Investor Connect Podcast

In this episode, Hall welcomes Gaston Eguren, Investment Analyst at Proeza Ventures.

Proeza Ventures is the largest mobility-focused VC in Latin America. They are based in Monterrey, Mexico, and Houston, Texas, looking to invest in companies focusing on industrial tech, smart components, new vehicles, MaaS, and digital data services. They are backed by the Proeza Group, a portfolio management company with two global platforms operating in the mobility and agroindustry sectors.

Proeza Ventures’ mission is to discover and invest in visionary founders building early-stage revolutionary startups transforming the way in which they think about mobility and with whom they can partner to make a more sustainable world.

Gaston started his career working at IGNIA Partners doing impact investments on the emerging middle class of Latin America, and then worked at Latitud Capital, a search fund looking for mid-market companies in Monterrey. He graduated from ITESM having studied business administration. 

Gaston discusses growth, trends, his criteria for investing, changes expected in the next 12 months in the mobility industry, and more.

You can visit Proeza Ventures at www.proezaventures.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/proezaventures, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/ProezaVentures.  

Gaston can be contacted via email at gaston.eguren@proezaventures.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/gaston-eguren/.  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Gaston_Eguren_of_Proeza_Ventures.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

In running deal flow, here are some best practices to consider:

Automate your deal flow process as much as possible by capturing consistent information into one application.

Track deal flow sources and analyze on a regular basis.  

This shows where the best deals are coming from and where to spend time.

Use online data sources to augment your deal flow information.  

This step helps make follow-up decisions easier to figure out.

Monitor your deal flow activity for changes.  

This shows the impact of the market and conditions and signals for a change in follow-up.

Set up workflow processes so the deal goes to the right people in the proper sequence. 

Flag your most important deals to make sure they don’t fall through the cracks.

Optimize your system for your deal flow by gathering only the relevant information.

Connect your deal flow system to your email and other systems to integrate into the overall workflow.

Deal flow can be expensive in time and money, so it’s important to apply these steps to reduce the cost.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: dealflow_best_practices.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Mia Urman, Founder & CEO of AuraPlayer.

AuraPlayer was founded in January 2013 by Mia, an Oracle veteran with over 20 years of Oracle Forms experience, and Java Guru Yossi Nakash, CTO. AuraPlayer’s founders built a modernization solution for Oracle Applications that would activate and communicate with Oracle Forms in an automated way, without redevelopment or migration changes. Today, AuraPlayer sells its products and services to businesses and government offices all over the world.

Headquartered in West Orange, New Jersey, AuraPlayer’s goal is that no Oracle Forms customer should be forced to migrate and no EBS application should be forced onto the cloud. AuraPlayer resides alongside your current Oracle applications and helps launch them into the digital world.

AuraPlayer’s mission is to build and deploy enterprise-grade, Oracle-based business applications by using next-generation technologies that will help you take your business to the next level.

Mia is an Oracle ACE Director and a renowned expert on Oracle development technologies and mobility, with over twenty years experience working, presenting, supporting, training, and consulting Oracle products. 

Prior to founding AuraPlayer, while providing consulting services to customers, Mia became intimately familiar with some of the leading challenges facing Oracle Forms/EBS legacy clients and co-founded AuraPlayer Ltd., a development house to provide mobilization and automation solutions.

Mia is a coveted speaker on Oracle technologies at various conferences including Oracle OpenWorld, IOUG Collaborate, ODTUG Kscope, UKOUG, DOAG, and keynote speaker at other Oracle Technology events.

Mia discusses growth, trends, changes expected in the next 12 months in the mobility industry, and more.

You can visit AuraPlayer at www.auraplayer.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/auraplayer, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/auraplayer.  

Mia can be contacted via email at miaurman@auraplayer.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/miaurman, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/miaurman

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Mia_Urman_of_AuraPlayer.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Deal flow is the lifeblood of the startup investor.

It’s important to assess the deals in short order to prioritize follow-up.

One way to help this process is to apply a rating to each deal.

Here are some key factors and how to calculate them to use in your rating:

Revenue run rate - take your current monthly revenue and multiply by 12 to annualize it.

Gross Margin - take your Cost of Goods Sold, divide by the revenue, and subtract 1. 

Burn Rate - monthly cash expenses minus monthly revenue.

Cohort Analysis - take the number of users who join the program and track the outcome of each. 

Cost of customer acquisition - monthly sales and marketing expenses divided by revenue from the customers signing up that month.

Payback - number of months of recurring revenue to cover the cost of customer acquisition.

Magic Number - revenue over two months multiplied by four and divided by sales and marketing costs over the same timeframe.

Sales Cycle - average number of days from first contact to customer signing up.

Lifetime Value - the total amount of revenue generated from a customer.

Total Available Market - the total amount of money spent in a target market.

Give each factor a score, say 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.  

Add up the factors to give the deal a score on a scale of 1 to 100.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: rating_your_dealflow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Jeffrey H. Bunin, Vice President of Commercial Lending at Capital Lending Corp.

Founded in 1995, Capital Lending Corp. first offered commercial property loans. Soon after that, the company began to offer residential financing in Northern New Jersey. In 1996, Capital Lending Corp. added business financing to its offerings. One year later, it became approved by HUD as an FHA lender. Capital Lending Corp. is a licensed correspondent mortgage lender in the state of New Jersey.

Today, Capital Lending Corp. serves New Jersey as a residential mortgage lender and originates commercial property and business financing on a national level. Capital Lending Corp. also serves larger private and public sector customers outside of the United States. The company continues to offer its services with the same business model on which it was founded, without charging upfront fees. Capital Lending Corp. maintains a highly-trained staff of multilingual financial experts. They are your financial solutions provider for the challenges and opportunities you face. They help transform your plans into reality.

Before joining Capital Lending Corp., Jeffrey was the Director of Planning for a major NJ chemical company. In this capacity, he contributed to its success by helping increase sales from $30 million to $350 million. He did the strategic plans, business valuations, M&A, budgets, and board appropriations. He contributed to over $30 million of income through acquisitions, avoiding poor investments, sales and profit improvements, cost savings and improved procedures. Jeffrey also has experience in metals recycling, printing, equipment manufacturing, food processing & marketing, e-commerce, etc.

