Boston MIT EF CEE startup Bootcamp — Investors recap

Ender Turing got to the top 3 in the MIT EF CEE acceleration program and won Startup Bootcamp in Boston, MA, 8–15 June 2022.

Here are my notes on a number of open meetings with investors.

1. The recession is at a starting point, it may last 2–4 years. ‘We don’t believe it can be solved in 6 months, so 2 years looks proper time to be prepared for.’
2. Firstly, it will influence valuations:

• You won’t see 10m seed rounds with 50k MRR anymore.
• Exceptional founders (top business school, 2–3 years in FAANG) with bare ideas will not be fueled with millions in investments.
• Investors will be more cautious and do proper due diligence with great attention to traction metrics
• We can expect 2–4 times cut on valuations — look for FED interest rate changes (2% — 2 times cut in valuations)

3. Cash is King again — show how you will sustain in the near future. Closer break even — more investable you look as a startup

4. Growth is still important but it can’t be the only metric — think about your burn multiple

5. It is a great time to compete by price — overvalued not profitable competitors will suffer.

Prepare to survive, don’t let your valuation be bubbled, plan your soon breakeven, keep growing and kick competitors' asses by price with being more burn/revenue efficient (с) collective US investors anonymous wisdom