Investment Worthy Startup is a comprehensive guide designed to equip founders, investors, and ecosystem builders with the critical insights needed to create and evaluate high-potential startups. This book draws on my extensive journey in venture development and analysis, a journey that began with the dot-com crash of Boo.com—a high-profile lesson in the risks and missteps that can arise without a structured strategy. The Boo.com experience drove me to establish a framework that ensures clarity, resilience, and scalability in startups, which I named the POEM Framework.

The POEM Framework assesses four key pillars—Proposition, Organization, Economics, and Milestones—providing a strategic foundation that supports sustainable growth and investment appeal. Using this framework, I’ve had the privilege of working with numerous ventures, including my angel investment in SupaStrikas, which turned a $5,000 investment into a return of $250,000 upon acquisition. These successes have validated POEM’s effectiveness and solidified it as a powerful tool for assessing and scaling ventures in developing markets.

Filled with real-world insights and practical steps, Investment Worthy Startup empowers readers to approach venture building with the discipline and strategy needed to achieve impactful results, ensuring their startups are prepared to thrive in today’s dynamic business landscape.