Helping Founders Shape the Future

In 2008, I was the general manager of a small ISP in Mozambique.

Cash flow was always tight, and the owner treated the business like his personal ATM. Every month, it felt like we were scrambling just to keep the lights on.

I didn’t have many career options at the time, so I had to figure out how to lessen the owner’s grip on the business to give us a fighting chance to grow.

Seacom: The Game Changer

Around that time, I heard about Seacom, an optical fiber cable project that was planned for the east coast of Africa.

I quickly realized that if we could secure access to cheap international bandwidth, it could transform our business.

But to make that leap, I needed investors.

Building a Website to Showcase the Opportunity

Now, Maputo isn’t exactly Silicon Valley. Finding investors for a small ISP in Mozambique, let alone raising $8 million, seemed impossible.

But I needed a way to present the opportunity convincingly, so I built a simple website. It was password-protected, and I could share access with any investor who showed interest.

Googling Investors

With the website ready, I did what I could – literally Googling investors.

I scoured the web, looking for anyone who might have an appetite for what I was offering. I would track down their email addresses, send them the opportunity, and hope for a response.

I did this for months, talking to anyone willing to listen.

Here’s the kicker:

I knew absolutely nothing about raising capital. I had no idea what a term sheet was, what a convertible note meant, or how cap tables worked.

All I knew was that we needed $8 million to take the company in a new direction.

Getting an Investor

In 2009, after months of grinding, we closed with two investors who put in $5 million for a majority stake in the company.

That investment changed everything. We turned the company around, and over the next seven years, we grew it by 9x.

Today, the company is a division of NTT.

Reflecting on the Process

That experience taught me a few things:

• Founders outside places like Silicon Valley face much tougher challenges in getting in front of investors. It’s not a lack of talent or ambition – it’s access.
• Personal relationships are crucial. Investors are flooded with pitch decks on a daily basis. They listen to people they trust.
• As a founder, you need clarity of purpose. When you are crystal clear in your own mind about the fundamentals of your opportunity, have faith, you will close the deal.

So this is why I built PitchMastr—to help founders outside the traditional tech hubs get access to the same quality and volume of investors as those on the inside track, and provide them with a platform that simplifies the funding process.

Join me, and let’s create a brighter future for everyone involved.