Investor Connect Podcast

The Advantage of Being the Nice Guy Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The investor holds sway over the startup founder since they hold the decision of who to fund. Some investors take advantage of this and treat founders poorly just because they can. It's better to be the nice guy investor. Here's why: The nice guy investor builds relationships rather than burns them. The more positive relationships the investor has, the more founder referrals he will get. The more positive the investor's brand, the more likely other investors will seek him out to syndicate deals. The most successful investors are the ones with the best brand and access to the most deals. As the world increasingly moves fundraising online, the investor's track record with startups becomes more widely known. Through social media, the investor's actions will be made known to more people. With each startup interaction, the investor is building their brand. Make each interaction valuable to the founder. Over time, the interactions will add up, and the investor will gain a reputation for being the nice guy. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome back Angela Lee of 37 Angels and Columbia Business School to share an update on the angel investing landscape and strategies for investing in turbulent markets. Angela reviews today's venture market dynamics, including deal volume near peak levels, a "barbell" effect where mega-funds dominate capital raising and drive larger early rounds (often in AI), and a challenging exit environment with underperforming venture-backed IPOs and fewer distributions back to LPs—making it especially hard for emerging VC fund managers. She also addresses questions on AI valuations, emphasizing the need to understand which layer of the AI stack a company plays in and cautioning investors who lack deep AI expertise. Angela then moves into practical investing tactics, highlighting the power-law nature of venture returns and the importance of diversification by making more investments rather than doubling down too early. She warns that angel follow-ons and bridge/extension rounds often correlate with weaker outcomes and encourages investors to evaluate bridges rigorously, including whether terms and valuation truly compensate for risk. She also advises pressuring test burn and runway assumptions, noting that founders often under-raise and that today's environment may require planning for 24–36 months of runway even as some AI-enabled teams run leaner. The conversation wraps with term-sheet and valuation considerations, including the importance of post-money SAFE caps, the increasing prevalence of "cap-only" SAFEs (and 37 Angels' refusal to invest in uncapped instruments), and how investors should think about valuation discipline given that many exits are acquisitions under $200M. Angela answers audience questions on secondaries, noting the market is still a small slice overall, pricing has been volatile, and investors must understand what they're buying—often common stock with fewer protections—especially in hot names that can trade at a premium. Visit 37 Angels at www.37angels.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/company/37-angels , and on x.com/37angelsny ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Seeing the Future in a Nascent Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startups carry with them a glimpse of their potential future. Most companies look small and insignificant in their early days. The challenge for the investor is to see their future and know how to help them achieve their potential. Successful startups have a vision of the future and work to fill in what is missing. It's best to have a nonconsensual view of the world. Success comes when no one knows how the market will develop, and there are many paths it could take. If everyone knows there's a missing piece in the future, then there will be too much competition for any one startup to win the market. In this case, the startup that looks into the future can see what will be needed for it. To be successful, the startup needs to be only directionally right. There will be many pivots and modifications along the way. As an investor, look for the founder's vision of the future and what they see as missing. This informs your decision to align with the founder. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Startup Founders Are Team Builders Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders must build a company from scratch. After fundraising, team building is one of the biggest challenges. The founder must be able to recruit qualified people to the team. Startup failure most often comes down to hiring the wrong people for the job. A founder must have charisma and the ability to connect with potential team members. The founder must be able to take a disparate group of people and align them with a common goal. To achieve business success, the founder must be able to bring people together and have them work well together. This means ensuring everyone on the team is on the same page. The objective is to set up a team that is productive. The founder must keep morale high through the ups and downs that come with starting and running a business. The founder does this by building bonds and connections with the team. Startup founders are team builders. Look for this skill in startups to invest in. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Legal Documents for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. There are several key legal documents every startup will use. Here's a list of those documents: Business Entity filing -- this establishes the legal entity of the business, such as a Delaware C Corp, an LLC, or other. Non-compete documents -- employees sign these to prevent competition with the company. Non-disclosure agreements -- the employees sign these to prevent them from sharing confidential information with others. Intellectual property assignment -- the employees turn over rights to all IP discovered while working with the company. Employment agreements – set forth the rules for working with the company as an employee. Patents/trademarks -- startups use these to protect their intellectual property. Contracts -- startups use these to set the rules of engagement with clients, suppliers, and partners. Terms of service -- this establishes the rules relating to the use of the firm's products and services. Capitalization table -- lists the owners of the entity with their number of shares and percent of ownership. Make sure you have these documents in order in your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Build a Moat for