Jeffrey’s CCNY degree in chemical engineering, plus his Rutgers MBA (President of the Business School Alumni Association 1997-2000), and continuing education has kept him abreast of the latest business trends and financial developments.

Jeffrey advises investors and entrepreneurs and shares some of the challenges they face. He discusses what excites him now in the industry and how he sees the state of startup funding evolving.

You can visit Capital Lending Corp. at www.capitallending.com.

Jeffrey can be contacted via email at jbunin@capitallending.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbunin/.  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Jeffrey_H_Bunin_of_Capital_Lending_Corp.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Startup investing requires deal flow and the best deal flow comes from proprietary sources.

Here are some key points to set up your own process:

Contact your attorney and accountant as they are good sources of deal flow that aren’t known by everyone else.

Launch a content marketing program. Your own podcasts, blogs, and more, will build a pipeline of deals.

Organize your own pitch sessions separate from accelerators and incubators. Those groups run pitch sessions, but they are available to everyone so they provide little in the way of proprietary deal flow.

Create a community out of your network and invite them to send you deals. 

Provide mentorship to each startup to make their time with you beneficial to those companies. Those startups will return the favor with their recommendations to other startups.

Start a dinner series and invite investors and startups to share a meal along with their experiences.

Create a brand that fosters community connectedness. The community will respond by sending you deals.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: proprietary_dealflow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Kevin Rivers, Managing Partner at Black Ventures, LLC.

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, Black Ventures, LLC (BV) is an emerging private equity firm that buys media companies and real estate assets in wildly inefficient markets. They buy revenue-generating assets in music rights, apps, books, YouTube IPs, and enterprise software. They work with bootstrappers, self-funded and venture-backed companies, influencers, publishers, and profitability-focused founders. Through their M&A deals, they merge the assets into their media and IT businesses to expand their overall growth. 

Kevin is a serial tech entrepreneur and is raising his inaugural fund to provide access to capital for YouTubers and music companies. Prior to working at Black Ventures, Kevin was CEO of Venzo Digital, an award-winning music distribution service that helped musicians earn over $2M in sales within the first year. Kevin sold Venzo to an NYC venture capital firm years later. Prior to Venzo, Kevin spent several years in the music tech space by creating the first Facebook Music Store platform, gaining media attention for a revolutionary music industry model, and securing landmark deals with leading gaming publishers. 

Kevin shares with Hall what excites him now in the industry, advises entrepreneurs and investors, and discusses his investment thesis.

You can visit Black Ventures, LLC at www.blkvc.com/, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/xeinge/

Kevin can be contacted via email at ikevinrivers@gmail.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrivers.

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Kevin_Rivers_of_Black_Ventures_LLC.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Investors should set up a deal flow process that takes startups through in a timely manner.

Here are the deal flow stages:

Initial contact -- before reviewing a deal there’s often a call or email that describes the deal.

It’s best to provide initial feedback and ask key questions about key criteria.

Encourage those that meet the criteria to apply, and discourage those that don’t.

Submission -- the startup provides a deck or executive summary.  

Review the deal for your key criteria. It’s best to give a fast “no” so it doesn’t waste everyone’s time.

First call -- set up a call with the ones that meet your criteria to learn more.

Explain how your diligence process works and the amount of time it takes.

Team review -- review the deal with your team.

Determine additional questions to ask and decide the next steps.

Second call -- the startup meets the team.

The team and the startup take a deeper dive into the business and everyone gets to know each other better.

Diligence --  the team starts diligence on the deal.

Discuss valuation and other terms. By now, both sides should be in the same range.

Closing -- the team wraps up diligence and finalizes the investment documents.

Both sides should be looking to close. 

At each stage, educate the startup about the process and their status.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: dealflow_stages.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Deal flow takes a substantial amount of time for the startup investor.

It’s important to organize your deal flow process so it’s efficient.

Use these steps to organize your deal flow.

Set up a separate email for deal flow and use it to capture deals from websites, social media, and other sources.

Have everyone on the team send any new deals to that email address.

Take all submitted deals and place them into a CRM with contact information, sector, stage, and other key information.

Update that record with the deal status and next steps.

Create a series of follow-up emails to send to those in the deal flow pipeline such as how your deal flow process works and when to expect a follow-up.

Develop a process for screening the deals for basic criteria and send “pass” notices to those deals that don’t meet them.

Set up calls with those that meet the criteria to qualify them and move them through your standard process.

Run reports to understand the deal flow and how well it is providing quality deals.

It’s important to review your successfully funded deals for key information so you can prioritize those deals for 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 info@tencapital.group  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_organize_your_dealflow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Daniel Cohen, General Partner at Viola Ventures.

Viola Ventures is part of Viola, Israel’s leading tech-focused investment group with over $3.5B AUM. Founded in 2000, Viola Ventures empowers early-stage start-ups to become global leaders. The fund manages over $1B and has backed some of Israel’s unicorns such as Payoneer, ironSource, Lightricks, Outbrain, Redis Labs, Pagaya, and more. To date, the fund has invested in 82 companies and has recorded over 40 exits.

Daniel joined Viola Ventures after 11 years at Gemini Israel Ventures where he invested in various companies including Adap.tv (acquired by AOL for $450M), Outbrain, WatchDox (acquired by Blackberry for ~$100M), and Minute Media. Daniel’s investment focus is the B2C market, including consumer internet, e-Commerce, DTC, games, and digital media. Daniel began his career as a developer and product manager in a few Israeli high-tech companies, including Commtouch and Scitex. He has a BA in computer science and psychology from Tel-Aviv University and an MBA from INSEAD.

He currently serves on the board of EX.CO (formerly Playbuzz), Lightricks (creator of Facetune), and Maapilim. He was also on the board of Tapingo (acquired by Grubhub for $150M) and Origami Logic (acquired by Intuit).

Daniel advises investors and entrepreneurs, shares how he sees the industry evolving, and discusses his investment thesis.

You can visit Viola Ventures at www.viola-group.com/fund/violaventures/, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/violaventures/, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/violagroup

Daniel can be contacted via email at danielc@viola.vc, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/coheda, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/coheda

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Daniel_Cohen_of_Viola_Ventures.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes back Ash Kaluarachchi, CEO at StartEd.

