Learning Lab: Financing your startup: there are a lot more options than you think!
Information
Entrepreneurs, by definition, must seek and acquire resources to build their ventures, and that includes funding. Venture capital today is the most sought after source of funding for startups. However, it is not the only source of financing, and it may not necessarily be the right source of financing for your startup or your stage of development.
In this talk, we will discuss the various types of “startups” and “startup stages” and review the various sources of financing available to entrepreneurs globally. The good news is that there has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur. The bad news is you have plenty of competition. Understanding how you approach different types of “investors” will help you better plan your fundraising journey and saves you time and energy pursuing dead ends.
Speaker:
Dr. Maher Hakim
Dr. Maher Hakim is the Chief Advisor of Innovation and Enterprise at Qatar’s Research, Development and Innovation Council. Concurrently, he is a Distinguished Career Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a Partner at 212 - a venture capital firm based in Istanbul focused on regional startup investments in digital technologies. Dr. Hakim is the founder and CEO of Innovation Foundry, a consultancy firm delivering innovation-related advisory services to government, venture capital, corporations and startups.
Dr. Hakim is an ecosystem builder, tech investor, startup coach, mentor, and educator. During the past decade, Dr. Hakim was the executive director of UC Berkeley’s tech innovation hub, the managing director of Qatar’s Science and Technology Park, and the head of Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Innovation Entrepreneurship in Doha, Qatar. Additionally, Dr. Hakim taught innovation and entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, the University of California Berkeley, and the European Innovation Academy.
Before that, Dr. Hakim's experience included launching and building several technology startups, leading product innovation groups for large software companies, teaching innovation and entrepreneurship, investing in tech startups, supporting efforts to build innovation ecosystems around the globe, and mentoring and coaching startup founders and tech investment professionals. Dr. Hakim is a technologist by education and holds a PhD in Computer-Aided Engineering and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
