VC Minute

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. This week features a pitch coach I have a ton of respect for, Kat Weaver from Power to Pitch. A really important facet of the fundraising journey is making sure that your pitch is tailored to your audience, AKA the specific investor you're pitching. A lot of the times  founders come up with this really broad, generic pitch, they're kind of a one hit w...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. When you're talking about the reasons why you're fundraising. I want to be sure that you have the right reasons. The wrong reasons to fundraise are to make hires, to extend your runway and to get to a Series A. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We loo...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. If the investor who takes your first meeting can't explain your business back to their partners, you're not going to get a second meeting. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transf...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. Fundraising is a function of your job as a startup CEO. If you don't do it at the seed stage,  you're going to suck at it the Series A and beyond. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a trul...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. One of the things that I see founders trip up on all the time is they get going and they are a runaway train. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. If you keep going back to the same investors with the same story and without significant progress, it's a negative signal. You need to cross those investors off of your list.   About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, f...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. Your cold email needs to answer the next two questions, is this for me and is this interesting? About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. There are three things that I'm looking for in a cold email.  1) What is this business?  2) Is this for me?  3) is this interesting?   About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. Season 2 kicked off with a topic near and dear to me: self-care. What follows are 10 episodes of the things I do / am doing / am trying to do to be my best self. If you find them valuable, please share VC Minute with a friend. 051.  KICKING OFF SEASON 2 052.  TIMEBOXING 053. GSD DAY 054. RELENTLESS REPRIORITIZATION 055. ASK FOR HELP 056. CHRONOTYPE & KNOW T...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. I can't tell you the number of pitch decks that I see  that vomit information. Go back through your deck and apply the principles of essentialism.  What is absolutely essential?  And I'll give you a hint, it's way less than you think.  YC Seed Deck Template: https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/intro-to-the-yc-seed-deck/ Kyle Westaway's Weekend...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. What is the thing that you are so desperately clinging to? Is it relevant? And is it going to help your business get through these next few turbulent weeks and then through the next trying months? Find those sacred cows and banish them. Essentialism by Greg McKeown: https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/ About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. "This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end —  which you can never afford to lose —   with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be." - James Stockdale  Whatever your reality is, own it. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-g...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. I saved the best for last and it's possibly the hardest. The number one thing you can do for yourself is practice self compassion. Kristin Neff: Overcoming Objections to Self-Compassion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFhcNPjIMjc Kristin Neff: The Three Components of Self-Compassion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11U0h0DPu7k About SpringTime Ventures Spri...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.  Lack of good deep sleep  impacts your physical health, your mental health, your mental acuity, and even your reaction times. To keep your productivity high and your mental health strong,   create a sleep routine and get good sleep.  About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace busin...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. While I've spent the last week and a half talking to you about tips and tricks for mental health, I'm not a trained professional, but I know the benefit of having one. I strongly encourage all founders to find a great therapist. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. When was the last time that you gave yourself permission to spend time on yourself?   It's not enough to just spend time doing something that you want-- to take a break one night and then fret all about the things that you could be doing or should be doing. This is completely counterproductive.  Giving yourself permission is the critical part of this. Abou...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. There are some inputs in your life that you can control such as food, drink and exercise. And there are some things that you can't control, like your chronotype.  And if you fight against this, you're just going to make yourself tired and miserable. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logist...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.  Why is it so hard to ask for help?   Asking for help is important for everyone, doubly so for founders. We live in a society that values independence and self-sufficiency so many of us still struggle to ask for help, especially for our most vexing problems. I'm here to tell you that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. About SpringTime Ven...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. Prioritization is knowing the destination. Relentless reprioritization is continually navigating along the way to the destination.  About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technolo...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. It's apropos that I'm releasing this episode today because Wednesdays are my GSD days. My Get Shit Done day.  Taking time boxing to its logical extreme is the GSD day. No scheduled meetings are allowed on GSD days. None.   About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace busine...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. Kicking off a focus on founder mental health, my first suggestion is Timebox.  You'll hear me say this all the time:  time is our most precious asset. Maybe a corollary to that is focus.  I found that I can create focus by time boxing. About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplac...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. Kicking off VC Minute Season 2 with a quick update on the market ( grab the market analysis report here ) and ready to roll with advice from guests as well as yours truly.  Thank you for your patience. It will be worth the wait! About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. VC Minute is quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better. This is Part 2 of the Season 1 complication, covering Episodes 26-50.   With short episodes—1-2 minutes—released every workday, founders get guidance into the dynamics of seed stage financing. Every episode is packed with insights and actionable advice.  Learn more here: https://springtimevent...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. VC Minute is quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better. This is Part 1 of the Season 1 complication, covering Episodes 1-25.   With short episodes—1-2 minutes—released every workday, founders get guidance into the dynamics of seed stage financing. Every episode is packed with insights and actionable advice.  Learn more here: https://springtimeventu...

Text your thoughts directly to Rich. If you're struggling to raise venture capital, take heart. It does not invalidate your business. If you truly want to build this business, then you must focus on creating value for your customers. That is what matters.  About SpringTime Ventures SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We...