StartEd’s programs are for education innovators with companies around the world with tech-enabled solutions to improve education and workforce learning.

The StartEd Immersion program, which is a 5-day commitment, provides mentorship from the StartEd Network - the most seasoned and supportive network of investors, entrepreneurs, and educators in the world. It is designed to help entrepreneurs with up to $5M in funding or revenue secure their next round of financing and expand their customer base.

The StartEd Bootcamp is a 5-week, flexible part-time program for early-stage innovators, including working professionals, educators, and industry switchers, to test their ideas, build or enhance early products, and gain early customers.

Ash has directly advised and enabled growth for thousands of founders, educators, and investors, solving problems in education and workforce learning. His accelerator programs have resulted in 10% of global EdTech unicorns.

As an advocate for entrepreneurs, he has advised, launched, and operated multiple edtech and workforce accelerators, including for Techstars, the #1 startup accelerator and mentorship-driven seed-stage investment fund in the world, and organizations such as Kaplan, Intel, US News, Google, Amazon, NYU, USC and the University of Pennsylvania.

He is the Producer of EDTECH WEEK (www.edtechweek.com), a virtual distance learning and networking event for global education leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and educations. He was voted one of the Top 100 Influencers in Education Technology by Edtech Digest. Ash has an MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Economics from Grinnell College. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

Ash speaks about the rise of the edtech sector - classroom engagement & next-generation school segment, the primary trends, what makes for a successful company in this segment, and more.

You can visit StartEd at www.started.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/started-accelerator, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/startedaccel

Ash can be contacted via email at ash@startedaccelerator.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ashanthaik, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/ashanthaik.   

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Ash_Kaluarachchi_of_StartEd.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Running deal flow is a time-consuming process.

There are steps you can take to automate it.

Here are some key points to consider:

Standardize the information you collect by using forms on the website.

Capture referral partners or sources so you can measure the results.

Collect the startup submissions to run metrics and track progress.

Use well-structured data sets so you can apply automation tools for analysis and data pulls from other platforms and software applications.

You can set up search tools to look up the founder and company to provide background information.

With a filled-out dataset, you can run reports on trends on the deal flow such as sector, stage, and fundraise amount.

With work automation software, set up to pull information from your CRM and other sources such as social media.

You can capture information from online databases such as Crunchbase and other tools to fill out more details.

These techniques improve your captured data and help you identify ideal startups to pursue.

Tracking the deal flow will help you identify the best sources of deals.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_automate_the_dealflow_process.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Greg Foster, Founder & CEO at Vizen Analytics.

Headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington, Vizen offers a fully-managed cloud AI consumption-based subscription service that maximizes forecast accuracy while reducing inventory holding costs. They enable a better way to project product demand while preventing overstock waste and inventory stock-out conditions. Vizen provides everything your business needs to succeed without making a significant digital IT investment. They do all the work including historical data analysis that’s presented in a gorgeous SaaS UI with integrated SKU predictions. 

Greg has over 20 years of sales leadership and technology-based business development experience building great teams and executing successful projects working for and with Fortune 500 companies including Sprint, NTT, Nestle, and Toshiba America. His visionary, strategic thinking has played a role in the implementation of IoT platforms, smart power solutions, and AI-driven supply chain mobility. He has created IP using external data to improve demand forecast accuracy. Before launching Vizen Analytics, Greg gained experience working on other startup-related projects.

Greg speaks about growth in the manufacturing/supply chain segment, the primary trends, his participation in the sector, and changes expected in the coming 12 months.

You can visit Vizen Analytics at www.vizenanalytics.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vizen-analytics.

Greg can be contacted via email at greg.foster@vizenanalytics.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/gregoryfoster1

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Greg_Foster_of_Vizen_Analytics.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Deal flow is key to a startup investor’s success. 

Investors seeking startups to fund can follow these steps to attract deal flow:

Build a global network of venture partners, scouts, and micro funds. Showcase your network to the startup community to capture more startup interest. 

Set up a series of meetings to attract startups seeking education, networking, and mentorship.

Provide content that helps startups.

Launch an accelerator program.

Provide programs for early-stage startups to organize their business. 

Join pitch competitions as a judge or coach.

Provide a forum for startups to practice their pitch and gain experience answering questions.

Start a dinner series and invite promising startups to join for socializing and networking with investors.

A dinner meeting is a great way to foster the community and connect startups and investors.

Launch a newsletter with helpful information.

Set up a podcast and interview key people in the community.

Set up these programs to run continually throughout the year with an event happening every month.

It takes a year or two to generate awareness and another year to establish a brand.

Consistency is key, so set up a support team to help make it happen.

 

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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_attract_dealflow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Karen Vandiver, Owner of New Healthworks and Founder of Mindful Meditation Training Institute.

New Healthworks services include corporate and executive coaching, professional telehealth services, and mindful meditation training. She provides in-office therapy in Harker Heights and in Austin, Texas.

Karen is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Texas-approved supervisor with extensive experience. Karen served as an Academic Advisor for Graduate Assistantship for undergraduate students while earning her Master’s Degree at Baylor University, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She served as a regular guest lecturer at the University of Texas Doctoral Theories class. She has trained in Systemic, Strategic, and Bowen Family Systems. 

Training in EMDR added to her already successful outcomes with trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. As a certified hypnotherapist with the National Guild, she has had success with behavioral issues along with peak performance. Her ability to utilize a unique and creative approach is individualized for each person and has led to real results.

Karen has created inpatient and outpatient treatment programs for psychiatric hospitals and outpatient treatment centers. She has provided numerous presentations at multiple military bases on PTSD and combat stress. She also provided annual guest lectures on Jungian Psychology at the University of Texas in Austin's Doctoral Counseling Theories Class and annual lectures to the LMFT Supervisor Training Class at Texas A&M Central Texas.

She has written articles for Military One Source, Austin M.D. Magazine, Enjoy Whole Health as a psychology columnist, and the Santa Fe Sound Board Music Magazine.

Full Bio: https://karenvandiver.com/about-nh 

Karen advises investors, discusses some of the challenges in the space, and how New Healthworks fits in this landscape.

