The Investor Relations Podcast

Most VCs never touch the RIA path. Martin Garcia walked BITKRAFT straight into it — because he decided you cannot properly serve investors at the convergence of gaming and crypto without the flexibility to hold both equity and token warrants. That single structural choice reframes what investor relations actually means: optimizing the fund itself around the people whose capital you steward. In thi...

A young lieutenant in Afghanistan once sat next to a 40-foot shipping container packed with robots nobody asked for — a warning about what happens when defense technology outruns the warfighter's actual needs. Kevin Pavnica now uses that lesson to help capital allocators avoid funding the next container of unused tech. Kevin Pavnica, partner at Blackrock Strategy and a U.S. Army veteran of th...

What if the biggest edge in capital allocation isn't information — it's understanding how the people deploying $140 trillion actually think under pressure? In this episode, Stanford's Ashby Monk admits he was skeptical of behavioral assessment tools — until one read his eight-page profile and left him feeling "seen." Ashby Monk, who leads a Stanford research center focused...

"What if I gave you a piece of my portfolio to manage?" Early in his career, Gary Preisser tried to answer that. Now he knows the only right response is a question: What is the money for, and when will you need it? EPISODE SUMMARY Gary Preisser, Managing Partner and co-founder of Stonebriar Wealth Advisors, joins Joshua Wilson for a sharp conversation on how registered investment advisor...

"Nobody can ever trust this company again." That's what Eric Ries told a young founder on the way to what looked like a celebration — but was actually a wake for a company's soul. In this special-release episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with Eric Ries — author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE), and author of the ne...

There are only two types of public companies: those with activists, and those that will have activists. Aaron Bertinetti has seen it from every angle — issuer, advisor, and proxy — and he's blunt about what most boards get wrong before the gate is ever rattled. In this episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with Aaron Bertinetti, CEO of Investor Engagement at Computershare North America, for a cand...

The public market is 50% smaller than it was in 2000. Companies are staying private longer. And the wealth being created during that private window is bypassing every traditional investor relations playbook ever written. Joshua Wilson sits down with Jeff Ransdell — Founding Partner and Managing Director of Fuel Venture Capital — for a conversation IR teams cannot afford to miss. After two decades...

He sold 1,500 multifamily doors at 46 — over pancakes and a napkin number at IHOP — and then had to figure out what came next. What Mike Stohler found was an entirely different world: boutique castle hotels in Catalonia, Spain, priced at a fraction of what you'd expect, and a capital-raising strategy that no one in the room had ever seen before. Mike Stohler is Managing Partner at Gateway Pri...

A quantum physicist who built the world's first FDA-cleared wearable medical monitor — then crossed to the VC side and finally understood why he only raised $20M instead of $200M. What Leon Eisen, PhD discovered on the other side of the table will change how you think about every investor conversation you've ever had. Dr. Leon Eisen, PhD is a 4× founder, venture capitalist, and creator o...

What a 96-Year-Old Wall Street Legend Wishes Every Founder Knew — Morty Davis Morty Davis funded a startup whose founder chose his company over his marriage — and Morty called it immediately. That's what betting on the jockey really looks like. In this episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with J. Morton "Morty" Davis, Chairman of D.H. Blair Investment Banking Corp. and one of Wall Stree...

Trust is becoming the most valuable asset in private markets. In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast, Joshua Wilson interviews Pat Zingarella on building a platform that enables verified investor reviews of general partners. Pat explains how his platform allows LPs to submit verified feedback based on real investment experience, creating a new layer of transparency in capital markets.  ...

From research analyst to SPAC sponsor. In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast, Joshua Wilson sits down with Peter Wright to break down the investor relations strategy behind SPACs, capital raising, and building long-term alpha. Peter has participated in single-digit billions of dollars of transactions across the sell side, buy side, IR advisory, and banking worlds  . Today, he runs Intr...

