May the odds forever be in your favour!
Today, Reece and I are taking part in the Investible Games. If you are like me, your thoughts probably immediately go to the Hunger Games when you first hear the term “Investible Games”. Luckily, it is not that!! So what is the Investible Games? It’s probably easier to start by saying what it’s not. The Investible Games is not a pitch competition or a hackathon, which is definitely refreshing for a founder. While presenting and taking part in pitch competitions and hackathons can be useful in developing soft skills and addressing people’s questions, if you are well prepared, it does little to challenge you. This is why ExtrasJar applied to the Investible Games. We want to be challenged!!!
What is the Investible Games?
You need to know 5 things about the Investible Games:
- It moves fast, but it’s not an ‘accelerator’
- It’s based off Investible’s proven methodology
- Investible invites the best startups to participate
- It’s truly ‘founder-friendly’
- It’s beneficial for investors and corporate as well as founders
The Investible Games is an alternative approach to learning and being challenged. It comprises an intensive 2 day challenge, designed specifically for up-and-coming founders who want to put their businesses in the best possible position to raise capital.
ExtrasJar & the Investible Games
We were accepted last week to the Games and the founding team at ExtrasJar are really looking forward to it (fingers crossed we are District 12, using the Hunger Games analogy). The event is a unique, elimination-style event that will challenge us to think about our business and will put ExtrasJar in the best possible position going forward. It will definitely help in achieving our goal of providing a product which allows Australians to save for their health care extras.
What am I looking forward to?
Personally, I am looking forward to the high-impact event that will stress-test us to think about our execution and strategic goals. A good opportunity to be challenged as founders. The alternative approach will bring a fresh perspective and observing other founders in what they do well and not so well (we all have our flaws) will be exceptionally beneficial. I have no doubt it will be a steep learning curve. Sharing stories and obstacles will definitely be something I will be doing in order to understand the landscape and learn from the experiences of others.
If you are a founder and meet the criteria, I would definitely recommend the Investible Games rather than blindly sending your deck to venture capital firms, angel investors and family offices. As a founder you know how it feels when you send your pitch deck off blindly. It’s akin to eating fast food; you are happy to eat it but feel a bit yucky afterwards. Sending the pitch deck is exciting but after sending a few thoughts always come to mind. Firstly, I don’t really know where it has gone and who is going to be reading it. Secondly, did I give away too much IP? Thirdly, should I have sent that or should I have tried to get a friendly introduction? Fourthly, which pitch deck do I send, the full version or the summary version? Investible are different, the Investible Games gives founders the opportunity to learn and receive feedback, it is the home cooked healthy meal we all want and need.
Smart money is better than just money
The best investment you can get as a business is smart money. Money that is not just an investment but from investors who will ask the hard questions and are able to use their connections and experiences to mentor you and your business through the ups and downs, It is the key to success. This is exactly the type of investment ExtrasJar is looking for and why we applied for the Investible Games.
You can find more about the games and Investible at: https://investible.com/investible-games/recap-investible-games-sydney/.
Wish us luck and watch this space!!!
