Investor Connect Podcast

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Robert Samuelsen, President and CEO at SmallStart Ventures. SmallStart Ventures identifies high-potential entrepreneurs and provides a structured launchpad for their small business dreams. SmallStart Ventures expects to add $315.9M to GDP and 5,500 jobs to the economy. A study published in the International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies c...

Key Terms in Impact Investing Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are key terms used in the impact investing world. Here is a list of the ones to know: Below market rate -- an impact investment made with the expectation that the financial return will be less than the market rate of a startup's investment. Charit...

What Is Impact Investing? Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Impact investing is an investment in startups that can generate a social or environmental impact in addition to a financial return. It can be done anywhere and at any stage of business. Impact investing includes not only angel investors, but also family off...

Venture Fund Defaults Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In a market recession, it's often the case that limited partners - called LPs - are unable to fulfill their capital commitments to venture funds. For venture funds encountering this issue, the first step is to open a dialog with the LPs about the capital needs...

This is the Investor Connect KiwiTech 2022 podcast series. In this series, we discuss trends and topics in the startup world. I hope you enjoy this episode. ========================================== Thank you for joining us for the Investor Connect KiwiTech 2022 podcast series. For more episodes, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://inves...

Payback Period for the Product Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors look for strong margins on a startup's product as it's a positive indicator of customer interest and a profitable business. One way to metric this is the payback period for your product. It's the amount of time it takes for a customer to repa...

How to Improve Your Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Valuation is a negotiation and not just a formula. Here are some key points to improve your valuation: Highlight the team and their contributions to the business. The team is often no more than one slide in the deck and rarely does their value come acro...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Henry Lopez, Managing Partner at Levante Business Group, and Host of the How of Business podcast. Levante Business Group provides business consulting and services and is the producer of the How of Business podcast. The How of Business is a weekly show for aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners. If you are looking for actionable...

Using Metrics in Your Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Metrics can help drive the valuation for your startup fundraise. Here is a list of key metrics to include: Number of visitors to your website and their conversion to paying customers. The higher the conversion rate, the lower the cost of sales and the...

Maximizing Your Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Valuation is a negotiation and not a formula. While there are formulas and rules of thumb to help determine valuation, it comes down to positioning and negotiating. Here are some key points to maximize your valuation: Emphasize the team and show what they a...

Justifying a Startup Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup valuations differ from standard valuations in that they don't solely rely on expected cash flows, book value, or other tangible aspects of the business. Intangibles such as quality of the team, intellectual property, product status, and custome...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Alejandra Slatapolsky, Co-founder at Scalto and host of The Biz of Wealth podcast. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Miami, Florida, Scalto knows how hard it is for service-based businesses to attain real scalability; exponentially increasing revenues without incurring significant costs. They are here to help Hispanic and Latin American B2B ser...

Calculating Forward Multiples Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Valuations for software companies with recurring revenue are calculated using forward revenue multiples. While revenue is the primary factor in calculating the multiple, some companies can increase it by demonstrating excellence in other areas. Use thes...

5X Rule of Post Money-Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. As an investor reviewing deals, you'll hear a wide range of startups with various fundraises and pre-money valuations. So, how can you screen the deals to find those who have 'reasonable' valuations? Try the 5X rule. The 5X rule says to take the post-...

How to Make Your Data Valuable Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups can make their business more valuable if they collect data and turn it into a revenue-generating product. Many startups providing a service can collect data about the process, the customer, the market, and more. Raw data is not of value. It mu...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Khalil Shalabi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Wyth. Headquartered in Lemont, Illinois, and founded in 2018, Wyth is a new carpool and rideshare app and service exclusively for university students. It is a closed-loop system, whereby drivers and riders are from the university community (i.e.. students, faculty, or staff) making it a safer...

Startup Valuation Roadmaps Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors setting a valuation should review the cap table to understand how future rounds will cause dilution. A cap table tracks each shareholder and the amount of equity they own including the pre and post-money valuations. Key factors to consider are th...

How to Negotiate Valuation With a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The key to negotiating the valuation for a startup is to find and examine each value that is already in the business, as well as each value that must be built to achieve a successful exit. Start with the team and check to see how many of the...

Minimum Information an Investor Should Receive Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. After closing an investment round, the startup should set up a monthly report to the investors. Here's a list of information to send an investor: Customer wins -- list out key sales successes. Celebrate every win. Key metrics -- show th...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Daran Herrman, CEO at Goboto and the Host of Establishing Your Empire Podcast. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and founded in 2018, Goboto is a full-service marketing company with 100+ clients all over the world including China, Australia, UK, Indonesia, Singapore, and Kansas. Clients range from nonprofits that provide life- saving heart surgery (...

Investor, Advisor, Mentor, Board Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are four ways someone can help a startup outside of becoming an employee. You can be an investor, an advisor, a mentor, or a board member. As an investor, you can fund the startup. As an advisor, you can guide the founder on strategy and make i...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Dan Gonzales, Executive Producer and Host of Startup Mindsets Podcast. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, and founded in 2020, Startup Mindsets has interviewed more than 50 entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and innovation leaders since April 2020 and has inspired people to take entrepreneurial action across the world. Week in and week o...

What You Should Do After You Sign the Check Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. An investor does a great deal of work before the investment is made and must also do work afterward. Here are some key points to consider: As an investor, you need to maintain contact with the startup. Make sure there's control over the co...

Nine Types of Angel Investors Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are many types of angel investors. Here are nine types commonly seen in the startup community: Networkers -- they know a great number of people and can make introductions to them. They are helpful in finding more investors as well as team members...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Scott (Shalom) Klein, Host of the Get Down to Business radio show and podcast. Dr. Scott (Shalom) Klein is a well-regarded community activist and entrepreneur. Shalom is a published author who hosts the popular "Get Down to Business" radio show in Chicago and serves as an Officer in the US Army Reserves (Military Police) as well as the Chairman of...