Karen can be contacted via email at karen@karenvandiver.com, via her website at www.karenvandiver.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/karen-vandiver-184538ba/

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Karen_Vandiver_of_New_Healthworks.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Investors seeking more deal flow should look to their own network.

Here are some steps to find deals from your contacts:

Identify the type of startup you want to fund. 

Search for contacts related to that sector and domain. 

You’ll find experts with deep knowledge of the technology, as well as those who know the major players in the industry.

Follow-up with them to learn more about the up-and-coming companies in the industry.

Talk with other investors for any deals they’ve seen, both those they invested in, and those they’ve passed on.

Seek out business brokers, M&A advisors, and investment bankers who see deal flow on a regular basis for potential deals to pursue.

Talk with those who hold business development and corporate development titles as they often see early-stage startups.

From these contacts, identify common references to startups in your sector.

Follow the funding news for your area or sector to see who is getting investment and then research those companies to find where they came from.

Trace them back to the source which could be employees coming from a large company, a university, or other.

To attract more deals you can build out a blog, website, or online portal.

You can run an event series to bring people together for networking, education, or funding.

This lets you tap into your network in an ongoing consistent way.

 

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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_generate_dealflow_from_your_network.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

This is Investor Perspectives. I’m the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding.

In our new Investor Perspectives series entitled “How to Understand Blockchain”, you’ll hear about changes expected in the coming 12 months and our guests’ final thoughts.

As the COVID pandemic passes, we emerge into a new world. The blockchain space has made tremendous progress in setting up substantial networks and meaningful applications.  Blockchain continues to drive change in the tech space in particular fintech. We have investors and startup founders describe the changes coming up.

Our guests are:

David Johnston, Managing Director, Yeoman's Capital, 01:25
Dave Hendricks, CEO and Founder, Vertalo, 04:47
Christian Kameir, Managing Partner, Sustany Capital, 15:14
Jake Ryan, CIO, Tradecraft Capital, 25:37
Rashad Kurbanov, CEO and Co-founder, iownit.us, 31:37

I hope you enjoy this episode.
_______________________________
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 

Music courtesy of Bensound.

 

 


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

Deal flow is important to the startup investor.

After you set up your initial sources, you can expand your deal flow in the following ways:

Connect with other startup investors and offer to share your deal flow with them and invite them to return the favor.

The best deals come from other investors, especially those who you know well and have seen quality deals from them before. 

Talk with your portfolio companies and ask them to send you any deals they think are qualified for startup investment.

Founders and CEOs have a greater chance of meeting other startups than many investors do. They also understand the criteria of the investors and can provide an initial screen.

Talk with service providers such as attorneys, accountants, and bankers who see startups every day.

Start with your own service providers and expand out from there.

Have them make an email introduction.

Promise to set up a call with anyone they refer so they have confidence their time spent on the intro will not fall through the cracks.

Report back to the referrer with the outcome.

The more feedback they get then the more qualification they can perform.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_increase_deaflow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes John Oamen, Co-founder & CEO at CutStruct Technology Limited. 

CutStruct Technology is a proptech company aimed at unlocking the next one million homes in Africa by improving the construction business environment, leveraging technology as an enabler in the specific areas of how stakeholders buy, hire for, and manage their projects.

John is a strong believer in the process as the bedrock for all desired outcomes like cost savings, ease of doing business, efficiency in any area of endeavor, and particularly in construction. You arrive at the end goal by observing the day-to-day principles of success in any field. He believes people don’t get to their desired outcomes as a result of excessive focusing on those outcomes while ignoring the little details

He founded Faultless Finish Limited, where he built a project finishing reputation, establishing a name as an industry leader in finishing and home completion space.

As an aspiring business leader, he decided to apply to the illustrious Lagos Business School to hone his business leadership skills and network with other like minds and more established business leaders. He is a firm believer that we are more influenced by the company we keep more than most realize and makes a conscious effort to keep a strong network of game-changers at every point in his life.

A husband and father of 2, he believes in leaving every place in life better than you met it hence his favorite phrase “progress over perfection”. He also believes that children are an extension of their parents and are an opportunity for world improvement and so he spends a lot of his time teaching them life skills, ethics, empathy, and continuous improvement.

John discusses the state of investing in construction in Africa, the number of companies in the sector, the challenges they face, and his business model.

John can be contacted via email at john.oamen@cutstruct.com, via his website at https://linktr.ee/JohnOamen and www.livevend.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/johnoamen, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/johnoamen_e.   

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: John_Oamen_of_CutStruct_Technology_Limited.mp3
Category: -- posted at: 9:28am CDT

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

Deal flow is the lifeblood of startup investing.

It’s important to set up sources to provide quality deal flow on a consistent basis.

Here are the steps to set up your deal flow sources:

  1. Map out the entrepreneurship and funding groups in your geographic area or sector.
  2. Use the web and social media searches for an initial pass.
  3. Check out universities for their entrepreneurship programs, including business plan competitions and accelerators.
  4. Review the Chamber of Commerce for the trade associations for your area or sector to find programs related to startups.
  5. Meet with venture capitalists, angel groups, and other investors in your sector or area.
  6. Map out the accelerators, incubators, makers markets, and other groups that support aspiring startups.
  7. Identify lenders such as banks, factoring companies, and equipment leasing companies, and more who may have deal flow.
  8. Create and maintain a calendar of events to track their activities.
  9. Reach out to those groups on a regular basis to offer support such as education, mentorship, and coaching.
  10. Consider creating a newsletter to share with those in your sector or community to foster the relationship.
  11. Follow up to support the best sources of deal flow and increase your engagement with those groups.

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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: finding_dealfow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Ken Hubbard, CEO of The Pitch Company.

As investors, The Pitch Company feels that business leaders would be more successful if they could get their company story out more concisely and with the pertinent information they need, in an expedited and organized structure.​ The Pitch Company’s frustration with the process led them to test over 60 different pitch templates for effectiveness. They realized it was not just the template that was the culprit, but the need for coaching by investors that makes the difference.

Building his first company in 1988, Ken, late to the party, scrambled to catch up to the rocketing computer industry. He shortly found a home in one of the fasting growing integration companies followed up with starting and developing revolutionary data center equipment. After a short hiatus, he began dabbling in angel investing.

