Investor Connect Podcast

Milestone Your Valuation Caps Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In strategizing your fundraising, it's best to break your raise into tranches. Most raises start with a Convertible Note or SAFE Note so one uses a valuation cap rather than the actual valuation. Give the first tranche an investor-friendly valuation cap...

You're Too Early for Us Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders raising funding will often hear an investor say 'You're too early for us.' Many founders believe the investor may be a candidate for a future raise. In reality, most investors who say you're too early are actually saying, it's a pass. Experie...

Keep Going Till the Money Is in the Bank Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In fundraising, the deal is not done till the money is in the bank. Many founders stop their fundraise when an investor says, "I'm in." It's important to continue the fundraising process even though you may have commitments to cover your rais...

Fundraise Closing Rate Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In sales, the average close rate of prospects is 5% to 10%. This often seems low to first-time salespeople who view their product as superior to the competition. There are many reasons why customers don't buy the product. These include the lack of budget, inab...

Research Your Investors Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Just as investors do research on the startup so the founder should do research on the investors. Research includes both primary and secondary research. Primary research comes from talking with the investors' portfolio companies and other investors. Ask the fo...

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall T. Martin is joined by Christopher Ezold, a partner at Wisler Pearlstine, a law firm based in Pennsylvania that specializes in business, employment, and corporate law. Christopher shares insights into the complexities surrounding non-compete agreements and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), especially as they pertain to startups and the investment landscape...

Demonstrate Credibility With Investors Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding either as a startup looking for investors or a VC fund manager looking for Limited Partners, it's important to demonstrate credibility. Investors love to be educated on a market segment. There are over 200 market segments in...

Identify a Champion in the Group Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding look for those who believe in your project and believe in you. Don't spend too much time with those who don't. In a group identify a champion who can galvanize others to action. This is sometimes a lead investor and other times it'...

You Need To Have Thick Skin Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the fundraising process, the startup founder will hear 'no' many times from investors. For the founder, this can be painful as the startup is their baby. Investors will say 'no' often and in many different ways. Some articulate it in words while others...

It Takes Seven Touches Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. It takes seven touches to close a sale. So it takes seven touches to close an investor. In the selling process, one starts by generating awareness of their solution with the prospective customer. So in fundraising, one generates awareness with the investor tha...

Recruit an Expert To Help With the Fundraise Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the fundraising process, the first-time founder is at a great disadvantage. Investors and other startup founders have experience raising funding. The investors have seen many startups, founders, and deal structures. They have the exper...

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall Martin hosts Angela Lee, founder of 37 Angels, a community designed to activate investors through comprehensive training with a mission to diversify angel investing. Angela shares her background as a former entrepreneur and a Columbia Business School professor, highlighting that 37 Angels seeks to bridge the gap for those transitioning from entrepreneurs t...

Highlight the Investors Who Are Already in the Deal Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In a fundraising round, many investors do not want to go first. In fact, most investors want to be the last one to join the round as the risk of not closing is very low. In raising funding, highlight the investors who are already i...

Show You Are Thinking About the Exit Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, founders should show investors that they are thinking about the exit. While no one can predict the outcome the investors want to know you are building a company that can be sold for a high price. This means the business will h...

Tell the Story Why This Will Work Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In pitching, many founders focus on how the product works or how the technology performs. In life science, the founder most often focuses on how biology works. It's more important to tell why the business will work rather than how the technology wor...

Show the Support for Your Fundraise Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding from investors show the support for your fundraiser. In addition to talking about the amount invested so far, call out the interest and committed funds. If an investor indicates they are thinking about investing $50K, then that'...

Use Incentives To Attract Early Investors Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Incentives can entice investors to join the round. In the early days of the raise, you may want to offer warrants to investors to come in early. Warrants give the investor the right to buy stock in a specified price range. One could offer tw...

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall T. Martin engages in a detailed conversation with Enzi from South Africa, who is trying to raise funds for a significant construction project in the U.S. The discussion begins with Enzi explaining his vision to make housing affordable and sustainable, incorporating key features like clean water, clean energy, and efficient sewage removal. Enzi is currently...

Update the Investors on the Fundraise Progress Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding it's important to build a list of prospective investors and keep them updated on the progress. After you pitch an investor, add them to a list for updates. It takes seven touches to close a sale so it takes seven touc...

Creating Scarcity in Your Fundraise Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In structuring your fundraise it's important to design scarcity into it for the investors. If you have one raise at a relatively high valuation then there's no incentive for investors to come in sooner. Most will wait to come in later after they s...

How To Handle Toxic Customers Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Toxic customers can ruin employee morale and distract them from their work. Here are some steps to handle a toxic customer: Remind the customer of the company's policies and what the engagement entails. It's sometimes the case that the customer thinks t...

Signs of a Toxic Customer Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Just as founders, employees, and board members can be toxic, so can your startup's customers. Here are some signs that one of your customers is toxic. They take advantage of your generosity. Toxic customers push you to the limit and beyond. They can't make...

Signs of a Toxic Board Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Just as employees can be toxic to the company, so can the board. Here's a list of signs that your board may be toxic: The board breaks their non-disclosure agreements and discusses confidential information with outsiders. The board members put their own agenda...

In this episode, Hall T. Martin, CEO and founder of TEN Capital, shares his journey from starting three angel networks to creating the Texas Entrepreneurs Network, which eventually became TEN Capital. Hall discusses his early experiences in angel investing, noting the challenges startups face in finding investors, particularly in Texas. He explains how his thesis led him to identify pockets of ang...

Toxic Board Members Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups form boards to guide and direct the company. Some board members can be problematic. Here are the signs a board member is toxic: Their ego outweighs their fiduciary duty to look out for the best interests of the company. They bully others to get their own...