Investor Connect Podcast

Diligencing the Demand Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In diligencing the demand for a startup's product, here are some key points to check: Is the product a nice to have or a must-have? For customers buying the product, assess their budgets. Do they have deep pockets, or do they have average pockets? Assess their...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Olivia Kim, Principal at GingerBread Capital. GingerBread Capital invests in the next generation of female founders leading high-growth businesses and aims to encourage and support other women in doing the same. They invest across a variety of industries and business models and are generally stage-agnostic, typically investing at the Series A-C st...

Diligencing the Technology Diligencing the Technology In diligencing the technology in a startup, here are some key questions to ask: How many of the tech modules have been completed and how many more must be completed before going to market? Does the technology provide a substantial advantage over the competition? One way to check this is to see if it provides a 10X improvement over the current t...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Gerald Gallagher, Venture Capital Manager at Healthworx. Healthworx is a $100M healthcare fund that operates at the intersection of healthcare and innovation by creating, co-creating, and investing in Series A and B startups to improve healthcare quality, accessibility, and affordability. As the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst of Maryla...

Diligencing the Team Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In diligencing a startup for investment, the team is one of the most critical factors and the one that is most often overlooked by investors. I see investors focus on the product, the market, and the competition and ignore the team assuming every skill is at the...

Sizing the Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In diligencing the market, look for a market that is large and has strong growth potential. If a new technology has spurred the growth of the market, then this may be a good time to invest. Markets that are behind on the latest technology are ripe for growth. The T...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Nasir Ali, Managing Partner at StartFast Ventures. StartFast is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in recurring revenue software businesses outside the major start-up hubs. StartFast Fund II invests at the Seed/A Round stages in B2B SaaS companies. Their geographic focus enables them to invest at attractive valuations; their companie...

The A Team With the B Plan Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In funding startups, look for the A team working on the B plan. In this situation, the team can clearly accomplish the task at hand because they've done it before and the task is not that hard. The opposite of this is the team that has little experience an...

Financial Analysis Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In diligencing a startup, analyze the financial statements to understand the business better. Here are key items to check: Where does the revenue come from? What could stop or halt the revenue? How far is the company from profitability? How much cash is on hand an...

This is the Investor Connect Crowdfunding Launch Program. I'm Hall T Martin, the host of the show, in which we take questions from startups and investors on crowdfunding topics. I hope you enjoy this episode._______________________________ Thank you for joining us for the Investor Connect Crowdfunding Launch Program where we help startups prepare for a fundraise. For more episodes, please visit th...

Business Model Analysis Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The business model shows where the company incurs costs in order to generate revenue. In diligencing a startup, spend some time analyzing the business model to determine how robust and profitable it is. Check the revenue to see how much is recurring, repeatin...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Michael G. Hiles, Founder, and CEO at 10XTS. 10XTS helps capital markets participants leverage the emerging global decentralized capital market infrastructure. Their solutions are built upon XDEX, an institutional-grade asset tokenization platform and network that puts the power of holistic data ownership back into the hands of asset owners, secur...

Due Diligence Mistakes Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are several mistakes one can make in the due diligence process. Here are a few points to check: Focusing on every potential risk in the deal and not the primary risks. In this case, diligence turns into a never-ending slog with no endpoint. Many CEOs are...

The Risks in the Deal Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In diligencing a startup, focus on the key risks. Here's a short list to review: The team -- do they have the skills and will they remain committed to the company? The market -- will the market continue to grow? The competition -- will there be new competitors...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Stefano Gurciullo, Partner at Redstone VC. Redstone is a Berlin-based venture capital firm managing multiple VC funds and working with corporate venture funds. They reinvented corporate venture capital through their VC-as-a-Service model, which connects industry leaders with ambitious founders. Together with their industry partners, they activate...

Risks and Assumptions Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In diligencing a startup, it's important to articulate the risks and the assumptions you have about the startup. Start by identifying the risks in the deal. The team, product, market, technology, and competition are key sources of risk. List out each one and wh...

Key Factors in Diligence Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are several factors to achieve success in running a due diligence process. First, dedicate at least 20 hours to due diligence. Many investors dedicate less than 20 minutes. Share your diligence findings with other investor groups in return for their fi...

This is the TEN Capital AMA show. I'm Hall T. Martin, the host of the show in which we interview investors and founders on current topics. Our guest is: Jeff Eversmann of Long View Technology Ventures 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:...

Form C Disclosures for Crowdfunding Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity crowdfunding is a regulated fundraise by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. A company can raise up to $5M on equity crowdfunding. Anyone can invest. Those who are not accredited investors are limited to $2,200 per year per...

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Bill Flynn, CEO, and Chief Catalyst at Catalyst Growth Advisors. Started in 2016, Catalyst Growth Advisors is based in Boston, MA, and serves leaders worldwide by predicting the future through deliberately creating it, leveraging, and teaching a growth framework largely influenced by the greatest thought leaders in management science - Drucker, De...

What Is Reg CF Crowdfunding? Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Reg CF refers to the SEC regulation for equity crowdfunding. This form of crowdfunding offers the investor an equity stake in the company. By contrast, rewards platforms provide the product to those who provide funding. In equity crowdfunding, the invest...

How Equity Crowdfunding Is Different From Traditional Fundraises Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity crowdfunding is different from traditional fundraises. Here is a list of differences to consider: Traditional fundraises expose your company to accredited investors which is a much smaller group. Equity crowdfun...

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://investorconnect...

Legal Issues in Equity Crowdfunding Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are specific legal issues regarding equity crowdfunding campaigns. Here's a list to keep in mind: The regulations for fundraising are as follows: Reg CF -- SEC designation for an equity crowdfunding raise that lets anyone invest in a startup...

How Long Does It Take to Run an Equity Crowdfunding Campaign? Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In running an equity crowdfunding campaign you'll need to budget time to prepare for the campaign as well as run it. Preparations include applying to launch a fundraise campaign. This requires completing a Form C and sett...