Though he had raised significant funding, both debt and equity throughout his career, being on the other side of the table, as an investor, came with a different type of responsibility. Business leaders wanted advice on their business. Ken quickly learned that most business leaders had a basic understanding of how to pitch their companies but didn't understand what the investors were interested in and how they wanted the information. So he studied all the great presentations, built a system, and tested it for over 4 years. 

Ken discusses how he sees the state of startup investing progressing post-COVID-19, some of the challenges startups face, and how The Pitch Company fits into the landscape.

Ken can be contacted via email at kenhubis@gmail.com, via his website at www.pitchproceo.com, via telephone at (949)342-4449, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/investinginsuccess

Music courtesy of Bensound. 

Direct download: Ken_Hubbard_of_The_Pitch_Company.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Deal flow is key to successful startup investing.

It takes a great deal of time, so it’s important to build a strong process for managing it.

It helps to use a software tool to track it.

Start with the key steps for running deal flow as follows:

Set up a deal flow source with angel groups, venture funds, online portals, and others.

Capture deal information into the software tool with their key information.

Run an initial screen to see if it meets your criteria -- have 3-5 key points to check.

Set up the first call to find out more details and update the deal flow software with the results.

Set up a partner meeting to review the deal with others in your fund, syndicate, or network.

Negotiate valuation and terms.

Perform diligence on the deal.

Close the investment.

Set for ongoing follow-up and reports.

In each step, capture the results into the software.

On a regular basis, analyze those results to find the following:

-Which sources gave you the best deals

-How much time did the calls take to capture the necessary information to make a decision

-What key factors the startup must have to go all the way through to funding

After analysis, update your process to screen out deals that won’t make 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 info@tencapital.group

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_setup_a_dealflow_process.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Angel Ribo, Founder of The CEO Confidant.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, The CEO Confidant helps clients create a salesforce that will not only guarantee and improve their own company's profitability, but also that of their clients.

Angel Ribo, known as The CEO Confidant, is a business influencer, LinkedIn strategist, international TV host, public speaker, CEO consultant, board member, and philanthropist.

In the last 21 years, Angel has helped more than 1,500 CEOs in 33 different countries to accelerate the growth of their businesses. He was born near Barcelona, and he has lived in 8 countries and speaks 5 languages.

Established entrepreneurs and corporate CEOs hire Angel to bridge the gap globally for expansion and exposure to grow their businesses.

Angel sits on the Board of the Evolutionary Business Council, an organization with more than 350 global transformational leaders with a combined reach of well over 600 million people.

Angel is based in Texas, and early in 2017, he launched his International Foundation, Wisdom for Kids. He has also helped more than 1000 underprivileged kids in Latin America become entrepreneurs using their local resources.

Angel advises startups and investors and discusses his company and his foundation, Wisdom for Kids.

Angel can be contacted via email at angel@angelribo.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/angelribo and www.linkedin.com/company/the-ceo-confidant, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/angeletgaruda.  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Angel_Ribo_of_The_CEO_Confidant.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Deal flow is critical to successful startup investing.

Here are some key points to consider:

Deal flow gives you experience with founders, valuations, exits, and many other aspects of the startup process. 

It teaches you a great deal about the market, current technology, and the startup ecosystem.

Deal flow gives you practice on how to analyze a pitch, what questions to ask, and what you should take away from each pitch.

Look for quality over quantity. The better the deal flow, the better your investment outcome.

Set up deal flow sources accordingly.  

Start with those in your network to gain access to their deals and offer to return the favor.

Seek out quality accelerator programs to find more resources.

Consider joining an angel network for deal flow, as you can share the feedback with others.

Join online portals with deal flow so you can learn the current state of valuations, technologies, and sectors.

Reach out to venture capital, family offices, and other investors to join as a syndicate partner in their deals.

The greater number of deals you review will give you more choices as well as educate you about the 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 info@tencapital.group 

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: _importance_if_dealflow.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Joseph Edgar, Founder of TenantCloud.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and founded in 2014, TenantCloud is a cloud-based property management system that allows you to manage up to 75 units for free, accept and manage rental applications, store accounting, collect and track rent, manage visual maintenance requests, get a personal listing website, and much more.

Joe originally hails from Chiloquin, Oregon, and is an experienced entrepreneur and investor who bought his first real estate property at 14 years of age. At age 17 he co-founded Modern Homes Inc., a company in Porto Alegre, Brazil, which he sold in 2001. Joe founded Edgar Investment in 2003 as a property holding company for his investments, which also focused on real estate development of new and renovated residential homes in Eugene, Oregon. In 2007, Joe founded EI Investments, a $10 million venture fund focused on providing debt and equity to early-stage companies in OR and TX.

In 2008, Joe joined Governor Perry’s office and managed $487 million in state authority with a focus on early-stage and emerging companies. In 2011, Joe joined Commissioner Staples in advising, operating, and deploying the J4T Venture Fund, which is a $46.5 million investment fund focused on Texas’ early-stage companies. Joe is also a member of the US Treasury SSBCI Venture Capital Working Group, which works to bring best practices for early-stage investment throughout the U.S.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Science with a focus in Economics from the University of Oregon, with high honors, an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, and is a Kauffman Fellow. Joe is also active in the community as a member of the Central Texas Angel Network, volunteers time with the Community Tax Center helping low-income families file their tax returns, and assisted in founding the non-profit organization Texas Pace Authority, which focuses on bringing clean energy to Texas.

Joe advises investors and entrepreneurs, discusses the evolution of the industry post-COVID-19, the housing market in Austin, and shares some of the challenges startups face.

You can visit TenantCloud at www.tenantcloud.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/tenantcloud/, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/tenantcloud

Joe can be contacted via email at jedgar@tenantcloud.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-edgar-7a018521, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/joe_edgar_.  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Joseph_Edgar_of_TenantCloud.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

So how do you know when not to invest in a startup?

Here’s a checklist of show stoppers:

  • There’s no business plan and no plan for an exit.
  • There’s no vision for the company.
  • There’s no growth in the target market.
  • The business doesn’t provide enough of a return on investment.
  • The team has too many holes to stand up.
  • The projected growth rate is too high and is unrealistic.
  • There’s no differentiation over the competition.

