Investor Connect Podcast

In this episode, Hall welcomes Trey Addison, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Nascent Group Holdings (NGH). Nascent Group Holdings is a Columbus, Ohio-based, hybrid, private equity and venture capital firm that invests in the Midwest's most promising game-changers. Since 2016, NGH has operated with a vision to help people and create opportunities in the energy, technology, real estate and manufact...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. I'm often asked how long it will take to raise a round of funding. It will take you one calendar year for every million dollars you are raising, that's if you are working on it full-time. If you are part-time, then it will take longer. You'll need approximately two months to prepare...

In a follow-up to our recent episode featuring Optios' CEO David Bach, M.D., today Hall welcomes both David and Paul Sajda, Ph. D. professor at Columbia University to discuss the science behind Optios. Optios is a leader in the rapidly-emerging neuro-­performance industry. Based on more than a decade of work at DARPA, hundreds-of-millions of dollars of proprietary research, and close partnerships...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Raising a fund is hard. Aside from sales, this is one of the hardest things to do in a startup. Here are a few points to remember in your fundraise: Build relationships first and find investors second. Divide your raise into tranches and give yourself a reasonable timeline for each...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Kevin Keck, President of J.J. Pfister Distilling Company. With its headquarters in Sacramento, California, J. J. Pfister is a fast-growing premium craft spirit producer in Sacramento that produces top-quality spirits. The company has been well established and has incredibly effective sales and marketing strategies. The J.J. Pfister story spans more than 150 years, be...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. If you are pitching to a close friend or family member, you can use an informal approach to ask them for money. Explain what your startup does in just a sentence or two, and tell the story of how you came up with the idea. Keep it brief. Describe how your product or service works. S...

In this episode, Hall welcomes David Bach, MD, CEO and Founder of Optios. Optios is a leader in the rapidly-emerging neuro-­performance industry. Based on more than a decade of work at DARPA, hundreds-of-millions of dollars of proprietary research, and close partnerships with the world's most elite organizations, Optios' guiding mission is to build an intellectual framework and platform that suppo...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. I often see CFOs and board members give the investor pitch instead of the CEO. In an emergency this is okay, but by and large, the CEO should be giving the pitch. The investors want to size up the CEO and know who is running the business. I find the CEO stand-ins can deliver the inf...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Reagan Rodriguez, Founder & Chief Volunteer Officer at WORTHYdomes. WORTHYdomes designs and manufactures sustainable long-term dome structures providing near-immediate housing relief in hard-hit areas. The domes are easy-to-assemble dwellings that can be erected in one hour by a team of two unskilled laborers allowing for entire communities to re-stabilize speedily a...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In pitching an investor, the key presenter is the CEO. While board members, CFOs, and others can make the pitch, that's a second-best choice. The investor wants to meet the CEO and size them up for their communication skills, passion for the project, and expertise in the domain. An...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Adam Weiler, CEO of Sunken Stone. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sunken Stone is a turnkey performance-based Amazon marketing solution that handles everything from marketing, to brand launch, content, inventory, and customer service on the platform. Sunken Stone's proven four-pillar process gives sellers the ability to dramatically increase sales and ROI wit...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Most of the work in a standard board meeting are perfunctory duties such as approving minutes and reviewing financials and metrics. The board also weighs in on key decisions around fundraising, strategy, and other topics. Board members will discuss whatever you put on the agenda. Ma...

This is Investor Perspectives, I'm the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding. In this episode, you'll hear about a new company in the gifting sector called Gesture. Our featured guests are Paul Capon, Managing Partner & Portfolio Manager at LunaCap Ventures, as well as Ivan Alo and LaDante McMillon, Managing Partners at New Age Capital, all in...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Board members are a key part of a growing startup. Building out the board is an important step in setting up the company for success. Here are some characteristics of an ideal board member: They come prepared to the meetings having read the material and done their research. They hav...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The board is a key part of the team that makes the startup successful. When you are in the early stage, using family and friends funding creates an informal advisory board. Try and meet with them monthly in a coffee shop and keep it to three members. After you launch your product an...

In this episode, Hall welcomes back Sajol Ghoshal, CEO & President at Advanced TeleSensors/Cardi/o. Cardi/o is the first-to-market touchless cardiac sensing solution, making in-home health & wellness accessible to over 100 million people. Cardi/o makes everyday health and wellness monitoring accessible in the home to all ages, independent of any wearable device. Cardi/o patent protected radar trea...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. You may want to add independent board members to your board. The independent board member may add value to your company by bringing domain knowledge and operating expertise. Look for someone who has run a company of your size and industry in the not-too-distant past. The independent...

In this episode, Hall welcomes back William Santana Li, Chairman and CEO of Knightscope. Knightscope builds Autonomous Security Robots in Silicon Valley (Made in the USA!) and their long-term ambition is to make the United States of America the safest country in the world, changing everything for everyone. Their vision is to develop a technology stack to predict and prevent crime utilizing autonom...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. So, what is a board observer? In general, the board observer is just that, an observer. Someone who listens to the discussion but doesn't actively participate unless called on to join in. Some investors negotiate a 'board observer' position as part of their investment so they can mo...

This is Investor Perspectives, I'm the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding. In this episode, you'll hear about a new company in the gaming sector called acQyr eXchange. Our featured guests are Mike Lambert and David Sterling, key investors in acQyr eXchange, and Jim Mulford, President and CEO & Founder of acQyr eXchange. acQyr eXchange is th...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Board meetings are important for gaining input and advice on how to run the business. To get the most out of your board meeting, start with an objective for the meeting including agenda and preparation documents such as financials. It's helpful to get feedback from the participants...

In this episode, we welcome Beau Flowers, Chief Executive Officer of Flowtex Energy. Flowtex Energy is an Austin, Texas independent oil & gas producer. They maximize the unique tax benefits and tremendous cash-on-cash returns available through private oil & gas production. Utilizing today's science and technology, they have built a track record of success that their investing partners appreciate a...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Board members can help the company in many ways. Here's a list of potential support: They can help recruit employees for the company as many board members have extensive networks They can help with the fundraise as they know investors They can help with strategy since most will come...

This is Investor Perspectives, I'm the host of Investor Connect, Hall T Martin, where we connect startups and investors for funding. In this episode, you'll hear about a new company in the software development sector called ping. Our featured guests are Ryan Brown, early investor in ping, Barrie Arnold, Co-Founder & CRO of ping, and Garin Toren, CEO & Founder of ping. Headquartered in New York, pi...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups with product-market fit that are generating revenue should consider installing a board. The board of directors provides oversight for the company. Early-stage boards should have an audit and compensation committee. The audit committee sets the policy regarding the finances...