fundRazor episode

Xoopit on the virtues of raising less

Part II of a look at Xoopit's fundraising lessons and advice


Innovation show by John Bautista
June 18, 2009 | Comments (0)
Short URL: http://vator.tv/n/8e7

500

Xoopit had a chance to take more than its initial round of $1.5 million when it was just getting started. But rather than take the money upfront, Xoopit said "no."

Bijan Mirashi, co-founder and CEO of Xoopit, which was formed in the fall 2006, tells John Bautista, host of fundRazor, that he thought raising 12 to 18 months work of capital was a more prudent route than taking in capital for a few years. Taking just enough cash would give Xoopit the opportunity to build a product, iterate a few times and figure out hte right product market fit, before scaling, said Mirashi.

"Sometimes having too much money too soon can be distracting for the business b/c it could lead etnrepreneurs to make decisions to try things that they wouldn't try when they have to just have limited funds." "When you have limited funds you have to make very, very hard, painful trade offs. It's those hard painful trade-offs that force you into something specific and valuable."

Xoopit eventually raised a Series A round of $5 million.

In this segment, listen to Mirashi also explain the importance of having the right board members and how Xoopit board members Foundation Capital's Charles Modlow and Accel Partners' Theresia Gouw Ranzetta have helped unlock doors for the company. 

Finally, Mirashi's advice on fundraising. "First and foremost, get involved with the pro's - professional investors and angels who've done this before."


Related companies, investors and entrepreneurs

Plogo_xoopit-xoopit_xoopit_logo_125
Xoopit
Startup/Business
(1 rating)
6062 views
Description: We are creating Xoopit to help you take the effort out of organizing and retrieving your digital life, wherever it is. There's too much s...
90_70_default_profile_pic
bijan marashi
ceo,
xoopit
500
John Bautista
Partner,
Orrick
Bio: John Bautista, a partner in Orrick's Silicon Valley office, is a member of the Emerging Companies Group, which advises emerging companies...

0 comments

For your professional business video needs!

At Vator.tv we know what it takes to produce quality video that promotes the innovators and business leaders within our community.

That's why we created VatorProductions. If you need a professionally produced video to promote your business... check out VatorProductions.

Latest company updates on Vator.tv

Vator, Inc. - Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Big week - releasing more competition platform features; working on a bi-weekly video news program
See more 21 minutes ago
nuAlerts - Reena A Jadhav (CEO, Founder )
Getting ready to be interviewed tomorrow by Mike Consol for his new show Boomtown Business. This ...
See more about 2 hours ago
Boom Media Inc - Eric Rice (President)
Brian Tomkins (Boom Media) will be live on the Jon Sosa Show tomorrow at 630pm pac ...
See more about 3 hours ago
DoTogether.com joined the competition "Vator Splash Competition (May)", vote for them! about 8 hours ago
QLess - Alex Backer (CEO)
QLess successfully launched at Missouri DMV last week.
See more about 9 hours ago, 1 thumbs up

Other episodes of this show

The half-million fundraising behind Vidly

6726_fundrazor_vidly

fundRazor

by John Bautista
Chrys Bader on how Vidly completed a round in just over a month

The fundraising behind Posterous

6791_fundrazor_post

fundRazor

by John Bautista
Garry Tan and Sachin Agarwal on saving money by raising a $750,000 note rather than an equity round

The scoop behind Scoopler's fundraising

6553_fundraz_scoop

fundRazor

by John Bautista
Co-founder AJ Asver shares fundraising tips and why Y Combinator is a good home for startups

The fundraising behind Xoopit

6396_fundrazor_xoopit_p1

fundRazor

by John Bautista
Bijan Mirashi on the steps he took to get angels and investors all aligned
© 2010 Vator, Inc.