Use the process of elimination to remove deals from consideration so you can focus on the ones that can make 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 info@tencapital.group  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: knowing_when_not_to_invest.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

This is Investor Perspectives. I’m the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding.

In our new Investor Perspectives series entitled “How to Understand Blockchain”, you’ll hear about participation in the blockchain segment and what investors look for.

As the COVID pandemic passes, we emerge into a new world. The blockchain space has made tremendous progress in setting up substantial networks and meaningful applications.  Blockchain continues to drive change in the tech space in particular fintech. We have investors and startup founders describe the changes coming up.

Our guests are:

David Johnston, Managing Director, Yeoman's Capital, 01:26
Dave Hendricks, CEO and Founder, Vertalo, 04:36
Christian Kameir, Managing Partner, Sustany Capital, 08:21
Jake Ryan, CIO, Tradecraft Capital, 16:50
Rashad Kurbanov, CEO and Co-founder, iownit.us, 20:00

I hope you enjoy this episode.
________________________________

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 

Music courtesy of Bensound.


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

The best deals have more investors than they need.

So how does an investor gain access to those deals?

Startups choose investors who can provide support beyond the fundraise.

Here are some examples:

  1. Offering specific advice on how to build the business and grow it. 
  2. Make introductions to potential customers, new employees, or needed suppliers.
  3. Help them find office space.
  4. Finally, provide support as a sounding board or an attentive ear. 

As an investor, you can separate yourself from the crowd of investors by offering more than just funding.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: how_to_win_the_best_deals.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes back Jeff Stewart, Co-Founder & Managing Director of GPO Fund.

The GPO team invests in tech-driven, founder-led, North American companies that can harness Asia-Pacific public capital markets to achieve growth, business expansion, and market leadership. Historically, venture capital succeeded by investing early in companies that later went public to access growth capital, establish market leadership and provide ROI.

Over the past twenty years, the U.S. IPO market has shifted focus to mega-cap listings.  Mid-sized companies now rarely attract growth capital through U.S. public offerings.

Venture capital time horizons have elongated to over ten years and M&A and private equity are often the only strategic outcomes, stunting opportunities for companies to realize their full potential. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific economies and investment capital are rapidly expanding. There is a significant demand in Asia-Pacific to invest in high-growth technology companies that can expand globally and list on an APAC exchange. 

Jeff is an investor, serial entrepreneur, and inventor with experience scaling technology-enabled international businesses.  

Jeff began his career as a Management Consultant at Ernst & Young’s Technology Practice, living on the road, advising Global 1000 financial institutions and exchanges. While still in his 20s he started his first technology company. He has since started numerous venture-backed companies, including two companies included in Inc. 500 lists of the fastest-growing companies. In 2014, Jeff’s FinTech start-up was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, and that same year, Jeff was recognized as the William F. Glaser Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year.

Today, Jeff is a Managing Director at the Global Public Offering Fund, which he co-founded in 2018 to invest in founder-led, growth stage, technology companies. 

Jeff shares with Hall what excites him now, what sectors he focuses on, some of his past experiences with startups, and some of the challenges they face.

You can visit GPO Fund at www.gpofund.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/global-public-offering-fund, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/gpofund.   

Jeff can be contacted via email at jeff@gpofund.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/stewartjeffrey/

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Jeff_Stewart_of_GPO_FundUrgent.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

As a startup investor, you will find there are many deals to consider.

In fact, there are too many startups to diligence and pursue.

You want to build quality deal flow channels that meet your criteria and screen out the noise.

Quality sources often have experienced entrepreneurs working on their second and third businesses.

While accelerators, incubators, and universities provide an important function in the startup community, the vast majority of startups from these programs are not ready for investment.  

In most cases, they need at least a year before they are ready for investors.

Emerging tech hubs are good sources for quality startups with minimal noise. 

Online funding portals are becoming the go-to place to find startups.

In your network, you’ll find some investors have developed relationships with professional groups that provide quality startups. 

Set up relationships with these sources to maintain your deal flow. 


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: finding_quality_deals.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Luke Hohmann, CEO & Founder of FirstRoot.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, FirstRoot teaches financial literacy and budgeting - through a process known as Participatory Budgeting - and civics, as kids decide how to invest real money in their school. 

Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which a group of students determines how to invest a shared budget to improve a school.

PB authentically motivates students to learn and practice the “Four Cs” of the 21st Century curriculum: creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration — all while teaching design thinking, civics and jump-starting their journey to increasing financial literacy. Students experience true agency and stewardship over their futures, learning through their own experiences how money really works.

A serial entrepreneur, Luke's last company, Conteneo, was an enterprise software company that helped global companies manage investment portfolios using Participatory Budgeting. Luke is now leveraging the experience he gained working with some of the world's largest companies to help prepare our children for their future by bringing Participatory Budgeting into schools to teach financial literacy, civics, and design thinking.

The author of four books, Luke has been cited as an inventor in more than a dozen patents and is an internationally recognized expert in Agile Software Development.

Luke discusses what led him to start working in the personal finance and personal literacy space, some of the challenges he has faced, and the evolution of the industry.

You can visit FirstRoot at www.firstroot.co, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/firstroot, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/firstrootinc

Luke can be contacted via email at luke.hohmann@firstroot.co, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/lukehohmann, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/lukehohmann.  

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Luke_Hohmann_of_FirstRoot_Inc.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

So how do you know when to pull the trigger and invest in a startup?

After applying the investment thesis, check for the following:

There’s a strong team with integrity, industry knowledge, and business experience.

They have product validation and market validation - the product works and people will pay for it.

They have the prospects for high growth and are demonstrating it at some level now.

Their business is scalable.

They are building a business that other companies will want to buy - eventually.

The potential return is large, so the investor can reach a 44% IRR or better.

Finally, you can help the startup in some way such as finding other investors, providing domain knowledge, or making other meaningful connections for the 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 info@tencapital.group  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Knowing_when_to_invest.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Carl Grant III, EVP of Global Business Development at Cooley.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Cooley is a law practice where clients partner with them on transformative deals, complex IP, regulatory matters, and high-stakes litigation, where innovation meets the law. 

