Investor Connect Podcast

In this episode, Hall welcomes Doug Smith, CEO and Lead Investor at Hawthorne Funds. Hawthorne Funds is a Houston-based private equity firm that couples Doug Smith's funds with those of other investors to purchase, subdivide and sell large rural tracts of land in Texas. Their unique approach to adding value during the holding and disposition process gives them a competitive advantage that generate...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Terms sheets can be founder-friendly or investor-friendly. The terms sheet provides terms in favor of the founder over the investor or vice versa. Here's how you can tell which one you have. In a founder-friendly terms sheet: There is no expiration date on the investment offer The o...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In negotiating a terms sheet, there are several key elements to keep in mind. Valuation is the biggest hurdle as it sets equity ownership. Key terms that often come into play include the following: Liquidation preferences - if the investors feel the pre-money valuation is too high,...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Greg Thomas, Managing Director of 375 Park Associates. Headquartered in New York with affiliates in Asia, Europe, and the U.S., 375 Park Associates is a strategic growth advisory firm which helps private equity firms overcome challenges in their portfolio. Their partners and associates have closed transactions in the U.S. and abroad, ranging from US$10 million to US$...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. When I ask startups how much they are raising for investment, they often quote their total raise for the life of the startup. We then talk about breaking the raise into smaller rounds so the founder doesn't have to spend too much time on the fundraise process. Here's some guidance o...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Ellen Weber, Executive Director at Robin Hood Ventures. Robin Hood Ventures is a group of angel investors, focused on early-stage, high-growth companies in the Greater Philadelphia region. They help entrepreneurs build great companies, providing capital, mentoring, expertise, and connections, to help companies reach their potential. Robin Hood generally invests $250k...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In determining your raise amount, consider what you need for the next 18-24 months and focus on that window rather than the entire life of the company. Raise enough to accomplish the goals for that timeframe. Consider any revenue you currently have coming in and by how much it will...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Brendan Nugent, CEO of Adrenaline. Adrenaline is the leading online supplier of awesome and unique gifts and they have sought out life-defining experiences for their clients for over 8 years. Adrenaline connects experience seekers and gift-givers with over 1,300 heart-pumping things to do across the United States. The company enables real-time booking of experiences...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. I often hear investors say if the company just had revenue then the risk would be gone. But once the startup achieves revenue, the next stage of risk comes up - will they be able to grow that revenue? There's a risk for the investor at each stage of startup funding. At the seed stag...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups raising funding should keep track of their cap table which shows who has ownership in the business. If you have one, make sure to keep it up to date. If you don't have one, then here are the steps to set up your cap table. Identify all the founders and equity owners in the...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Depreciation represents the reduced value of assets. Each asset in your business has its own useful lifetime. Based on that useful lifetime, one can expense a portion of the value each year over the life of that asset. Depreciation goes on the profit and loss statement and also impa...

In today's show, you'll hear investor perspectives on the COVID-19 impact on the chronic pain market. 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 healthcare industry is overwhelmed with patients from the pandemic. Medical conditions such as chronic pain continue to grow due to th...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Your financial projections will be important for your fundraise. Banks will want to see your projections when you apply for a loan. And investors will want to see them as well when you raise equity funding. There are two basic forms of capital: debt and equity. Debt is in the form o...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Operating expenses are the day to day expenses a business incurs. They support the operational side of the business covering sales, marketing, product development, and administration. These expenses include legal, digital marketing, payroll for employees, accounting, rent, insurance...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. For later-stage startups with revenue, one can use the financial projections to estimate the company's valuation for fundraising purposes. Discounted cash flows, called the DCF method, values the company based on future cash flow projections. This weights the value of the company on...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Shawn Singh, Chief Executive Officer & Director at VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. Located in South San Francisco, California, known as the "Birthplace of Biotech", VistaGen Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new-generation medications for anxiety, depression, and other central nervous system, or "CNS," diseases and disorders where curr...

In this episode, Hall welcomes back Shawn Flynn, Head of Incubation and Managing Director of Business Development at TechCode Accelerator - U.S. Shawn is also the host of The Silicon Valley Podcast. Located in Sunnyvale, California, TechCode Accelerator - U.S. is a global innovation service operator focusing on helping technology startups scale up, and integrating global innovation resources. Shaw...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Your financial statements will generate a wealth of metrics on your business. Investors want to know these metrics - also called KPIs - which stands for Key Performance Indicators. You can use the metrics to also manage the business and identify new opportunities for growing your sa...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In preparing your financial projections, you'll need to account for investments into assets, also called capital expenditures. These include real estate, intellectual property, equipment, facilities, and buildings. Assets also include computers, servers, and office equipment. Assets...

In this episode, Hall welcomes back Jef Sharp, CEO of Qnect. Located in Hadley, Massachusetts, Qnect is an intelligent, cloud-based connection app that gives fabricators, detailers, and engineers fast and flexible connections with significant cost and schedule savings. In minutes, users can connect most steel buildings without capital cost and with minimal initial training. Two important benefits...

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Working capital is the capital you need to run the daily operations of the business and includes anything that can be converted to cash. This includes cash, accounts receivables, and inventory. Accounts payable reduces your working capital as you must pay it out each month. Payment...

In today's show, you'll hear investor perspectives on the COVID-19 impact on the chronic pain market. 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 healthcare industry is overwhelmed with patients from the pandemic. Medical conditions such as chronic pain continue to grow due to th...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Dr. Amit Mehta, Partner at Builders VC. With headquarters in both the U.S.A. and Canada, Builders VC believes it takes more than great technology to fix an antiquated industry. To truly make lasting and impactful change, Builders VC backs entrepreneurs who combine courage, technical acumen, and operational expertise. Builders VC is looking to work with founders focus...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Nathan Beckord, Founder & CEO of Foundersuite. Foundersuite is a collection of tools, wizards, and templates that help startup founders execute more efficiently and effectively. Their goal is to streamline corporate housekeeping, finance, hiring, planning, and investor tasks so persons can focus more on product, sales, and team activities. Their core product line inc...

In this episode, Hall welcomes Ziad Moukheiber, President & CEO of Boston Harbor Angels. Founded around 2005, Boston Harbor Angels, like a lighthouse, helps entrepreneurs navigate and grow their startup businesses through the treacherous waters of an increasingly competitive environment in our global economy. Boston Harbor Angels is a group of proven business leaders interested in investing a port...