Investor Connect Podcast

Finding an Investor Is Like Finding a Date Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders looking for investors face the same challenge as those looking for a date. Just as in the dating world, both the investor and the startup exaggerate their strengths. Some don't know exactly what they want from the other. Just as there are marriage contracts, the startup world has term sheets. A substantial number of startups don't succeed, just as many marriages do not. Drawing from the world of dating, one becomes more successful the more they know what they want. Founders should figure out what they want from the investor. This includes not only funding, but also follow-on funding, mentorship, and networking. Next, look for where to find investors that meet the criteria. Specialize in how to talk to these particular investors. Finally, figure out what they are looking for and how to present your startup. Just as it takes time to find the right date, so it will take time to find the right investor. Consider the dating game as a model to find your investor. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

What Investors Want To Know About Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders raising funding should consider what investors want to know about their startup. Here are some key points to make before the meeting: Show how your startup fits the investment thesis of the investor. This should include how it fits with the sector, stage, and trajectory of the startup. Investors want to work with A players who are passionate about this project. Highlight the strength of the team and how they can execute. The investor wants to know if your product has interest from customers. Show how you have identified customers and you know how to sign them up. They want to see that customers will pay for it and that the product works. The investor wants to know the team understands the challenge in front of them and how they are going to succeed. The investors want to see who the competition is and how the team is going to compete against them. The investor wants to know the team is setting up the business to scale. The investor wants to know you have an exit in mind and that it will be a good return for the investors. Consider these points in setting up a meeting with an investor. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Common Mistakes With Investor Introductions Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders raising funding need introductions to investors. Here are some common mistakes introducers make with investor introductions. Lack of information Most founders ask for an introduction but fail to provide enough information for the introducer to make a meaningful introduction. It's best to include some context in the request. Lack of a ready-to-mail email. Many founders would do well to provide the introducer a ready-to-mail email. This contains the relevant information, including why there's an introduction. Make sure to write the email in the voice of the introducer and include an appropriate subject line. Slow follow-up to an introduction. After the investor responds to the email introduction, it's important to follow up in a timely manner. Waiting a day or two can degrade the introduction as the recipient may have forgotten that an introduction was made. Not returning the favor. Asking someone to make an introduction and then not returning the favor could degrade the relationship with the introducer. It's important to pay it back. Consider these points in making an investor introduction. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Zach Holman of Signed, a former GitHub engineer and advisor, who shares how he moved into advising and angel investing and what he looks for in early-stage companies, emphasizing the importance of team, culture, ambition, and market. Zach discusses how AI is changing startup building by making it easier for small or even solo teams to ship product and reach revenue quickly, shifting the key scarcity from answers to asking the right questions and having the discipline and "taste" to choose the right product direction. He explains how his technical background helps him assess real product progress and technical challenges, and he outlines common fundraising mistakes, including getting onto the VC treadmill without a venture-scale plan when bootstrapping may be better. Zach also introduces signed.com as a portfolio tool built to replace messy spreadsheets and help angels treat equity as a real investment. Visit Signed at signed.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/zachholman/, and on zachholman.com/ ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Hiring the Team for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. After fundraising comes building the team. The core team may already be in place, but growth will demand new hires. Here are some key points in hiring the team for your startup: Have your high-performing team members interview new candidates. The high performers tend to hold others to their standard. They are more likely to be frank about a candidate's abilities. Where did they work before? Does it have a reputation for quality and professionalism? Check their thinking ability. Give them a problem and ask them to articulate out loud their thought process in solving it. Give them a task and check their speed of execution. Does it match the pace of the company? Review their past experiences to see how that has shaped them. Check their interest in the company and dig into why they want to work there. Is it only a paycheck, or is there a deeper reason? Consider these steps in hiring the team for your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Become a VC Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Venture capital is a job that many aspire to hold. It's challenging, but it provides great experiences. For those who want to become a venture capitalist, there are several paths. Start by working in a startup in a sales role. Some of the most effective VCs are those who have operational experience in the startup world. This provides a strong foundation for what it takes to launch and build a startup. Work in a high-growth startup that is scaling. This brings a different experience around fast growth, fast hiring, fast everything. It shows the pace of a startup and how to keep up. Work for a Venture Capitalist as a scout or analyst. Scout work teaches the fundamentals of deaflow and how to find the best ones. The analyst position teaches one how to research a startup and what to look for. Find a mentor VC who will share insights into the world of venture capital and how things really work. With real-world startup and venture capital skills in hand, one can become a VC. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Starting With the Beachhead Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors look for large target markets that are growing well. Founders looking to launch a startup often look for huge problems to solve. Since startups are limited in their resources, they must find a way to solve a large problem with few people and products. One solution to this problem is to identify a beachhead market. Look for a niche in the market that needs the solution. Ideally, this niche can become the beachhead market. This initial market must be readily accessible to the founders. They must know players in this space and have access to them for feedback. While the beachhead market may not be the biggest market, it should be one of the easiest to take over. After securing the beachhead market, the startup can pursue bigger markets adjacent to it. The beachhead market validates the problem and utilizes the startup's solution. This provides revenue to the startup to launch and grow the business. Look to solve a problem in a large market, but focus on the beachhead market for entry into it. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Screen a Startup for Investment Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors looking for startup investments need to screen deals efficiently. Here's a set of criteria to apply to startups before pursuing diligence. Check the team. Do they know what they are doing? Do they have the skills to achieve the goal? Do they have passion and grit? Check the business. Does it address a large market? Will the business scale? Will it make good money on a unit economic level? Check the investment terms. Is the valuation in line with the market? Are the terms reasonable? Check the business for alignment with the investment thesis. Does the business track with current market trends? Does it fit the investor's view of the world? Consider this criterion in screening a startup for investment. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Scale a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the early days of a startup, the founder seeks to build and sell a product. In the later days, the founder seeks to scale the business. Here are several ways to scale a startup: Raise funding to fuel the scaling strategy. This could be a substantial amount of funding to achieve the growth target. Apply technology to the operations to minimize the cost of running the business. This could also bring access to new markets and applications. Pivot to a higher level in the industry, providing services at a higher price. Build related products and services to further monetize the client base. Remove low-volume products and services that don't scale. This frees up resources to apply to the high-volume products. Reorganize the startup to run with fewer resources. Automate as many functions as possible, such as accounting, customer service, support, and more. This reduces the cost and allows the company to scale as fast as sales can grow. Consider these points for scaling your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Write a Press Release for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Press releases can help the startup gain exposure in the marketplace. This helps recruit employees, find customers, and attract investors. Founders can do this upon closing a round of funding. Here are the steps to write a press release for your startup: Start with a compelling headline that motivates the audience to read further. Describe in the first paragraph the content you want every reader to have. In most cases, this will be all that they read. Create a standard paragraph explaining what the business does. This can be reused in future releases. Include quotes from the founder on the mission and values of the company. Add visuals such as photos of the team. Action pictures are more interesting than posed pictures. Add links to the website and other relevant information. Include enough information that a journalist can tie your press release to a current story. Finally, add your contact details and include the name and phone number of someone the reader can contact for more information. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome John Kim, Managing Director at Aphelion Capital, a healthcare-focused venture firm investing in early and mid-stage medical device and digital health companies. John shares Aphelion's evolution from an evergreen, medical-device-only strategy to a stronger focus on cardiovascular and brain health, including a mission-aligned fund built with the American Heart Association, alongside a smaller home health effort. He discusses how the firm became fully remote after COVID, enabling efficient sourcing and meetings with companies nationwide, and explains what he looks for in opportunities—especially reimbursement pathways, clinical need, capital requirements, and experienced teams. John also covers founder traits tied to performance, improving sentiment around exits and acquisitions, how portfolio construction has shifted toward companies with stronger human data and commercial traction, the challenges of investing in standalone AI without defensibility. Visit Aphelion Capital at www.aphelioncapital.net/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/john-kim-4316b318/, and on [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Steps To Build an MVP Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Building an MVP is a part of almost every founder's work. Here are the key steps to build an MVP. Most founders build an MVP and then talk to users. Instead, talk to users first and then build the MVP. Take into account the users' feedback. Release the initial MVP to a set of users as soon as possible. Don't make it a major launch. The purpose of the MVP is to start a conversation with customers. Focus on speed to launch and time to feedback. Meet users to ask about their experience. Have them show you what they did with it. Take the feedback and iterate on the MVP. Create a new version and launch to a new cohort of users. Limit the time you spend on the MVP to keep the project on schedule. Reduce the scope of it in favor of reaching users for feedback. Avoid overbuilding the MVP. It's best to add to it incrementally as users give feedback. Consider these steps in building your MVP. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Challenges of the Startup Life Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The startup life brings many challenges. It's not for the faint of heart. It will demand the best of you and will test you often. Here are some key challenges in the startup life: Most founders have co-founders to deal with. Maintaining the relationship is tantamount to having a marriage. This will stretch one's communication and relationship skills. Startups require the founder to be all in Founders are not part-timers. This means giving up other things in return for the startup work. The startup will go through highs and lows. The founder will go through all the emotions associated with the roller coaster ride. Time will pass quickly as startups are long-term endeavors. It's amazing how fast the years will roll by. The startup life is one long series of processes and to-dos. There's nothing romantic about it. Not everyone you meet will have experienced the startup life and will fail to understand your situation. It can often be lonely. For those who persist, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences. Consider these points before engaging in a startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Finding New Startup Ideas Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. When finding new startup ideas, start with your own interests in mind. Look for solutions to problems or challenges you face. Here are the steps to finding new startup ideas from your own experiences: Choose a problem that is a major pain point. Skip the casual problems that generate solutions in the nice-to-have category. Research the problem to find out how to solve it. There's often more than one way, so it's best to consider all options. Develop a solution that solves the problem well. It should be effective and efficient. Build out a solution and test it to see how well it works. Show it to others for feedback and questions. This often enhances the solution and provides ideas for naming and marketing the product. Next, look for a distribution channel. Test out the channel to see how much others will pay for it. It's often the case that the solution is not a standalone product but could work as part of another solution. Consider how best to package, price, and distribute it. At this point, one can calculate if there's a business case or not for taking it to market. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Customize the Fundraise for the Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the founder will find that investors vary in their approach to the startup's fundraise. Some will want a valuation set while others just want to be in the deal. Some will invest because of the team, others because of the product or sector. Founders should customize the fundraise for the investor. For those who want to be in the deal, the founder should use a convertible note to capture them in the round. For those who want a valuation set, the founder should keep those investors updated so that when the price gets set, those investors will join the round. The founder should customize the presentation for each investor to highlight what is important to them. In most cases, the presentation deck is the same, but the emphasis shifts to the interests of the investor. For investors interested in investing in the team, focus on the team and their skills. For investors interested in the sector, show the trends in the industry and how the startup is taking advantage of them. The more you know about the investor, the more you can customize the presentation for them. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Characteristics of Fundable Founders Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors funding startups look for founders who have the right characteristics for success. Here's a list of key characteristics of fundable founders: Grit is top of the list. Launching and running a startup is hard work and takes years to see an exit. Founders with grit who can last through the ups and downs is a major factor. Flexibility is important. The startup founder must constantly change to adapt to the market, customer needs, and their stage. Vision to implementation. The founder must have the ability to envision a solution and then implement it. Hacker skill. The founder must be creative enough to find solutions. In sales, this is often referred to as hacking, which is the ability to find shortcuts to solve a problem. Likeability. Investors look for founders who are likable as they know they will spend a substantial amount of time with the founder. Founders who are difficult to work with will find it challenging to raise funding. Consider these points before investing in a startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Jeffrey Stewart, Managing Director at GPO Fund, who shares his global IPO thesis and why he believes capital markets are undergoing their biggest structural shift since 2000, driven by globalization, technology, demographics, geopolitics, and regulation. Jeffrey explains how companies staying private too long can create brittle capital structures, make it harder to recruit talent, complicate acquisitions, and misalign investors, while going public can simplify the cap table, lower the cost of capital, and raise credibility and visibility. He also discusses why companies like Oracle and AOL went public earlier in past decades, what changed in the US markets (including decimalization, regulation, reduced research, and litigation), and how GPO Fund builds diversified international investor bases to help founder-led technology companies accelerate global expansion and IPO readiness, highlighting the growing role of emerging middle-class capital, AI-driven market efficiency, and evolving tokenization and settlement trends. Visit GPO Fund at www.gpofund.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/stewartjeffrey, and on x.com/UrgentSpeed ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Who Controls the Board Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders who take on funding start the process of transferring control of the company to the investors. As the funding moves from Seed to Series A, the investors increase their control. Most seed-stage companies have no board of directors. Instead, they often have a board of advisors who can provide advice and direction. At the Series A, the board of directors is often formalized with two from the investor side, two from the company side, and one independent who brings industry knowledge. As the company takes on additional funding, it brings new investors onto the board. Most board positions last two to three years. As new investors come on the cap table, they take the place of previous investors on the board. There are exceptions, as some founders are able to maintain control of their board. This is rare, as most founders lose their influence as their strength lies in establishing and growing the startup. At some point, the influence shifts to board members who bring new skills, such as scaling and working towards an exit. Founders should know that funding brings a change of control, even if it's a little bit at a time. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Bringing an International Company Into the US Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are several reasons international companies expand into the US market. The US market is the largest market in the world and provides the most opportunities to the company to sell its products. Funding in the US is more available than in most other countries. Startups moving to the US should locate near current customers or in cities with a concentration of startups in the sector. Those coming from Europe focus on New York City, as it gives the most time overlap with Europe. Most companies hire a sales or business development manager to build revenue in the US market, which is the initial work to be done. Once established in the US, the company can start to raise funding from US investors. It's difficult to raise funds from US investors without a US presence. This is due to the timezone issues and the ability to meet with investors for follow-ups. International startups should consider establishing a presence in the US for not only sales growth but also fundraising. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Foster the Startup Community Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors should foster the local startup community. The more vibrant the community, the better the deal flow. Here are some key ways investors can foster it: Provide events and activities that connect and network startup founders with co-founders. It takes a complete team to make a startup successful, so it's best to foster team building. Connect startup founders with business owners who can use the startups' solution. This fosters more funding for the startup through customer revenue. Connect startup founders with startup-friendly service providers. These include attorneys, fractional CFOs, and accountants. Those with startup-friendly services can help the startup community grow. Finally, change the community's perception of startup founders as looking for something to do while between jobs. Some communities look down on startups as the unemployed. Foster the perception that startup founders are doing important work and need the support of the community. Consider these steps in fostering the startup community in your area. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Painkillers vs Vitamins Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In startup investing, look for startups that solve real-world problems. Focus on the ones that provide a solution tantamount to a painkiller. The customer has a problem that causes them enough pain that they'll pay for a solution to get rid of it. There tend to be fewer painkiller solutions in the market, so there's less competition. Avoid the startups whose solution acts more like a vitamin. It makes you better, but only just so. Most people know vitamins make you better, but if you don't take them, you'll be okay anyway. The problem with vitamin solutions in the startup world is that fewer people will pay for them. Also, there tend to be many substitutes for vitamin-level solutions. This fosters a more competitive marketplace. Invest in painkillers and skip the vitamin solutions in your startup investing. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall Martin welcomes Andrew Byrnes, founder and principal of Byrnes Impact, who shares how investors can separate real technical substance from narrative-driven hype in early-stage AI companies. Andrew explains why investors should validate claimed technical improvements with real-world proof beyond demos, assess the technical depth of teams and advisors, and demand clear, plain-English explanations of what the company actually does and why customers would pay for it. Andrew also discusses regulation and policy as dynamic forces that shape which AI companies can operate, scale, and build durable margins, and he argues founders can turn policy engagement into a competitive moat by educating policymakers and stakeholders early. He highlights signals of high-potential startups, including customer empathy, go-to-market execution, and a well-thought-out data strategy that creates an AI-native flywheel and defensible advantage. The conversation closes with practical guidance on traction in AI—moving from pilots to deep deployments tied to core business data, creating internal champions, and maintaining a credible path to profitability given compute costs—as well as how storytelling can help fundraising when it anticipates objections without hiding behind buzzwords. Visit Byrnes Impact at www.byrnesimpact.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbyrnes/, and on [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Invest in the Capable Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The team is often the key indicator of a successful startup. In startup investing, look for competency and experience in the team. Competency and experience can be a relative thing. There's an old saying in the angel world, Invest in the A team working on a B project. The team's skills are more than enough to accomplish the task at hand. For the startup under consideration, understand well the skills required for it to be a success. Look for the skills needed in the business, the technical, and the domain area. Missing key skills is often the cause of startup failure. Most everyone's resume shows extensive experience and knowledge. Test out the team's skills by asking questions and giving them a task. Test to see how they solve problems and how they think. Look for how well they know the space and what is going on in it. The ideal team is one that needs no additional help from the investor. Invest in the capable where possible. For all other startups, be prepared to fill in the gaps. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Solve Large Problems Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups raising funding should have a grand vision. That vision must inspire investors to join the cause. It takes years for the vision to come to full fruition. To take on a large problem, consider the following: Start small. In the early days, the startup will be small and sometimes insignificant. Solve problems very well. Look to new technologies and business models to deliver the product. Tie into market forces that provide a tailwind to your solution. Focus on the customer, and their challenges and needs. Avoid direct competition and define the market in a unique way that helps your startup stand out from the crowd. Launch an initial product as soon as you can. Take the initial solution and then build on it. Make it better every day. Add new features and capabilities continuously. Over time, the product will grow and will provide more value. Eventually, the product will solve a big problem. Every day not spent on building the core product is a wasted day. It just takes time. You can accomplish any large problem with time and consistent follow-up. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Role of Intuition in Startup Investing Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup investing requires several skills, including business model analysis, domain knowledge, and team evaluations. The early days of the startup provide only a glimpse into what that startup will be in the future. Startups often look unable to achieve greatness in the early days, as the team is not built out. The business case can be difficult to assess because the market is new or the technology behind it is nascent. While business acumen is the primary tool for vetting a startup, there's also intuition. Startup investors use their intuition and prior startup investing experience to identify key patterns that lead to success: Intuition plays a role in startup investing as follows: Look for evidence that the team has the right mix of skills and motivation to achieve the goal. Look at how well the product solves the customers' problem. Look at how profitable the business model is on a unit economic level. Look at the scalability of their fundamental business model. These are the key elements that require intuition to suss out the strength of a startup. Consider these elements in screening startups for investment. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Growth Is the Paradigm of the Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups are different from small businesses in that they are based on the growth paradigm. Small businesses such as restaurants and retail are good businesses, but they are not startups. A startup seeks high growth throughout its life. Startups build their businesses to foster growth. Through the products and services they offer to the business models they use, they seek high growth. Startups often look to technology, in particular disruptive technologies, to foster that growth. Startups need capital to achieve it. To be considered for funding, the growth rate needs to be at least 50% or more year over year. Anything below, and investors will not consider the startup to be in the growth mode. Startups also need a team that can foster and manage growth. This high-growth paradigm either takes the company to new heights or sends it crashing down. In startup investing, look for these drivers of growth in a startup before investing. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Legal Entities for Startups Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are many entity types used in forming businesses. Here are the key ones to consider for your startup: LLC -- Limited Liability Company Startups use this structure to protect themselves from liability. It's issued by the state, which can vary the rules across the country. It doesn't allow for issuing stock but rather ownership units. S -- Corporation This is an LLC that elects to defer paying taxes to the owner. This provides a tax advantage but comes with a limitation on the number of members. It should not be used for startups seeking to raise outside capital. Delaware C Corp This is the ideal legal entity for a startup as it provides the most protection of assets and limitations of liability. The entity exists beyond the life of the founders. It can have an unlimited number of shareholders. The drawback is that there is double taxation. First at the corporate level and then at the personal level. The Delaware C is the best C Corp to use as it has substantial case law behind it in the event of litigation. Consider these points in selecting the legal entity of your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall walks new and experienced investors through the term sheet basics that trip people up most often, starting with the type of security (SAFE, convertible note, or priced round), the total investment amount, and how pre-money valuation works in startup investing. He shares a simple ownership framework—pre-money plus investment equals post-money, and the investor's ownership is investment divided by post-money—then points out additional items to watch for, including price per share (in priced rounds), conversion triggers (especially for SAFEs and notes), and dividends. Hall then explains how term sheets tend to be founder-friendly or investor-friendly, and how to spot the difference. Founder-friendly signals include no expiration date on the offer, the option pool coming from both founders and investors, no confidentiality agreement, no liquidation preference, and the company not paying investor legal fees; flip those and you're looking at investor-friendly terms. He emphasizes that term sheets aren't formulas—they're negotiations—and that valuation, liquidation preferences, investor/founder rights, and redemption rights can be traded to balance a deal. Hall closes with a practical overview of convertible notes as a rolling-close debt instrument that converts to equity at maturity or a qualified priced round, along with the risks of stacking notes and creating more dilution than expected ahead of a Series A. He notes that many notes have few protective provisions (though the Angel Capital Association released a model note bringing more investor rights back in), and that notes typically don't confer QSBS tax benefits because QSBS requires an equity holding period. Finally, he introduces 10 Capital's "3x and 3" note, which gives investors a sole-discretion redemption right at year three for 3x the original investment and then moves to a revenue share agreement, invites interested investors to join the deal-review group, and wraps by moving the audience into breakout rooms and sharing that the recording and event details will be sent afterward. ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Where To Find Startup Ideas Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders looking for their next startup seek ideas for launching a business. Some look at what other founders are doing and then copy the idea. It's best to start with a customer problem that has not been solved. Once you have a startup idea, test it with the following: Are there customers who will pay to solve the problem? It's easy to come up with startup ideas that have no paying customers. Do those customers have enough money to pay for the solution so it can become a business. Many problems exist because the customer simply doesn't have any money. Are there enough customers who will pay for it? Look for a path from a corner case problem to a broader market solution. Imagine what the future may look like. Now fill in the parts that are missing. The best ideas come from identifying something interesting, such as finding people will pay good money for something considered trivial. Look for the pain points that must be solved. Avoid the nice-to-haves that may be useful, as there won't be enough revenue to sustain the business. Consider these points in identifying startup ideas. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Elements of a Successful Acquisition Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In acquiring a company, there are indicators pointing to success. Here are the key elements leading to a successful acquisition: Outgoing CEOs Acquirers with outgoing CEOs often lead to successful outcomes. They have the ability to project their vision onto others. Their personality can sway the negotiations to a successful conclusion. Matching cultures. Companies with dissimilar cultures often struggle to make the acquisition successful. It's best to match company cultures when seeking an acquisition. Early acquirers. Acquisitions come in waves as the market dynamics change. Those who move early do better as there's a better selection. Those who arrive late will find the best ones already taken. Experience with acquisitions. Those companies that make many acquisitions have an advantage over those that make few. With each acquisition comes more experience, which can be applied to the next one. Consider these key elements in your acquisition process. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Should You Start a VC Fund? Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are more venture capital funds in the market today than ever before. It's never been easier to launch a VC fund. Here are some key steps to consider before launching one. Do you have a track record in startup investing? Limited Partners in the fund will want to know that the team has experience deploying capital. If you don't have a track record, consider partnering with someone who does. How will your fund stand out from the crowd? While it's easier to start a fund, there are many VC funds in the market today. Consider focusing on a niche or segment of the market that is not already well covered. How does the fund leverage your current investing? It's best to start a fund that extends the investing already underway. Having your own money in will help greatly with raising funding from investors. Do you have the time and commitment to see the fund through to completion? Most funds are deployed in the first three years but require ongoing support and maintenance for up to ten years. Consider carefully the support offered and the strategy behind follow-on funding. Answer these questions before launching your VC fund. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Create a Herd Effect With Investors Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, it's important to create a herd effect. A herd effect is building a larger group of investors that gives your fundraiser credibility. Here are some key steps to create a herd effect with investors. First, show how other investors have either invested or are following your deal. The more investors focus on your deal, the greater its value of it. This shows others have reviewed the deal and decided to join. This gives investors confidence that the basic diligence has been done by others. Show the diversity of investor types, including angels, venture capital, family offices, and others who are in the deal. This shows there's broad-based support beyond family and friends funding. Call out high-profile individuals who are in the deal. This indicates you can attract brand-name investors. Roll up the investment value of all those who are circling the deal, including interest and committed. This shows there's ample interest in the deal. Show how there's more investor interest than there is availability in the round. This creates the FOMO -- fear of missing out that spurs some investors to join. Capture investor comments about the deal and share with others, as investors care a great deal about what other investors think. Consider these steps in creating a herd effect around your fundraiser. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Before Launching a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups appear to be straightforward to launch and run. But there are many aspects of running a startup that are not obvious. Here are some key points to consider before launching a startup: The key to success is not just to know how to run a business. It's about knowing your customer and what they really want. It's about knowing what people will pay for something. It takes time to build a startup and grow a user base. Most first-time founders are off by an order of magnitude on what it takes to grow a business. To overcome this, consider what you plan to do to grow your business. Now multiply by 10, and that's what you will actually have to do. Investors fund growing businesses. There's no trick or secret to raising funding. You must first build a growing business. The startup will require the founder to be all in. To be successful, one's entire energy level will go into it every day. Finally, it can be hard to predict outcomes from any one thing. You have to try it to know how well it will work. You will have to try many things to find out what works. Consider these points before launching a startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Mathias Ihlenfeld of ByMathias, who shares his journey from growing up near Frankfurt, Germany, coming to the U.S. to play college tennis, earning a business degree and an MBA from the University of Alabama, and working in consulting at IBM SAP before launching Woom Bikes in the U.S. in 2014. Mattias recounts bootstrapping the kids' bike brand from selling 13 bikes in year one to over $20 million in revenue within five years, landing on the Inc. 5000 list three years in a row, and learning key lessons around creating market awareness, funding rapid growth, and building the right team and culture. He explains his shift from operator to coach with an empathetic, question-led style, discusses the value of mentorship and the Texas startup ecosystem's growth and fragmented communities, and covers fundraising realities, investor readiness, and scaling challenges in the $3–$10 million "no man's land," plus his work with birthing of Giants to help middle-market businesses scale profitably and prepare for exit. Visit ByMathias at bymathias.kit.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/mathias-ihlenfeld/ , and on [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Data Business Moats Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In building a startup, the founder should consider monetizing the data. Data can provide an additional range of moats for the business. Here is a list of data moats that are ineffective: Openly available and easily accessible data sets General analytics on the data Dashboards and reporting tools. Here's a list of the data moats can bring to the company: Turning your data into a standard data set used by the industry. This is called data currency, which the industry players use for data exchange. Extensive use of the data by many companies creates a de facto standard. Proprietary data. This data comes from a unique source that no other company has access to. Exclusive access to data In this case, the company has developed an exclusive arrangement for the use of data. Proprietary data exhaust This is the use of data from another source for a different purpose. For example, Whole Foods captures consumer product good sales data and then sells access to CPG companies that want to know how much is sold in each category. Consider these options for building a moat into your startup using data. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Desperation Is Not a Good Look for a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders raising funding are often under the gun with a dwindling cash account. Some founders mistakenly use this as part of their pitch. They emphasize the need the founder has rather than the return the investor will receive if they fund the startup. Investors look for fundable companies. Those in desperation are not good candidates for investment. It's best to come up with a backup plan. Some startups turn to consultation work to pay the bills. Others look for grant funding to keep the lights on. Still others reorganize the company and move to a bare-bones expense plan. It's best to do this six months before the cash runs out, as it gives the founder time to launch another plan. Waiting till there's only 30 days of cash left in the bank gives the startup too few options. Desperation is not a good look for a startup, so it's best to avoid the situation altogether. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Drivers for Startup Investing Returns Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup investing returns vary greatly from one investor to the next. Here's a list of key drivers that provide startup investors with a return. High-quality dealflow. Many startups seek to raise funding, but only the top 15 to 20% will provide a good return. Rigorous due diligence. It's easy to write a check, but difficult to diligence the startup. Those with a rigorous diligence process achieve greater returns. Active investing. Investors who take an active role with the startup will achieve better returns. Domain knowledge. Those with a knowledge of the industry in which the startup operates will achieve greater returns. Access to follow-on investors. Those who know follow-on stage investors will achieve greater returns by facilitating introductions to additional capital. Deal structuring. Those who apply investor protections to the business will find better returns. Follow-on funding Those investors who can apply their own follow-on funding will do better. Diversification Investors who diversify across industry segments and stages of a company will have better returns. Consider these drivers for your startup investing. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Keep Up With the Ever-Changing Startup World Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The startup world is constantly changing. It brings new technologies, applications, and business models. The startup investor must keep up with the ever-changing startup world. Here are some key tips on how to stay up: Realize that one's beliefs about how the world works will at some point become obsolete. Look for the drivers of change. This could be breakthroughs in technology, new entrants into the startup space, or new ideas about how to run a business. Avoid predicting the future. Instead, look to solve problems. New startups often look unworkable because they are nascent. Test new ideas by how well it solves a problem. Look for people who are good at solving problems. Invest in those who have key insights into the solution. Finally, hang out with those who traffic in new solutions. It's okay to look to the future. Just don't get set on any particular outcome, as it will almost always come out differently. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Pitching Without a Deck Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders pitching investors almost always use a pitch deck. It's a convenient way to organize the story. Graphics, charts, and glyphs help tell the story in a short, concise fashion. In some cases, the pitch deck is not available for the pitch. For example, the founder receives an impromptu introduction in the coffee shop. The investor expresses interest, so the founder presents the deal without a deck. The key to pitching without a deck is to focus on the elements that the investor is most interested in. Financial investors want to hear the numbers behind the deal. Cost of the problem, size of the market, revenue and traction, and months to break even are the key numbers. Strategic investors want to hear about the strategy behind the business. The problem to be solved and the uniqueness of the solution the founder has will intrigue them. Business model investors want to hear about multiple revenue streams. This could come from recurring revenue, monetizing data, and applying AI. Impact investors want to hear the positive impact of the business on the community. This could be increasing graduation rates for students, removing plastic bottles from the waste stream, or lifting others out of poverty. Consider the primary interest of the investor in pitching without a deck. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Advantage of Being the Nice Guy Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The investor holds sway over the startup founder since they hold the decision of who to fund. Some investors take advantage of this and treat founders poorly just because they can. It's better to be the nice guy investor. Here's why: The nice guy investor builds relationships rather than burns them. The more positive relationships the investor has, the more founder referrals he will get. The more positive the investor's brand, the more likely other investors will seek him out to syndicate deals. The most successful investors are the ones with the best brand and access to the most deals. As the world increasingly moves fundraising online, the investor's track record with startups becomes more widely known. Through social media, the investor's actions will be made known to more people. With each startup interaction, the investor is building their brand. Make each interaction valuable to the founder. Over time, the interactions will add up, and the investor will gain a reputation for being the nice guy. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome back Angela Lee of 37 Angels and Columbia Business School to share an update on the angel investing landscape and strategies for investing in turbulent markets. Angela reviews today's venture market dynamics, including deal volume near peak levels, a "barbell" effect where mega-funds dominate capital raising and drive larger early rounds (often in AI), and a challenging exit environment with underperforming venture-backed IPOs and fewer distributions back to LPs—making it especially hard for emerging VC fund managers. She also addresses questions on AI valuations, emphasizing the need to understand which layer of the AI stack a company plays in and cautioning investors who lack deep AI expertise. Angela then moves into practical investing tactics, highlighting the power-law nature of venture returns and the importance of diversification by making more investments rather than doubling down too early. She warns that angel follow-ons and bridge/extension rounds often correlate with weaker outcomes and encourages investors to evaluate bridges rigorously, including whether terms and valuation truly compensate for risk. She also advises pressuring test burn and runway assumptions, noting that founders often under-raise and that today's environment may require planning for 24–36 months of runway even as some AI-enabled teams run leaner. The conversation wraps with term-sheet and valuation considerations, including the importance of post-money SAFE caps, the increasing prevalence of "cap-only" SAFEs (and 37 Angels' refusal to invest in uncapped instruments), and how investors should think about valuation discipline given that many exits are acquisitions under $200M. Angela answers audience questions on secondaries, noting the market is still a small slice overall, pricing has been volatile, and investors must understand what they're buying—often common stock with fewer protections—especially in hot names that can trade at a premium. Visit 37 Angels at www.37angels.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/company/37-angels , and on x.com/37angelsny ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Seeing the Future in a Nascent Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups carry with them a glimpse of their potential future. Most companies look small and insignificant in their early days. The challenge for the investor is to see their future and know how to help them achieve their potential. Successful startups have a vision of the future and work to fill in what is missing. It's best to have a nonconsensual view of the world. Success comes when no one knows how the market will develop, and there are many paths it could take. If everyone knows there's a missing piece in the future, then there will be too much competition for any one startup to win the market. In this case, the startup that looks into the future can see what will be needed for it. To be successful, the startup needs to be only directionally right. There will be many pivots and modifications along the way. As an investor, look for the founder's vision of the future and what they see as missing. This informs your decision to align with the founder. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Startup Founders Are Team Builders Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders must build a company from scratch. After fundraising, team building is one of the biggest challenges. The founder must be able to recruit qualified people to the team. Startup failure most often comes down to hiring the wrong people for the job. A founder must have charisma and the ability to connect with potential team members. The founder must be able to take a disparate group of people and align them with a common goal. To achieve business success, the founder must be able to bring people together and have them work well together. This means ensuring everyone on the team is on the same page. The objective is to set up a team that is productive. The founder must keep morale high through the ups and downs that come with starting and running a business. The founder does this by building bonds and connections with the team. Startup founders are team builders. Look for this skill in startups to invest in. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Legal Documents for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are several key legal documents every startup will use. Here's a list of those documents: Business Entity filing -- this establishes the legal entity of the business, such as a Delaware C Corp, an LLC, or other. Non-compete documents -- employees sign these to prevent competition with the company. Non-disclosure agreements -- the employees sign these to prevent them from sharing confidential information with others. Intellectual property assignment -- the employees turn over rights to all IP discovered while working with the company. Employment agreements – set forth the rules for working with the company as an employee. Patents/trademarks -- startups use these to protect their intellectual property. Contracts -- startups use these to set the rules of engagement with clients, suppliers, and partners. Terms of service -- this establishes the rules relating to the use of the firm's products and services. Capitalization table -- lists the owners of the entity with their number of shares and percent of ownership. Make sure you have these documents in order in your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Build a Moat for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors look for protection against the competition. The stronger the moat around the business, the more compelling the offering. Here are some key steps to build a moat into your startup: Develop a unique brand that stands out. This prevents others from copying the business model and diverting revenue away from the startup. Build lock-ins into the business. Design your product into the workflow of the business, making it difficult to replace. Install infrastructure that reduces the cost of the product. This removes low-end competitors that lack the financial resources to build large-scale systems. Develop a truly unique product that can be protected with Intellectual Property tools such as patents or trade secrets. This makes it difficult for competitors to simply copy the business. Focus on a market niche or sub-segment so there's not enough business available for competitors to pursue. The startup could develop patents around its solution for that niche, giving it an additional advantage. The stronger the moat, the more the investor will be interested. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we hear a pitch from Jason on Ticket Rewards, a ticketing company offering "live entertainment as a service" to help enterprise brands drive engagement, retention, and loyalty through access to live event tickets. Ticket Rewards works directly with presenters, promoters, sports teams, and venues, with about $500M in consigned ticket inventory and access to $1B+ of marketplace inventory across 35,000+ events, powering a mobile-first, co-branded, white-labeled redemption platform that integrates into loyalty programs via email and push notifications. Jason shares case studies showing how ticket offers outperform typical brand messaging, including Celebrity Cruises' "Captains Club" emails delivering 40% higher open rates and 20% higher click-through rates, and a six-month pilot with Max (HBO Max) moving forward into their loyalty program. He explains how monthly ticket credits (such as $25 that expires each month) can reduce churn, provide unsubscribe leverage, and create emotional connection back to brands like Hearst and newspaper partners, with Ticket Rewards also moving about $2M in tickets through its own marketplace. The conversation covers monetization through SaaS subscription fees (including flat fees or per-member pricing), ticket sales margins up to 40%, incentive codes sold in volume, and advertising/packaging partnerships, along with current margins (~36% overall and ~80% in SaaS). Jason outlines a $2M raise with $320K committed on a SAFE with a $10M cap to scale sales and marketing beyond a seven-person team, noting an acquisition-focused exit strategy and interest from strategic partners; the segment ends as the program transitions to "term sheets 101." ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Benefits of an Accelerator Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders face a daunting challenge in launching a startup. There are many things the first-time founder doesn't know. Accelerators bring many benefits to the startup founder. Here is a list: Accelerators bring education to the founder to fill in their knowledge gaps. This is often around sales, marketing, and finance. Accelerators provide support. This is often in the form of administrative support, such as email marketing and graphic design. Accelerators bring a network for finding co-founders, developers, and providers. The startup founder leans on their network for help with legal, financial, and HR support. Accelerators bring an additional level of credibility to the startup. Investors will appreciate the fact that an accelerator provides the basics of business development. This takes the burden off the investor. Finally, many accelerators provide access to funding. Through pitch events and demo days, founders can hone their presentation skills and meet prospective investors. Consider an accelerator for your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

An Overlooked Factor of Startup Success Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors screening deals look for momentum and traction before investing. They also look for the team and its capabilities. An often overlooked factor is the team's genuine interest in the field. Passion for solving a particular problem can be a strong factor in startup success. The founder who wants to solve the problem no matter what can carry the business through the down times. Many teams are motivated by money, success, or other factors. Investors should look beyond the current revenue growth to the team's motivations. Those with a passion have a stronger chance of success than those who are just running a game plan around a business model. Look for founders who are driven to solve a particular problem and then back them. This could be by making an investment, fostering connections, or providing guidance on running a startup. Consider the founders' motivations. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Ability To Learn From Mistakes Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the startup space, one is always learning. There's a new technology, a new business model, a new market, or other to grasp. It's important that those in the startup space can make mistakes and learn from them. The faster one can learn, the better. The startup often has two advantages over larger incumbents: technology and speed. The mode for a startup is 'fail fast'. Figure out quickly if something is working or not. The startups that succeed are learning organizations. They improve themselves automatically by finding ways to be better. Here are three ways to build learning from mistakes into the business: Perform a review of each event or project to see what can be improved. Look for the next level up in performance and strive for it. Practice transparency by assessing it as it actually is. This keeps improving as part of the startup's mindset. Consider these steps on how to learn from mistakes and improve one's process. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Adjust Expectations to the Current Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Some founders find fundraising to be frustrating. The founder expects more to happen than is realistic. Progress is slow, and the results are not coming in as expected. In most cases, the expectations for the fundraising results are not aligned with the current market conditions. Most deals are done several months before they are announced. Watching the news of funding is similar to recording the news from three months ago and watching it now. The information is out of date due to the time lag in processing the funding. It will be easier to start a fundraiser campaign at the beginning of the year rather than during the holiday season. Consider the holiday and vacation cycle and schedule a campaign that makes the best use of the investors' available time. After setting your expectations based on the current market conditions, go back to work with your campaign. Fundraising continues throughout the year and over seasons and economic cycles. Fundraising will be easier in up markets and more difficult in down markets. Adjust your expectations to the current market. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.