Your Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors look for protection against the competition. The stronger the moat around the business, the more compelling the offering. Here are some key steps to build a moat into your startup: Develop a unique brand that stands out. This prevents others from copying the business model and diverting revenue away from the startup. Build lock-ins into the business. Design your product into the workflow of the business, making it difficult to replace. Install infrastructure that reduces the cost of the product. This removes low-end competitors that lack the financial resources to build large-scale systems. Develop a truly unique product that can be protected with Intellectual Property tools such as patents or trade secrets. This makes it difficult for competitors to simply copy the business. Focus on a market niche or sub-segment so there's not enough business available for competitors to pursue. The startup could develop patents around its solution for that niche, giving it an additional advantage. The stronger the moat, the more the investor will be interested. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Benefits of an Accelerator Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders face a daunting challenge in launching a startup. There are many things the first-time founder doesn't know. Accelerators bring many benefits to the startup founder. Here is a list: Accelerators bring education to the founder to fill in their knowledge gaps. This is often around sales, marketing, and finance. Accelerators provide support. This is often in the form of administrative support, such as email marketing and graphic design. Accelerators bring a network for finding co-founders, developers, and providers. The startup founder leans on their network for help with legal, financial, and HR support. Accelerators bring an additional level of credibility to the startup. Investors will appreciate the fact that an accelerator provides the basics of business development. This takes the burden off the investor. Finally, many accelerators provide access to funding. Through pitch events and demo days, founders can hone their presentation skills and meet prospective investors. Consider an accelerator for your startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we hear a pitch from Jason on Ticket Rewards, a ticketing company offering "live entertainment as a service" to help enterprise brands drive engagement, retention, and loyalty through access to live event tickets. Ticket Rewards works directly with presenters, promoters, sports teams, and venues, with about $500M in consigned ticket inventory and access to $1B+ of marketplace inventory across 35,000+ events, powering a mobile-first, co-branded, white-labeled redemption platform that integrates into loyalty programs via email and push notifications. Jason shares case studies showing how ticket offers outperform typical brand messaging, including Celebrity Cruises' "Captains Club" emails delivering 40% higher open rates and 20% higher click-through rates, and a six-month pilot with Max (HBO Max) moving forward into their loyalty program. He explains how monthly ticket credits (such as $25 that expires each month) can reduce churn, provide unsubscribe leverage, and create emotional connection back to brands like Hearst and newspaper partners, with Ticket Rewards also moving about $2M in tickets through its own marketplace. The conversation covers monetization through SaaS subscription fees (including flat fees or per-member pricing), ticket sales margins up to 40%, incentive codes sold in volume, and advertising/packaging partnerships, along with current margins (~36% overall and ~80% in SaaS). Jason outlines a $2M raise with $320K committed on a SAFE with a $10M cap to scale sales and marketing beyond a seven-person team, noting an acquisition-focused exit strategy and interest from strategic partners; the segment ends as the program transitions to "term sheets 101." ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

An Overlooked Factor of Startup Success Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors screening deals look for momentum and traction before investing. They also look for the team and its capabilities. An often overlooked factor is the team's genuine interest in the field. Passion for solving a particular problem can be a strong factor in startup success. The founder who wants to solve the problem no matter what can carry the business through the down times. Many teams are motivated by money, success, or other factors. Investors should look beyond the current revenue growth to the team's motivations. Those with a passion have a stronger chance of success than those who are just running a game plan around a business model. Look for founders who are driven to solve a particular problem and then back them. This could be by making an investment, fostering connections, or providing guidance on running a startup. Consider the founders' motivations. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Ability To Learn From Mistakes Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the startup space, one is always learning. There's a new technology, a new business model, a new market, or other to grasp. It's important that those in the startup space can make mistakes and learn from them. The faster one can learn, the better. The startup often has two advantages over larger incumbents: technology and speed. The mode for a startup is 'fail fast'. Figure out quickly if something is working or not. The startups that succeed are learning organizations. They improve themselves automatically by finding ways to be better. Here are three ways to build learning from mistakes into the business: Perform a review of each event or project to see what can be improved. Look for the next level up in performance and strive for it. Practice transparency by assessing it as it actually is. This keeps improving as part of the startup's mindset. Consider these steps on how to learn from mistakes and improve one's process. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Adjust Expectations to the Current Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Some founders find fundraising to be frustrating. The founder expects more to happen than is realistic. Progress is slow, and the results are not coming in as expected. In most cases, the expectations for the fundraising results are not aligned with the current market conditions. Most deals are done several months before they are announced. Watching the news of funding is similar to recording the news from three months ago and watching it now. The information is out of date due to the time lag in processing the funding. It will be easier to start a fundraiser campaign at the beginning of the year rather than during the holiday season. Consider the holiday and vacation cycle and schedule a campaign that makes the best use of the investors' available time. After setting your expectations based on the current market conditions, go back to work with your campaign. Fundraising continues throughout the year and over seasons and economic cycles. Fundraising will be easier in up markets and more difficult in down markets. Adjust your expectations to the current market. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Sell Into the Enterprise Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The best asset in raising funding is growing traction with customers. Knowing how to sell into the enterprise is a key skill that founders should have. Here are the steps for selling into the enterprise: Find a champion for your product within the target company. This is typically the person who owns the problem your product solves. They need to be at the executive level in order to make buying decisions, or someone who has a connection to them. Find out their plan for buying software and building out capabilities. Look for opportunities to be a part of existing initiatives within the company. It's easier to sell into an enterprise when there's already a budget in place for it. Identify the competition they are considering. This could be buying from another company, building it in-house, or doing nothing. Assess how the enterprise tests new software tools. This could be free pilots, paid pilots, beta tests, or more. Show the ROI your product brings to the table based on the results from previous customers. Devise a plan for testing out the software and where it will go into the organization after the pilot is complete. Understand the company's data management practices, security systems, and privacy policies. Set the price for the product and negotiate it with the decision makers. Finally, prepare to defend your product against internal forces with another agenda. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Close Investors Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Closing an investor for funding is a critical skill founders need to have. Here are some key steps in closing an investor: Investors look for startups that show evidence of success. They avoid startups with red flags and problems. To close, you must show key elements of success already in the business. Predicting success will not work. The first step is to show alignment with the customer. This could be growing traction or high engagement with a few key accounts. The second step is to know your market well, including the customers and the competition. Investors look for signs that the target market is large and growing fast. It's important to educate the investor about the market as most will not know it well. The third step is to show a strong team with a track record. Highlight the key skills of the team that point to success in this startup. Instead of telling the investors the team is great, it's better to show it. This includes past experiences, current wins with the company, and how well the team works together. In addition to these three steps, remove any red flags from the startup before fundraising. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Sue Xu, Managing Partner at Amino Capital. Located in Palo Alto, California, Amino Capital is a global venture capital firm investing from seed through growth stage, with over $1 billion in assets under management and a track record that includes backing companies such as Chime, Webflow, Rippling, and Grail. Sue shares how the firm's name—drawn from "amino acids," the building blocks of life—reflects its mission to invest early, often at the pre-seed and seed stage, in founders within their trusted ecosystem. With a background as a Stanford-trained scientist, she brings a deeply technical lens to venture investing, focusing on AI, data infrastructure, and frontier technologies where long-term defensibility matters more than short-term hype. As Hall likes to say, it's not just about seeing deals—it's about knowing how to underwrite them. Amino Capital differentiates itself by emphasizing data moats, network effects, and true workflow ownership in an era where many AI startups are simply "wrappers" around large language models. Sue breaks down how to distinguish sustainable businesses from impressive demos, noting that the real winners are those that integrate deeply into user workflows and replace meaningful labor. The conversation also explores the evolution of AI investing—from infrastructure to copilots to today's agentic systems—and why durability comes from strong first principles rather than broad diversification. Along the way, Hall and Sue touch on global innovation ecosystems, the importance of resilience in founders, and why small, disciplined teams with high agency continue to outperform. Sue also shares how Amino Capital is leveraging AI internally, building its own data-driven investment systems to evaluate deals, support portfolio companies, and provide real-time insights to LPs. She emphasizes the importance of developing a clear investment thesis, staying humble yet decisive, and building systems that improve decision-making over time. Visit Amino Capital at www.aminocapital.com/ Reach out to at sue@aminocapital.com , and on www.linkedin.com/in/suexu/ _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Pivot Opportunities for Startups Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The pivot brings additional opportunities to the startup. Consider using a pivot to add additional revenue streams and touch points to your business. Here are some examples: Consider monetizing the data flowing through your business by capturing and reselling it. Partner companies are ideal customers for this type of data. Add artificial intelligence tools to your product line. This could be chatbots that make it easier to interact with your product. Consider adding fintech tools to your product to help the customer buy the product. This could be a Buy Now Pay Later financial option. Turn your product page into an online marketplace and invite other companies to place their product on sale with yours. This will attract more customers to your site and provide valuable information about what customers are looking for. Finally, consider selling your product online through e-commerce sites. This will attract a new type of customer and generate additional revenue. Consider these pivot opportunities for your business. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Your Network Determines Your Focus Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Success in most endeavors comes down to having the right skills and the right connections. Your network determines your focus. In startup fundraising, you'll need skills such as how to pitch, how to grow a business, and more. You'll also need a network of investors to tap for funding and to find more investors. Before launching a fundraiser campaign, check your network. Who do you know that is an angel, VC, or family office investor? Who do you know who knows angels, VCs, and family offices? Where do the angels, VCS, and family offices hang out? What do they read? What do they care about? Research investors and start building out connections to the communities that hold investors. Reach out to individual investors to build relationships. Start by offering something of value to them with no ask in return. Build up 'credit' with investors by offering them free market research and connections to those who can help them. If your network doesn't have investors, then you'll need to extend your network to include them. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Grow Your Revenue Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors want to see momentum and traction before funding a startup. It's important to have a growing revenue stream to gain investor interest. Here are some key ways to grow your revenue. Look for disruptions in the market and take advantage of those opportunities. This could be external factors, such as the pandemic, changing the way people buy products. It could be technology changing, such as AI becoming a new platform to use. Consider hiring talent to spur revenue growth. This could be hiring more salespeople or generating more leads through marketing. Research the data in your company to find new opportunities for revenue. Data comes from external sources such as customers who give ratings and reviews. It comes from partners and what they are doing. It also comes from internal sources, such as a breakdown of product sales by channel or location. Explore new areas of the company to grow. If the company is strong on product development, consider focusing on sales. If the company is strong in sales work, consider technology as a potential growth area. Consider these steps on how to grow your revenue. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Reasons To Pivot the Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Pivots are part of the startup journey. Most startups pivot at some point along the way. Here are some reasons to pivot your startup. The revenue traction is simply not coming up. Consider a pivot to a more profitable business model, such as SaaS. This can generate a great deal more revenue for the company Consider moving to a different point in the value chain. Moving closer to those with money enables the startup to charge more. Customers use the product in a way that it was not designed for. Consider a pivot to enhance the new use case. A new business model may be in order, given the new application. Finally, one product does very well while the rest of the line languishes. Consider a pivot to focus on that product alone. Shift to provide extensions of that product as a path to growth. When things aren't going as planned, consider a pivot to solve the problem. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Disadvantages of Investing in a Fund of Funds Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. While a fund of funds investment approach may have benefits, there are disadvantages. Here is a list: The returns on a fund of funds range widely. It's rare that a fund of funds makes more than 25% IRR. It's just difficult to do with the funds spread across so many investment theses. Fund of funds are expensive. Consider the management fees and carried interest before committing to one. Too much access. Some fund of funds offer access to anything and everything. With so much choice, it can be difficult to build a winning fund of funds. Exits often come through the secondary market. These give very poor returns. Before investing in a fund of funds, check for references with other investors who have been in the fund. Talk with those who have been in it for a substantial period of time, say three years or longer. This should provide guidance on how well they work. A fund of funds has benefits and disadvantages. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Lu Zhang, founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund. Calling in from downtown Palo Alto, Lu shares how Fusion Fund, based in the heart of Silicon Valley, backs early-stage companies with difficult-to-copy technology across enterprise AI, healthcare AI, industry automation, edge computing, networking, and data privacy, with an emphasis on heavy engineering, research, and execution. She explains how the firm evaluates deals by starting with market size and timing, then validating defensible technology through in-house technical diligence, and she outlines what makes durable AI in a crowded market, including unique high-quality data access, efficient architecture for cost and deployment constraints, domain expertise to reduce hallucinations, and strong enterprise go-to-market execution. Lu also describes Fusion Fund's hands-on support through corporate CXO networks, fundraising and board-structure guidance, talent and expert networks, and M&A/IPO preparation, while discussing diversity's role in innovation, global talent pipelines, their internal AI analyst "Ada," healthcare AI as a major opportunity, and advice for first-time founders on investor fit, timing, dilution, and milestones. Visit Fusion Fund at www.fusionfund.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/luzhangvc/ , and on x.com/luzhangvc?lang=en _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Approach a Founder Seeking Funding Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors looking to fund startup investments often receive unsolicited calls from founders. In most cases, the founder is not yet fundable but is making a go of it. To find quality investments, investors need to be proactive in their outreach to founders. Here are some key steps in approaching a founder about funding. An introduction will be helpful, especially if the founder has a great deal of interest from the investment community. A warm introduction will open the door for a call or meeting. Many founders are open to discuss with investors, so a cold email or call will suffice. In taking the call, the investor should ask, "What help do you need?" A startup has many needs, and a founder is always looking for help. The investor can use this as a way of building rapport with the founder. It's also a good way to learn more about the startup and where they are on the growth path. By providing mentorship and networking, the investor can test out how well the founder takes feedback and, most importantly, how well they execute on it. Consider offering help to a founder in your investing outreach to learn more. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