Carl leads Cooley’s business development team firm-wide, which assists clients in connecting with sources of angel investment, venture capital, and private equity. Team members also connect clients with potential management team members, advisors, independent board members, prospective partners, customers, and other value-add members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Due to an overwhelming volume of deal flow and email traffic during the COVID-19 era, Carl co-founded VentureRaise, a LinkedIn-like platform with the specific purpose of helping entrepreneurs identify investors who are a fit and connecting them through trusted referral sources.

Carl hosts a weekly podcast called Rainmakers, which features top business developers across a variety of industries.

Carl previously served as executive director, technology industry for PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest professional services firm where he led the business development in the DC Metro Region and drove unprecedented growth. Prior to joining PwC, he managed the Capital Attraction Program for Fairfax County EDA, an initiative that more than doubled the number of venture capital funds in that county. Immediately before joining Cooley, Carl was on the management teams of two venture capital-backed technology companies in the Northern Virginia area, EYECAST, and cyberCFO. He was also a director in a division of Multimedia, leading up to and through Gannett's $1.7 billion acquisition of the company.

Click here to see Carl’s complete bio.

Carl shares what excites him now, advises entrepreneurs and investors and discusses some of the challenges startups face.

You can visit Cooley at www.cooley.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/cooleyllp/mycompany, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/CooleyLLP

Carl can be contacted via email at cgrant@cooley.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/carlgrant, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/CarlGrant 

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Carl_Grant_III_of_Cooley.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

While there’s a great number of startups looking for funding, the startup investor needs to set up deal-flow sources.

Your personal network is a good place to start. Contact not only investors in your network but also attorneys and accountants who may see deals seeking funding. 

You can join the local angel network in your area or if you are in a specific sector, join one on a national level. 

Your local university may also be a good source of deals.

There are many online platforms available now where you can source deals both general and sector-specific.

Finally, consider starting your own accelerator/incubator or venture studio in which you bring companies together for coaching and mentoring in advance of funding.

This is a great way to see the company in action before you invest.


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

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Where_to_look_for_deals.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Reyn Aubrey, CEO of PocketChange.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, PocketChange is a social media platform created to reverse the chaos created by social media 1.0. They do many things differently, including paying for a donation to charity every time someone posts, likes, or comments on something on the platform. They have reworked content moderation, policy, and have built a community culture that is good. They have launched their platform and have already raised money for angel investors and received press and influencer attention.

Their content moderation has been rebuilt from the ground up to deal with their current divisive social climate. Best of all, the community is filled with people who believe that social media can be better than what it is today.

"Society is more divided, more hateful, and more fed up and frustrated than ever before. Social media 1.0 accelerated this mess, and social media 2.0 can get us out of it." ….Reyn Aubry.

Reyn was named one of the top 25 innovators in Colorado, and his previous consumer products company outsold Walmart and Target in his home state. Now Reyn has shifted his focus to building a massive company that rights the wrongs of social media 1.0, and in the process makes society a better place. 

Reyn is part of the next generation of leaders building the future of social platforms. 

He currently resides in Denver full-time.

Reyn discusses the state of investing in social media, some of the challenges startups face, and some of his plans for PocketChange.

You can visit PocketChange at www.pocket change.social, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/pocketchange, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/PcktChange.  

Reyn can be contacted via email at reyn@pocketchange.social, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/reyn-aubrey, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/reynaubrey

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Reyn_Aubrey_of_PocketChange.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

In analyzing potential investments, it’s important to understand their business model and how well it meets the venture investors’ requirements. 

The business model consists of unit and customer acquisition economics as well as market and business economics.

Unit economics is the cost to provide a product that drives gross margin.  

This determines how much revenue is left to cover the business expenses.  

In general, 40% gross margin should be the floor.

Customer acquisition economics is the cost of acquiring a customer which drives scalability.  

This determines how much you have to spend to grow sales.

In general, your cost of customer acquisition should be ⅓ or less than your average customer revenue.

Market economics is the cost of penetrating a market which will drive fundraising requirements.  

This determines how much funding you have to raise to capture a portion of the market. 

You must show a growth rate of at least 50% year over year to continue raising funding. 

Business economics is the cost of running the business which drives profitability.

This determines how soon you can achieve cash flow positive and no longer have to raise funding to stay alive.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Understanding_business_models.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

This is Investor Perspectives. I’m the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding.

In our new Investor Perspectives series entitled “How to Understand Blockchain”, you’ll hear about primary trends and what makes for a successful company in this segment.

As the COVID pandemic passes, we emerge into a new world. The blockchain space has made tremendous progress in setting up substantial networks and meaningful applications.  Blockchain continues to drive change in the tech space in particular fintech. We have investors and startup founders describe the changes coming up.

Our guests are:

David Johnston, Managing Director, Yeoman's Capital, 01:25
Dave Hendricks, CEO and Founder, Vertalo, 04:08
Christian Kameir, Managing Partner, Sustany Capital, 11:04
Jake Ryan, CIO, Tradecraft Capital, 15:07
Rashad Kurbanov, CEO and Co-founder, iownit.us, 17:40

I hope you enjoy this episode.
_______________________________

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 

Music courtesy of Bensound.

 

 


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

The elevator pitch can do more for you than just give you a short-form pitch.

It boils down your pitch to the bare essence.

This helps you focus on your core value proposition.

It helps you think through your pitch so you can prioritize the most important points.

It gives you messaging to use online through social media and email where the formats lean to the short form.

It gives you the opportunity to show what your product can do.

Specific case studies are often helpful in communicating your value proposition.

The pitch is short which triggers the listener to ask questions to learn more.

The short form makes it easy to drop into conversations and answer questions such as, ‘what does your company do?’

Long-form pitches often provide so much information that the listener can’t identify what your product does and why they should care.

Boiling it down into this format makes it very clear.

 

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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: what_the_elevator_pitch_can_do_for_you.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Jonathan Staenberg, Founder and CEO of Staenberg Venture Partners.

Staenberg Venture Partners is a Seattle-based venture capital firm focused on the technology industry mostly between San Francisco and Seattle.

Early in his career, Jon established several marketing groups at Microsoft. He then joined the senior management team of Virtual i-O, a venture-backed startup, as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In 2003, he joined Rustic Canyon where he continues to serve as an Advisory Partner.

Now, his model is to work as an advisor to those companies and funds he invests in.

Most recently, he advised Rocketship.vc, Blockchain Coinvestors, and Wunderground.com.

