Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.


Many people want to work for a VC especially those straight out of college.

Most are not aware of the challenging dynamics that come with the VC life.  Here are a few:

Raising funding -- just like startups, the VC has to raise funds too.  LPs tend to be rear-view-mirror oriented and not focused on the cutting edge of new technologies and markets.

Working with partners -- you rarely make the decisions alone, but rather with the other partners.  Ego and other agendas are often at play.

Getting deals done -- you have to convince others you have a winner on deck and sell it all the way through the process.

Managing the dealflow -- untold numbers of startups want to talk with you and only a small fraction are even meeting your funds criteria.

Dealing with Co-investors -- it’s rare for a fund to take the entire round. There’s usually other investors in the deal.  Who gets how much of the deal and what board seats, are often an issue.

The rollercoaster ride that is the startup life -- things often don’t go well at the portfolio companies and this weighs heavily on the VCs who invested in 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/
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Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.


In pitching your business plan, consider using the story format.

Start with the problem you faced.

Show how you couldn’t find a solution so you created your own.

And now others are coming to you for that solution.

Along the way you can talk about how you built the team and chose a go-to-market strategy.

Highlight the challenges you had to overcome.

Show the current status of the business and the upcoming plans.

Each element of the story should highlight one aspect of the business plan.

The story form keeps the audience engaged throughout the pitch because it flows smoothly.


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 info@tencapital.group

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.


Today, we’ll talk about how to achieve an exit in a startup investment.

It’s easy to get into a startup investment, but difficult to get out -- especially with a positive return.

Most startup exits come when they sell the business to another company or go public on the stock exchange.

It takes seven to ten years to achieve an exit in most cases.

Most investors let the startup define the exit.  If they do, that’s great.

If they don’t, then you define an exit for your investment.  

I recommend using a convertible note that has a 3X in 3 year redemption right at investor sole discretion.  This provides you the option of exiting at the 3-year mark, or staying in for the long haul.

By year 3 it becomes clear where the startup is headed.  They are either on the venture path to larger returns, or they have left the venture path and moved into payroll mode.  

The problem with leaving the venture path is that most terms sheets give the investor an equity stake.  If the company leaves the venture path and turns into a lifestyle business, then the equity is going to be worth, at most, a small return typically around the 10-year mark. 

Define the exit you want and make an offer.  Not all startups will take it, but many will.


Thank you for joining us for the Startup 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 info@tencapital.group

In this episode, Hall is joined by John Osborne, Executive Administrator of Charleston Angel Partners.

Charleston Angel Partners is headquartered in North Carolina, and was started in 2001 as “the area’s longest-tenured and most established angel investment group.”  The group of angel investors believes that “meaningful economic impact happens when great people support great ideas.”

John is also the Managing Partner at Good Growth Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm known for its “exceptional expertise in finding, cultivating and assessing complex science and technology start-ups, Director and Co-Founder of The Harbor Entrepreneur Center, and the Founder of Charleston Angel Conference.

He spent over 10 years in the banking industry before he began investing in early-stage companies. He is excited about the energy in the startup scene in Charleston and elsewhere in the Southeast. John shares with Hall his experience in the deep-tech sector and gives advice to those both investing in startups and running their own.

Visit Charleston Angel Partners at  www.chapsc.com 

Visit Good Growth Capital at www.goodgrowthvc.com

John can be contacted via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/john-osborne-57b42035/ 
and via email at john@fundingcharleston.com 

In this episode, Hall welcomes Pierre Rogers of Yahyn powered by Puro Trader, the platform that brings together retailers, vineyards, and sinners with a focus on Amazon-like convenience to purchasing as well as providing the first true price and inventory discovery mechanism for these regulated industries. It is the first of its kind online aggregator for wine with a user base that is currently growing 38% month over month.

Unbeknownst to many, in the USA, most wine stores and vineyards are predominantly owned and run by immigrants. 

Pierre goes into detail about the huge addressable market that Yahyn now offers to hundreds of thousands of consumers. Currently there are 1,700 sellers and Pierre sees that number increasing by at least 5X if his predictions are correct. 


Visit Yahyn at Yahyn.com 

Visit Puro Trader on Twitter at Twitter.com/PuroTrader

Pierre can be contacted via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-rogers-265120148/
and via email at pierre@yahyn.com

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.


The Coronavirus pandemic impacts many parts of the economy including consumer product goods.

For the consumer-product-goods space, we’ll see changes in the following ways:

Many CPG companies will see greater demand for their product as the shutdown of restaurants shifts consumers to grocery stores.

Those who provide disinfectants, protective clothing and other tools to fight the virus, are under heavy demand.

Shelf-stable products will be more important than perishable goods.

Due to outages of a customer’s preferred brands, customers will try new products because they are available, and in some cases, the only item left on the shelf to be purchased.

Wellness products including nutritional supplements, will see strong growth as consumers weather the pandemic.

Supply chains in general, are under pressure as the population moves from restaurants to the grocery store as their primary source of food.

Retailers are delaying category reviews and store-shelf resets as they have their hands full just keeping current products on the shelf.  This will delay new product introductions.

In general, consumers are moving to home delivery and to direct-to-consumer products, where possible. 

CPG companies should consider shifting into the direct-to-consumer and eCommerce distribution channels.


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.

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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 info@tencapital.group