Investor Connect Podcast

In this episode, Hall welcomes Avetis Antaplyan, Founder & CEO of HIRECLOUT. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, HIRECLOUT is a technology recruiting and consulting firm focused on building relationships that deliver results. They utilize their proprietary process and a team of recruiters and Client Success Managers to find and deliver top technology professionals with their top technical hi...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Pitching is an important skill in fundraising. Consider these key points in your next pitch: Tell a compelling story, not just any story. Use the pitch deck to communicate the "Why" behind your business. Time is short, so make sure you hit the key points of the business -- team, pro...

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 Solve the Biotech/Life Sciences Problem", you'll hear about growth in the biotech/life sciences segment. As the COVID pandemic passes, we emerge into a new world. The biotech space is now undergoing tremendous...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The process of raising funding brings the startup founder several intangible benefits. Here is a short list: Fundraising forces you to think through your business strategy and articulate it clearly. Investors will challenge your strategy requiring the founder to defend it. The pitch...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Wes Barton, Founder and Managing Partner at Third Prime. Headquartered in New York, New York, Third Prime is a venture capital firm focused on identifying and investing in seed-stage companies that are using technology to develop business models with the potential to disintermediate incumbents within the fintech and proptech sectors. Prior to founding Third Prime, We...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the startup should be doing as much diligence on the investor as the investor is doing on the startup. Start by checking out the portfolio of the investor and making contact with CEOs who have been funded by the investor. Ask the CEO about their experience with t...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Neetu Puranikmath, Early-Stage Investor. Neetu is an experienced investor, operator, and startup advisor. Neetu worked at Alumni Ventures Group as a pre-seed/seed investor where she focused on Fintech and SaaS. Previously, she was Chief of Staff for a Fintech startup and worked in operations at YouTube, Google, and Facebook. She is a former 501(c)(3) founder and has...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In approaching venture capital, it's important to know something about the VC's sweet spot for funding. By reviewing the VC's website, you can see their portfolio. By reviewing their portfolio companies, you can get a sense of the stage and sector of deals they invest in. The best w...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Dr. Eric Tait, Founder and Fund Manager at Vernonville Asset Management (VAM). Vernonville Asset Management is a private investment firm created to provide investors the opportunity to invest in real assets. Their focus is creating and maintaining investor wealth through alternative investment strategies. Returns are generated for their clients by directly investing...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need time-management skills to run a business. Here's a list of key skills successful founders have: Can set up daily routines and repeat them consistently. Can prioritize tasks doing the most important ones first. Can delegate tasks to others when others are better...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Dr. Hector Jirau, Chief Investment Officer at Jirau Capital Management. Headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jirau Capital Management is a scientist-led investment advisory firm at the intersection of breakthrough science providing exposure to the latest advancements in healthcare and innovation. Jirau Capital Management is the first and only investment advisory f...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need strategy skills to run a business. Here's a list of key skills successful startup founders have: Business model design - the founder can review a situation and develop a business model to create a profitable business. Buy vs. build - the founder can decide betw...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Robert Norton, CEO at AirTight Management. Headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, AirTight Management prepares and assists entrepreneurs in launching new companies and products, scale through consulting, and training and coaching to create high-performance cultures. Robert has been a serial entrepreneur since 1989. He has founded and scaled several companies as CEO and...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need problem-solving skills to run a business. Here's a list of key skills to develop: Critical thinking - ability to analyze the key factors around a situation and find the real problem to be solved. Decision-making - ability to choose the right solution and see it...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Tim Marx, Venture Partner at Baird Capital. Baird Capital makes venture capital, growth equity, and private equity investments in strategically targeted sectors around the world. They are value creators who identify exceptional opportunities and partner with senior industry executives to build world-class companies. Their in-depth sector knowledge, deep relationships...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need emotional intelligence skills to run a startup. Emotional intelligence helps the founder control emotions and empathize with others. Here are the key components for building those skills: Self-awareness - this is the ability to know yourself and recognize your...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need to be visionary to run a startup. Vision starts with seeing a business opportunity and applying a solution to solve it. The founder clarifies the vision and shapes it into a platform, product, or application. This informs the founder of all business decisions g...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Kenneth Alan Goodwin, General Managing Partner and Founder at Jeanensis Ventures. Headquartered in New York City, New York, Jeanensis is a capital markets advisory and digital asset management firm that focuses primarily on advising multi-nationals and mid-market firms. Jeanensis has developed its expertise and continues to grow its partnership, alliances and cliente...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need general business skills to run a startup. Here's a list of skills to bring to your startup: Ability to make decisions in a timely manner. Ability to take risks on new ideas, people, and strategies. Ability to communicate in a clear and precise manner. Ability t...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Andrea Belz, Division Director at the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense...". The NSF is vital because they support basic research and people to create...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need management skills to run a startup. Here are some key skills to have: Ability to wear multiple hats at one time since there's not enough revenue to fill every role. Can hire and manage the team members. Ability to set strategy and direction for the team. Can de...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Krishna Srinivasan, Founding Partner at LiveOak Venture Partners. LiveOak Venture Partners is a venture capital fund based in Austin, Texas. With 20 years of successful venture investing in Texas, the founders of LiveOak have helped create nearly $2 billion of enterprise value. While almost all of LiveOak's investments begin at the seed and Series-A stages, LiveOak i...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need to develop leadership skills to run a startup. Here are some key skills to have: Know your market and research the competition well. Demonstrate confidence in difficult situations and be able to make decisions and see them through. Ability to build a strong tea...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Kevin Kaylakie, Founder & CEO at SineCera Capital. Located in Austin, Texas, SineCera Capital is a boutique multi-family office and wealth advisory firm focused on delivering sophisticated investments, independent advice, and trusted relationships to a select group of ultra-high net worth clients. SineCera Capital provides families with access to an ecosystem of solu...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders need conflict management skills to run a startup. Conflicts arise among the team members for the following reasons: They come from differing beliefs and viewpoints. In the short term, the founder can separate the team members to reduce the friction. They also come f...