NYA COMPANY SPOTLIGHT ‒ MICHAEL KRAFT, ORA GRAPHENE CEO

Michael Kraft, CEO of Ora Graphene, was appointed CEO in November 2023 with the aim of taking the company to the next level (growing the company by an order of magnitude over the next two and a half years). Michael was chosen as CEO based upon his background in high-purity materials having worked in semiconductors and satellite technologies. Michael shares why he considers working with NYA as "smart money," and how he raised $1 million from NYA Members in "record speed" (about three to four weeks).

How did you first meet New York Angels?

When I joined Ora Graphene last November, New York Angels was already part of Ora Graphene’s cap table and had a representative on our board. While I hadn’t worked with NYA directly before, I knew of their strong reputation in the early-stage investing community. The Ora Graphene team had worked with New York Angels Members in 2021 for their first investments and had already secured follow-on investments from additional NYA Members when I came on board. 

How would you describe your experience working with New York Angels?

We have had a very positive relationship with New York Angels. They’re what we call “smart money” – investors who are very involved and really understand the business.  There’s a lot of investors in financial services and other markets, but those who have invested in other materials business isn’t as common. I’ve worked with a dozen or more angel investment groups, and New York Angels was incredibly efficient. They quickly understood the business, made decisions, and signed documents within a week or two. We raised $1 million from NYA Members in about three to four weeks, which is record speed in my experience.  It takes a lot of bandwidth for a CEO or management team to answer questions over weeks, if not months, so NYA’s streamlined process was tremendously helpful.

How does New York Angels differ from other angel investors?

One thing that stands out to me is the network New York Angels brings. For example, while many angels tend to write smaller checks, we had investors from New York Angels writing $250,000 checks. This makes fundraising significantly easier. Instead of finding 100 investors at $10,000 each, we could meet our goals with just a few large checks. It’s been an incredibly successful experience working with New York Angels.

 

What has it been like having a NYA Member as a Board Member?

Bill Pertusi has been fantastic. He brings a lot of business and investment experience to the table, which helps us think through various scenarios carefully. He’s very level-headed, and I appreciate his ability to ask the right questions and provide a broad perspective. Having someone like Bill on the board, alongside others with deep entrepreneurial experience, has been invaluable for us as we navigate our growth.

What advice would you give other founders who are looking to fundraise?

While there are many books on fundraising advice, from my experience, preparation is key. You need to know your audience and anticipate the most common questions. Ideally, your presentation should address 90% of the questions investors might ask, so that you don’t end up answering 20 more questions ad hoc.

You also need to tailor your presentation based on your audience. Don’t dive into technical details with a family or real estate office, because they’re only coming in with a financial investment. On the other hand, if you’re pitching to someone with a scientific background, like some of the New York Angels Members, you need to have more technical discussions.  NYA Members have a broad range of backgrounds, so you never know who you might be asking the questions.  One of the NYA investors built a billion-dollar materials business, which I don’t meet many people like that, and we had a whole different level of conversation.

What advice would you give other early-stage investors who are looking to invest in companies?

Invest in businesses where you can add value. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be an expert in the company’s niche – you don’t need to be a physicist and only invest in physics-focused companies.  The best investors are able to offer insights or guidance when needed and they’ll ask smart questions.  If you're just a financial investor, you shouldn’t expect to be deeply involved in the technical aspects.  If you’re just a financial investor, it’s kind of like gambling.  However, if you bring more than just capital, and you offer business experience and are involved, you can help guide the company toward success.

What has driven Ora Graphene’s success?

I was lucky to join Ora Graphene after they had 7 years developing their technology.  My favorite saying is, “luck is the crossroads of hard work and perseverance.” Ora Graphene is essentially 7 years old, and their patent came out of McGill University about 10 years ago.  They had built a strong foundation and awareness, but the company needed to gain traction. Fortunately, we were able to gain the attention of some big players in the audio industry who began testing our product. That was a key turning point. After two, and now three, companies adopted graphene in their products and observed strong consumer demand, with products consistently selling out, these companies increased their forecast 10x. Today we’re continuing to see significant growth as we work to keep up with demand.

What does the future look like for Ora Graphene?

We're in a phase of rapid growth. Over the next 24 to 30 months, we expect to grow 10x. The challenge now is scaling up production, hiring the right talent, and making decisions about where to expand our manufacturing capabilities. Supply chain security is a big factor, as we all know what’s happening with tariffs in China, Europe, and all over the world.  We are carefully planning to make sure we make the right manufacturing decisions over the next few months that will help us ensure we meet the rising demand from our customers. It’s a busy but exciting time, as Americans call it “a good headache to have” or as my friends in Taiwan call it, a "happy headache." 

As we address this growth, it’s important that we develop automated processes and have the right people on our team. I think we have the core talent – engineering and R&D, and we just hired a full-time CFO. Montreal is a great place for finding talent because of McGill University other universities in the area.

The easiest way to describe Ora Graphene’s future is that we are focused on accelerating our growth as fast as possible.