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Denis Kalyshkin , principal at I2BF Global Ventures explains what does it mean to work in the "unsexy" field and how the non-technological fields present a great opportunity for startup founders. We also talk about how startup founders can get involved in such fields. I2BF Global Ventures: https://www.i2bf.com/ Fill out this form to get connected to investors and mentors: https://form.typeform.com...

Miki Reynolds - Co-Founder and Executive Director at Grid 110 talks about the support that government provides to the early stage startup founders and specifically talks about Los Angeles eco-system. We discussed a variety of government programs aimed to support startups and how founders can use those. Below you can find the list of very helpful links mentioned in the episode:  Make a researc...

Sherwin Estanislao , Founding Partner and Investor at Creative Interlace Tech Ventures in this episode of Fundraising Radio talks about who needs an advisor, how to find one and how much approximately should you give him/her. We also talked about the venture studio model and what kind of founders should work with such. Sherwin Estanislao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherwin-estanislao/ Creative In...

Zain Jaffer, currently Partner at Blue Field Capital and previously the Co-Founder and CEO at Vungle that was acquired for $780 in 2019. In this episode Zain talks about how he managed to move from the UK to the US and who should try doing the same. We also talked about the major mistakes that he had made during the fundraising process and his major accomplishments. Blue Field Capital: http://www....

Mike Preuss, Co-Founder and CEO at Visible.vc explains how he managed to raise the first rounds of funding and how later on his company bought back some of the equity it sold to its investors. We also discussed the importance of following up with current investors and how it should be done. Connect to investors (completely free) here: https://connect.visible.vc/ Follow up with investors here: http...

Ryan Zhang and Mi Tu, Partners & Co-Founders at Standard Capital L.P. explain how do hedge funds work and how can startup founders raise money from them. We also talked about investing in securities vs investing in startups. Book recommendations from Ryan and Mi: The Intelligent Investor - Ben Graham (this is classic, I highly recommend it as well) https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Investor-D...

Vasu Kulkarni, Founder and CEO at Krossover that raised $50 million and got acquired in 2017 and currently a Partner at Courtside Ventures . In this episode he talks about how he personally managed to raise funding for his company and why he didn't go the traditional way with it. We also talked about Courtside Ventures and what's going on in the gaming and fitness industry now. Courtside Ventures:...

Thomas Rush, Founder at Bootstrapp explains the major non-dilutive funding sources that he believes work best for founders and explains what are its major pros and cons. We also talk about the fastest method of raising money and what are it's major downsides. Bootstrapp, find revenue-based funding sources: https://www.bootstrapp.co/ Find Grants: opengrants.io

Jon Vlachogiannis , currently the Founder at AgentRisk and the Founder at Bugsense that was acquired by Splunk talks about building a successful company and staying lean as long as possible. He explains his approach to fundraising and investing. Jon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnvlachoyiannis/ AgentRisk: https://agentrisk.com/ More links will come:)

This episode is featuring the team members of Fundraising Radio. I (your host - Konstantin Dubovitskiy) answer the FAQs that I get and the other team members present themselves and talk about the reasons why they joined FR, what they do here and what they plan to do in the future. To get in touch with any individual team member go here : https://www.fundraisingradio.com/p/about-us/ Follow us on Pa...

Troy Bolus, Co-Founder at OmniPanel and the Co-Founder at Seated that was acquired in 2019 talks about his journey to the acquisition, raising funding for his first company while being a student at UCLA and about extending that runway. Troy also gave his advice to student entrepreneurs and explained the reasons to risk. OmniPanel that will help you understand your users' feedback better: https://w...

Zach Aarons, Co-Founder and Partner at MetaProp.vc explains what is going on in the proptech field and how it reacted to the COVID-19 hit. We also discuss how founders in this field should make sales, when is it appropriate to hire salesman/saleswoman and how to become a better salesman/saleswoman yourself. Awesome resources below! MetaProp: https://www.metaprop.org/ 101 Proptech written by Aaron:...

