Founders Talk: How to Raise USD 114M from Sequoia Capital and Google Ventures
About the event.
Founders Talks are a series by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, sharing experience so that founders can learn from each other.
Aleksandr Yampolskiy, Co-founder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, shared proven tactics from raising several rounds of financing, up to Series D, totalling $114M from Sequoia Capital, Riverside Capital, Moody's and Google Ventures. The company's awards include World Economic Forum 2020 Technology Pioneer and the 2020 Deloitte Technology Fast 500.
Topics included:
- What Aleksandr wished he knew before he started fundraising.
- How his perspective changed over subsequent rounds.
- How to get a meeting with top VCs.
- The one thing a founder should never do when negotiating with investors.
- When to stop pushing for a higher valuation.
- Elena Gusakova and Victoria Yampolsky on the top five reasons to say “no” to an investor.
Agenda
- 17:00–17:30 CET — Opening remarks, Astra Global and The Startup Station. Top five reasons to say “no” to a term sheet.
- 17:30–17:50 CET — Talk by Aleksandr Yampolskiy.
- 17:50–18:00 CET — Q&A.
Speakers.
Aleksandr Yampolskiy
Co-founder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, one of the world's most trusted cybersecurity brands, which raised $114M from Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and others. Ph.D. in Cryptography from Yale.
Elena Gusakova
Founder of Astra Global. Before business development, Elena spent eight years as an M&A lawyer at private equity funds, leading cross-border deals exceeding $600M in total. EMBA from Columbia and London Business Schools.
Victoria Yampolsky
CFA, Founder and President of The Startup Station, an education and advisory platform focused on modelling and valuing early-stage ventures. More than 1,000 founders have taken its courses. BA Cornell, MBA Columbia Business School.