Jon has worked with venture-backed companies for over 30 years in several capacities. As an entrepreneur, he’s established five companies, served on the senior management team of several early-stage organizations, and provided venture capital funding to more than 500 start-ups. Jon is one of the more experienced venture capitalists in the Pacific Northwest, having raised four funds totaling over $500 million.

Jon graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, graduating with a B.S., M.A., and M.B.A. While at Stanford, he started and ran two successful companies. Jon grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and is a hardcore Nebraska Cornhusker fan. In his spare time, he collects sports ticket stubs.

Jon shares his thoughts on the current state of startup investing and what he thinks will be the biggest change we will see in five years. He also discusses his investment thesis and advises entrepreneurs and investors.

You can visit Jon at www.staenberg.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jonstaenberg, and via email at jon@staenberg.com

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Jonathan_Staenberg_of_Staenberg_Venture_Partners.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

The elevator pitch is one of the most important pitches you can give.

Here are some key points to remember in delivering your elevator pitch:

Keep it around thirty seconds. 

Practice it to get the timing right.

Use the rest of your time to engage with your audience in questions and answers.

Talk at a normal pace and don’t speed up or rush it.

Rushing shows a lack of confidence in your pitch.

Use a conversational tone so you invite questions and feedback.

Show your passion and let your energy come through.

After you write your pitch, practice it and modify it 'til it’s polished.

Replace the filler words with more descriptive ones.

It’s important to show the problem, the solution, and the benefits. 

Customize your pitch for the audience by focusing on what’s important to them.

It’s okay to have more than one version of the same pitch.

 

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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Delivering_your_elevator_pitch.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Bharat Kanodia, Founder and Chief Appraiser at Veristrat.

Veristrat is a professional services company, headquartered in Pleasanton, California. They provide various valuation and advisory services. Veristrat provides services to value various tangible, intangible, and financial assets for the purposes of financial and tax reporting purposes, fairness opinions, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment, and litigation and dispute resolution.

Bharat has been in business valuation since 2000 and has valued assets in real estate, industrial, personal property, and financial assets including some unique assets such as the Golden Gate Bridge, NYC subway system, Hartsfield Atlanta Airport, and Las Vegas casinos. He has signed off on over 4,500 valuations with $2.6 trillion in assets globally. 

Bharat discusses how he helps startup and growth companies with valuations and the best way to approach valuations. He also advises investors seeking value in early-stage companies that have little to no revenue.

You can visit Veristrat at www.veristrat.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/veristrat-inc, via Twitter at www.twitter.com/whatsitworthtv, and via YouTube at www.youtube.com/c/whatsitworth

Bharat can be contacted via email at bkanodia@veristrat.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/bharat-kanodia-asa.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Bharat_Kanodi_of_Veristrat.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

Today we’ll talk about a rolling close.

Closing a fundraising round can be challenging given the schedules of the investors.

A rolling close is used in a deal that is open to investors who can sign the documents and send in their money on their own schedule.  

This allows the startup to take funding a little at a time throughout the fundraise campaign rather than trying to capture all the checks and signed documents in one go.

This often applies to a convertible note in which the startup raises funding over an extended period of time using the same note.

It works even if the round does not meet its total fundraise objective in which case the company will have to move forward with less funds.

If there’s a minimum amount that must be invested to launch a company, then it’s better to use a single close method. That way the investors have assurance the company has raised enough funding to achieve the objective.  

One variation on this is an initial closing with a rolling close following.


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

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: The_Rolling_Close.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

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

In pitching your startup for funding, you’ll find many opportunities to engage investors.

Not all opportunities will provide substantial time and attention to investors.

Develop an elevator pitch for those times when you have only a few moments to capture the investors’ interest.

Here are some key points to consider:

Start with the problem you are tackling and how big and costly it is.

Make it easy for the investor to grasp what you are doing.

Say what you do in just one sentence.

Investors need context and will find it difficult to follow until they know what you do.

Avoid telling a story in your elevator pitch, as there’s not enough time.

Instead, just give them the conclusion.

Some founders believe the investor can’t understand the startup unless they know the technology or science behind it.

Avoid going into the details of how the product works. Instead, focus in short order on the benefits of it. There will be time later to discuss how it works.

Founders often suffer from the curse of knowledge. 

They know everything about their work and implicitly assume the investor knows more than they actually do.


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  

Music courtesy of Bensound

Direct download: Polishing_your_Elevator_Pitch.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

In this episode, Hall welcomes Gayatri Sarkar, Founder of She-VC and General Partner at Advaita Capital.

She-VC is a media platform that featured $100B+ combined capital of institutional investors championing the diversity, equity, and inclusion for VCs/PE investors. Advaita Capital is a growth activist tech fund focussed on DEI-ESG metrics in venture asset class. 

Gayatri was awarded the Global Leader Under 40 Award for championing diversity and equity inclusion among institutional investors through She-VC, featuring a combined capital of $100B+. She is the GP of a growth activist tech fund focussed on diversity, equity, and broader environmental social governance mandate, a team of experienced partners from top-tier funds from Blackrock’s former CIO, Oppenheimer, and the former COO of the second-largest division of SAC Capital. She serves on the advisory board of large asset management firms and VC fund of funds. 

Gayatri was also the former Managing Partner at a sports platform - the extended family office of an Israeli billionaire family - a former GP of a digital assets fund (acquired), a former Federal Reserve Bank Manager managing US Treasury’s assets for the US Military, Navy and big banks. She started her career as an enterprise tech architect at HP and IBM, managing billion-dollar accounts. Gayatri is a serial entrepreneur who founded a consulting company and a tech startup with AUM $50M. She graduated in Physics, Math, and Economics/Finance and serves on the alumni non-profit board of Harvard Kennedy School NEA. 

Gayatri shares her investment thesis and what excites her now. She also advises investors and entrepreneurs and discusses some of the challenges they face.

You can visit She-VC at www.she-vc.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/she-vc

You can visit Advaita Capital at www.advaitacap.com.

Gayatri can be contacted via email at gayatri@she-vc.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/gayatrisarkar, and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/gs_vcactivist

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Direct download: Gayatri_Sarkar_of_Advaita_Capital.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am CDT

1