding infrastructure and the associated mentoring, advisory and support infrastructure extended from that funding. Outside Silicon Valley, a comprehensive funding infrastructure is virtually non-existent. Where it exists — in New York, New England, China and India, it is largely driven by Silicon Valley VC money. Outside these ecosystems, the situation of having no consistent funding at each level of investment means no viable ecosystem. Time and again, ecosystem experiments without funding infrastructures become post-startup funding Valleys of Death.
Virtual Global Funding Infrastructure
Pooling of private capital is what makes Silicon Valley unique. By pooling risk capital, emerging ecosystems could emulate the success of Silicon Valley. However, the number of investors interested in risk capital in any single emerging ecosystem is not enough to fund a comprehensive funding infrastructure. What is needed is a pool of investors beyond the local geographic boundary. A virtual global funding infrastructure, if you will.
ExtraVallis (Latin for “outside the valley”) is a creating that platform. We are an ideal partner for the best companies worldwide in pre-series, post-startup funding phases. We provide differentiated, intimate knowledge on investors, founders, startups, and ecosystems. We are developing a marketplace providing a secure means of funding which enables diversity and breadth for investors and maximizes the funding available to startups at the time they need it, with minimal time wasted. It is being built on a modern distributed infrastructure, allowing contemporary tools and products to maximize value to investors and startups, while minimizing legal and administrative costs.
Our process is straightforward: we focus on a select group of geographical ecosystems; work with local incubators, accelerators and investors to identify the best founders and companies; build those relationships; validate founder details, investor and company investment information; and, curate the best investments for our investors into investment pools based on a specific industry vertical. Additionally, we collate information on investors and investments, helping founders make intelligent funding decisions.