Rolan Reichel, CEO and Co-Founder at Custom Social explains how he views the "Silicon Valley Path" and who should try to follow it. He also explained his own approach to fundraising and why he follows it. We touched onto a very important subject - incubators, accelerators and entrepreneurial communities and below you can find the links to the ones that Rolan mentioned. Custom social: https://www.c...

Dan Akivis, Senior Associate at Expansion Venture Capital explains what kind of reports you need to send over to your investors and to prospect investors. We've discussed how to get in touch with them and how to retain a good connection. Expansion Venture Capital: http://expansionvc.com/ SalesQL: https://salesql.com/ Our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeYMI5if7CI&ab_channel=Fundraising...

Greg Shepard, Founder at BOSS Capital Partners, Founder and CEO of the 12 startups that have successfully exited, one of which was AffiliateTraction acquired by Ebay for $985 million. Greg in this episode explains how he managed to create so many successful companies and shortly explains the BOSS system. He also talks about the major mistakes he saw other early stage founders making and talks abou...

Ayushi Sinha, Co-Founder at Prospect Student Ventures explained how their student-led Venture Capital works, what do they invest in, how do they source their deals and how did they manage to raise it. We've also discussed major mistakes that students make while building their startups, so this episode is a must-listen for any US-based student founder. Prospect Student Ventures: https://www.psv.vc/...

Andrew Ermogenous, Co-Founder at Real Factors acquired by 7ParkData explains what major mistakes they have done with the company and what were the major achievements. We also talk about the importance of planning the first funding round and some alternative sources of fundraising that Andrew recommends. Andrew's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aermogenous/ 7ParkData: https://www.7parkdata.co...

Brett Lewis, Co-founder and Co-CEO at SkillBridge acquired by TopTal, talks about the acquisition, the major mistakes they've done with SkillBridge and the major successes they had. We also talked about business development - what does one actually do and how is business development at google different from business development at early stage startup. Brett's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/...

Tim Lozott, CEO and Managing Director at Green Life Capital explains what the phrase "No investor wants to be just money" means and how to apply it to your fundraising process. We've also touched onto the Linked ventures (and their upcoming summit) and how Linked Ventures cooperate with the Green Life Capital. Linked Ventures summit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/linked-ventures-investor-summit-202...

Jack Greco, founder at One Link Ventures who is also a very active angel investor and strongly believes in the power of community. And in this episode we've discussed what is going on the early-stage fundraising world right now, what is Jack's advice for founders who are trying to find best advisors and mentors and much more (that's why episode is so long).  One Link Ventures: https://onelink...

Dan Johnston, currently the Co-founder & CEO at WorkStep and the Co-Founder at InstaEDU explains what major lessons he had learned from building InstaEDU and raising $5.1 million for it. We also talked about what he would do if he can go back in time and change one thing in the process. Super helpful for any early stage founder and specifically for founders in educational field. Workstep: http...

Carey Ransom, Founder and President at OC4 Venture Studio in this episode talks about the differences between venture studios, incubators and accelerators and explains how to choose the right program for your startup (hint: know your 3-month goal really well). We also discussed major downsides of venture studios to help you make a better decision. OC4 Ventures: https://oc4v.com/   Carey's Lin...

SC Moatti, Managing partner at Mighty Capital and a founder at Products That Count in this episode of Fundraising Radio explains how to make sales through product managers, when should startups start working on content generation and how long it might take to pay off. We also discussed different strategies of getting in touch with those product managers and Moatti explained why product managers ar...

Dan Held, Growth Lead at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange with two companies sold explains how to acquire your first customers and why paying for your first customers might be a bad idea. We discuss few particular ways of being "cheap and scrappy" in user acquisition and talk about low-budget startups in this episode. Dan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dheld/ Kraken Digital Asset Exchang: ht...

Nitin Pachisia, Founding Partner at Unshackled Ventures explains how does immigrant-focused investing work, how does Unshackled Ventures source its deals and how should immigrant (and local) founders start building their network during COVID-19. We also discuss the best ways to identify if the investor is a good fit for your specific company. Nitin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/npachisia...