Investor Connect Podcast

Overcoming Sales Call Anxiety Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups raising funding need to show a growth story. Investors look for traction and momentum in businesses to fund. The ability to sell the product is a key skill for early-stage founders. Some founders are not good at selling and have sales call anxi...

Building a Moat Into a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups in the early days have little to protect the business beyond intellectual property. As the company grows, the startup can build a stronger moat. Here are some key steps for building a moat into a startup: Network effects -- grow the network wi...

How To Build a Capital-Efficient Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors look for capital-efficient businesses to invest in. Founders looking to raise funding should first consider building a capital-efficient startup. Here are some key steps to building a startup that is capital-efficient: Look for a bu...

Key Sales Metrics To Look For Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In reviewing startups, here are the key metrics investors should look for: Annual contract value -- the value the customer spends on the product in one year. This needs to be a meaningful amount of money in order to grow a startup. Customer lifetime val...

How To Get the Most out of a Pitch Session Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. For those setting up a pitch session, here are the key steps so the presenter and investor get the most out of it. Decide the goal of the pitch session. This could be providing practice for the presenter, or giving feedback on the pitch, or...

In this episode, Hall Martin and Kat DelGaudio host a Ten Capital investor education session highlighting how Ten Capital connects growth startups with accredited investors through relationship-driven events and coaching, and they point attendees to tenthcapital.group/events and a QR code for startups seeking to raise. Hall introduces Ava, Ten Capital's AI venture assistant on startupfundingespres...

Fundraising Is a Sales Process Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Fundraising is a sales process. Consider these steps in setting up your fundraiser: First, build the investor documents, including pitch deck, terms sheet, and data room. In fundraising, you are selling equity in your company. This is the same as a bro...

Product Launch Strategy Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso—your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders often mistake their pitch deck for their product launch strategy. But the two serve different goals. The pitch is meant to raise capital — the launch is meant to earn trust. A strong product launch strategy doesn't just announce features. It builds a na...

Finding an Investor Is Like Finding a Date Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders looking for investors face the same challenge as those looking for a date. Just as in the dating world, both the investor and the startup exaggerate their strengths. Some don't know exactly what they want from the other. Just as th...

What Investors Want To Know About Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders raising funding should consider what investors want to know about their startup. Here are some key points to make before the meeting: Show how your startup fits the investment thesis of the investor. This should include how it...

Common Mistakes With Investor Introductions Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders raising funding need introductions to investors. Here are some common mistakes introducers make with investor introductions. Lack of information Most founders ask for an introduction but fail to provide enough information for the...

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Zach Holman of Signed, a former GitHub engineer and advisor, who shares how he moved into advising and angel investing and what he looks for in early-stage companies, emphasizing the importance of team, culture, ambition, and market. Zach discusses how AI is changing startup building by making it easier for small or even solo teams to ship product an...

Hiring the Team for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. After fundraising comes building the team. The core team may already be in place, but growth will demand new hires. Here are some key points in hiring the team for your startup: Have your high-performing team members interview new candidates. The hig...

How To Become a VC Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Venture capital is a job that many aspire to hold. It's challenging, but it provides great experiences. For those who want to become a venture capitalist, there are several paths. Start by working in a startup in a sales role. Some of the most effective VCs are th...

Starting With the Beachhead Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors look for large target markets that are growing well. Founders looking to launch a startup often look for huge problems to solve. Since startups are limited in their resources, they must find a way to solve a large problem with few people...

How To Screen a Startup for Investment Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors looking for startup investments need to screen deals efficiently. Here's a set of criteria to apply to startups before pursuing diligence. Check the team. Do they know what they are doing? Do they have the skills to achieve the goal?...

How To Scale a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the early days of a startup, the founder seeks to build and sell a product. In the later days, the founder seeks to scale the business. Here are several ways to scale a startup: Raise funding to fuel the scaling strategy. This could be a substantial amount...

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome John Kim, Managing Director at Aphelion Capital, a healthcare-focused venture firm investing in early and mid-stage medical device and digital health companies. John shares Aphelion's evolution from an evergreen, medical-device-only strategy to a stronger focus on cardiovascular and brain health, including a mission-aligned fund built with the Americ...

How To Write a Press Release for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Press releases can help the startup gain exposure in the marketplace. This helps recruit employees, find customers, and attract investors. Founders can do this upon closing a round of funding. Here are the steps to write a press release...

Steps To Build an MVP Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Building an MVP is a part of almost every founder's work. Here are the key steps to build an MVP. Most founders build an MVP and then talk to users. Instead, talk to users first and then build the MVP. Take into account the users' feedback. Release the initial...

The Challenges of the Startup Life Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The startup life brings many challenges. It's not for the faint of heart. It will demand the best of you and will test you often. Here are some key challenges in the startup life: Most founders have co-founders to deal with. Maintaining the relatio...

Finding New Startup Ideas Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. When finding new startup ideas, start with your own interests in mind. Look for solutions to problems or challenges you face. Here are the steps to finding new startup ideas from your own experiences: Choose a problem that is a major pain point. Skip the ca...

Customize the Fundraise for the Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the founder will find that investors vary in their approach to the startup's fundraise. Some will want a valuation set while others just want to be in the deal. Some will invest because of the team, others because of the p...

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Jeffrey Stewart, Managing Director at GPO Fund, who shares his global IPO thesis and why he believes capital markets are undergoing their biggest structural shift since 2000, driven by globalization, technology, demographics, geopolitics, and regulation. Jeffrey explains how companies staying private too long can create brittle capital structures, ma...

Key Characteristics of Fundable Founders Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors funding startups look for founders who have the right characteristics for success. Here's a list of key characteristics of fundable founders: Grit is top of the list. Launching and running a startup is hard work and takes years to s...