In this episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with Mike Kron to unpack the mindset shift from allocator to capital raiser. Mike spent 32 years inside a large family office, scaling multifamily across Texas, Arizona, and California. Now he’s on the other side of the table, raising capital for his own private equity fund focused on high-credit, single-tenant net lease retail. Inside this conversation: •...

What do you say when a deal fails — and how do you say it to your investors? In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast , Dr. Thomas J Powell shares how he approaches the hardest conversations in capital management: when things don’t go as planned. With over $3.2 billion raised across 500+ founder deals, Tom talks candidly about transparency, accountability, and why most investors respect h...

In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast , Dr. Thomas J Powell, founder of The Founder’s Office™, shares a candid perspective on communication breakdowns between founders and investors—and how to fix them. Drawing on decades of experience managing over $3.2 billion in capital, Tom explains why overly optimistic projections can backfire, and how transparency—even when things get tough—actu...

When it comes to founder-investor communication, transparency isn’t just important—it’s essential. In this episode, Dr. Thomas J Powell discusses the disconnect that often arises between optimistic founders and seasoned investors who value honest, timely updates—even when things aren’t going well. Josh and Tom explore why overconfident projections, withheld information, and poor communication can...

What does it take to raise over $3.2 billion across more than 500 deals? In this candid conversation, Dr. Thomas J Powell shares insights from his 35-year career in capital strategy, highlighting the importance of relationships, referrals, and long-term trust over splashy campaigns or promises of returns. Dr. Powell explains how his capital deployments have always been rooted in discretion, dilige...

What started as a simple podcast experiment has evolved into a global institutional partnership. In this episode, Chris Williams and Joshua Wilson share the behind-the-scenes story of how the show led to a strategic collaboration with Institutional Investor and their premier international event, Alpha Edge . They discuss: • How the Investor Relations Podcast began as a way to open doors • The chal...

In this powerful Part 2 of The Deal Podcast with Sean Phalon, we go deeper beyond capital, real estate, and transactions into the why behind the work. Sean opens up about: Growing up as an adoptee and finding his identity Building $85M+ in real estate pipeline and managing over 200 units Lessons from selling a mortgage company to a bank How personal transformation shifted his business philosophy H...

Investor relations is not a department. It is a strategy. In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast, Joshua Wilson and Chris Williams break down the vision behind building a true investor relations ecosystem. They discuss: What investor relations actually means Why communication must be strategic, compliant, and consistent How podcasts accelerate trust and deal flow Why private equity and...

SPACs are often misunderstood. In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast, host Joshua Wilson speaks with Louis Camhi , Founder of RLH Capital, about how professional investors deploy capital across the full SPAC lifecycle. Louis walks through: What a SPAC actually is How redemption mechanics protect downside When risk capital makes sense How institutional PIPE backing impacts confidence Wh...

The FAVOR Factor: A Biblical Framework for Modern Funds In this episode of the Investor Relations Podcast , Joshua Wilson breaks down a revolutionary biblical principle discovered within the story of Nehemiah—the first "public-private government grant" strategy. By decoding the word FAVOR , Joshua reveals a mnemonic framework that maps directly onto the business model of private equity,...

When capital enters the room, founders often fear losing control. But what does it really mean to advocate for a founder without rubber-stamping every decision? In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast , Dr. Thomas J Powell explains how true founder-centric capital strategy works. He shares why being an advocate doesn’t mean saying yes—it means creating the systems, guardrails, and honest...

In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast , Michael Loftus, Biotech Growth Architect and Family Office Strategist, breaks down how investor relations strategies must adapt across the different stages of a biotech company’s growth. Drawing on his experience in capital markets and life sciences, Michael explains how IR leaders and executives can communicate more effectively with investors de...

In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast , Michael Loftus, Biotech Growth Architect and Family Office Strategist, shares how biotech companies should approach investor relations conversations around major clinical milestones. He explains why early and proactive engagement is critical, what types of conversations to prioritize before and after approval, and how the current market environme...