Investor Connect Podcast

In this episode, Hall welcomes Ben Mackay, Principal at Evolve Capital. Based in Dallas, Texas, Evolve Capital is a private equity firm focused exclusively on leveraged recapitalizations of entrepreneurial businesses. They provide entrepreneurs with liquidity upfront and also upon exit through their retained equity stake. In between, they provide professional management and a strong partnership, w...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. As an investor, you can often see warning signs of trouble in small ways before they become full-blown in the startup. Here are some of them: The CFO quits unexpectedly The paychecks to employees bounce and it's called an "accounting error" Information from the CEO becomes limited a...

In this episode, Hall welcomes back Mike Smerklo, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures and author of "Mr. Monkey and Me". "In Mr. Monkey and Me, Smerklo draws on his broad range of experiences and mistakes as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Using lessons he learned from renowned entrepreneurs, he developed the SHAPE formula — Self, Help, Authenticity, Persistence and Exp...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In running a startup, it's important to focus on the essentials of the business. In your strategy planning, identify the Must-Dos. The Must-Dos have to get done. Beware of the Nice-to-Haves. If you hear yourself saying "wouldn't it be nice if we did this?", it most likely will be ta...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Running a startup is hard work. The team must work long hours and often at low pay. This can wear down the team. The CEO should monitor the employees for burnout. Burnout can be caused by several factors: Work overload -- too much work and too little time to do it leaves employees f...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Martin Saenz, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Bequest Funds. Headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, Bequest Funds operates multiple residential mortgage funds designed to provide consistent income for qualified investors. The fund purchases and owns a diversified portfolio of income-producing mortgages. They purchase performing mortgages at a significant discount whi...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups seek to grow as fast as possible. One of the key barriers to growth is the Sales Learning Curve. This learning curve is a combination of the product, marketing and sales working together to create customer acquisition and product-delivery system that achieves scale and can...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Tom Wallace, Managing Partner at Florida Funders. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Florida Funders is a hybrid between a venture capital fund and an angel investor network that discovers, funds and builds early-stage technology companies in Florida. They exist to evolve Florida from the Sunshine State to the Startup State by ensuring there is as little friction as po...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In launching your startup, you'll need to determine which sales channel is best for your business. The sales channel is how you reach prospects and then turn them into customers. Most first-time startup founders envision a channel and then assume that's the best path. Experienced fo...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Jonathan Spangler, CEO & Founder of Ciari Guitars. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Ciari Guitars is the creator of the Ascender, the world's first pro-play, gig-ready guitar with foldable convenience. It is also the only guitar company approved for in-airport experiential marketing via the "Music Oasis" free guitar lounge. A concealed lever "detensions" the s...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Choosing a co-founder is an important step in launching your startup. Consider these points before finalizing your decision: First, understand what are the businesses' needs and what skills must be recruited. In the early stages of the startup, you need a complete team -- someone bu...

In today's show, you'll hear investor perspectives on COVID-19's impact on the CPG sector. This is Investor Perspectives, I'm the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding. It's the time of COVID-19. The consumer product goods space is currently undergoing tremendous change across the U.S. The lockdown has disrupted the supply chain, manufacturing...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In planning your startup, consider the challenge you will have in converting users from their current solution to your solution. Customers don't move to a new product because it's 10% better. They move because it's 10X better. Make sure you are positioning your startup to be competi...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Rick Grinnell, Founder and Managing Partner at Glasswing Ventures. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Glasswing Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in the next generation of AI and frontier technology startups that are enabling the rise of the intelligent enterprise. They are laser-focused on funding exceptional entrepreneurs who are leadin...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Pricing the product or service is a key step in running a startup. There are four pricing strategies to choose from: Premium pricing is a price at the upper end of the scale and is used to attract higher-end users. The profit margins are greater here. Low-cost pricing is a price at...

In today's show, you'll hear investor perspectives on COVID-19's impact on the CPG sector. This is Investor Perspectives, I'm the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding. It's the time of COVID-19. The consumer product goods space is currently undergoing tremendous change across the U.S. The lockdown has disrupted the supply chain, manufacturing...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. I often see founders begin work on their startup by building out their tech platform. Customers will come later they say. I recommend starting with the customer and have them guide you through to the tech platform you need. In the early days, hire a few people to run the process man...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Akhilesh Pathipati, Partner at MVM Partners. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, MVM Partners has been a life science investment fund for more than 20 years and invests broadly across the healthcare sector, including medical technology, specialty pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, life science tools, and digital health. MVM has a global perspective on healthcare and m...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Most startups envision a product and then proceed to build out an MVP. After they polish it enough they may show it to a customer. In some cases, they try and take it all the way to a finished product because they want to show completeness to a customer. A customer should be involve...

In today's show, you'll hear investor perspectives on the COVID-19 impact on the SaaS sector. This is Investor Perspectives, I'm the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding. It's the time of COVID-19. Software as a Service is currently undergoing tremendous change across the U.S. The lockdown has disrupted many industries such as travel, hospita...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The Venture Capital method of valuation uses a discounted cash flow combined with a multiples-based valuation. The valuation takes into account cash flows in a best case, medium case, and worst-case scenario. It then uses an industry multiple to set the anticipated sell price. The c...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Annette Finsterbusch, President & CEO of EnPower, Inc. Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, EnPower is focused on developing scalable, engineering-based innovations that unlock the full potential of lithium-ion, high energy density cells with their patented electrode architectures deliver 3X faster charging, 70% more power, and longer service life than today's best batterie...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The CEO must operate in two modes: managing and leading. As a manager, the CEO must define the strategy, recruit the team, and set goals for the company. This requires strong organizational skills. As a leader, the CEO must set the vision, motivate the team, and create a culture. Th...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Alex Suarez, Co-founder and Chief Legal Officer at Door Capital Partners, LLC and Managing Partner at Suarez Law Group. Door Capital Partners is a private equity firm investing in hospitality assets to increase its revenue and value through efficient management and a passionate vocation to service to their guests. Suarez Law Group provides strategic legal advice to c...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Companies with a strong culture do better with investors, customers, and employees. Building a company culture is the long game, not a short one. From the beginning, focus on instilling core values into the business. As you recruit new team members, they too will have an impact on t...