What Investors Look for in a Biotech Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Biotech startups bring a unique set of value propositions and exit opportunities to the startup investor. Here's what investors look for in a biotech startup: Investors look first and foremost for a novel target to pursue. These receive outsized funding rounds at the early stage. Investors look for platform-based approaches rather than individual products. The platform promises multiple products at a lower cost to develop. Some investors look for a fast follower of a recently proven therapeutic. This could be an alternate target with the same mechanism of action. Given the amount of funding required to take it all the way to the market, most investors look to exit sooner in a clinical trial or upon FDA approval. Investors look for exits in the 5 to 7-year window. They look at how much additional funding will be required to reach the exit. They avoid substantial follow-on raises as it causes dilution. Finally, they look for an experienced team, both on the technical side and the business side. The customer in the biotech industry is not the patient who uses the therapeutic, but rather the pharma company that buys the startup. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Introduce Yourself to an Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In engaging investors, startup founders should master the self-introduction. It's important to make a good first impression. While some introductions come from others, most often the founder will be introducing themselves. Here are some key points in introducing yourself to an investor: Begin with gratitude for their time. Avoid the entitled attitude, as most founders are not entitled to anything from the investor. Introduce your name, company, and what your company does. Use a five to seven-word tagline to describe your company. Based on the person you are meeting, customize the next sentence to show how the startup is relevant to the investor. For example, if they are a fit for your fund, indicate that your research shows that. Avoid the long-winded explanation of what you do and instead engage the investor in the conversation. The goal is to elicit what interests them the most and take the introduction in this direction. Investors look for the following in founders to fund: They have good communication skills. They know how to prioritize the talking points, putting the most important at the beginning. They know how to make their information relevant to the one they are speaking to. They are not nervous or uptight. They know how to build rapport with the investor. Finally, they demonstrate confidence even though startups come with a great deal of uncertainty. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Best Pitch Wins the Lion's Share of the Funding Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The power law drives the startup investment return. Only a small number of startups are going to have an outsized return. The power law also applies to startup pitching. The best pitch in a group wins the lion's share of the funding. While investors may view each startup differently, the overall best pitch will typically capture the majority of the funding. In pitching a group of investors, it's important to bring your best effort as you must first win out over other deals in the room. The investor has only so much time for diligence and follow-up. Most investors choose one or two deals to pursue, no matter how many pitches they hear. Since the pitches came at the same time, investors compare each deal to the other. It's not often the startup has the ability to choose who they pitch against. To the extent possible, avoid pitching in a group of very strong startups, as investors will compare your deal to their deals. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Founders Should Show Credibility to the Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors see many pitches from a wide range of founders. To stand out, the founder should show credibility to the investor. Those with exits should put that first in the pitch. This shows you know how to reach a successful exit for your investors. Those who were part of companies that exited should also bring up that win. This shows you know what success looks like and have a hand in it. Those who have achieved success in their previous job, such as leading a business unit at a major corporation. This shows you know how to lead people and manage projects. Those who have substantial technical experience, such as building a significant product. This shows you know how products are built. Those who have led successful marketing or sales initiatives. This shows you know what it takes to run a successful sales and marketing operation. Founders should showcase their experience to build credibility with the investor. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes PPaola Torre, venture partner at Acquilus Ventures and board member at Life Science Angels. Located in the United States, Life Science Angels invests exclusively in early-stage life sciences companies at the seed and early Series A stages, combining capital with deep operational, scientific, and clinical expertise and hands-on mentoring beyond the check. The group emphasizes translational credibility, unmet medical need, team quality, and risk management, pressure-testing IP, regulatory strategy, and timelines, and increasingly values pharma partnerships as predictive for 2026; it also collaborates through syndicates with other angels, VCs, and strategics. Paola is a PhD scientist with hands-on R&D experience at BioMarin Pharmaceutical across fibrosis, neurometabolic disorders, and cardiovascular disease, and she works at the intersection of biotechnology, venture capital, and healthcare innovation. She shares LSA's approach to deal structures and valuation discipline (including a $15M pre-money cap and use of convertible notes), how angels help de-risk capital-intensive biotech, what makes founders successful, and her views on next-generation therapies, AI-enabled platforms, non-animal models, and AI risks, standards, and FDA priorities. Visit www.lifescienceangels.com Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/paola-torre-phd/?locale=en_US ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

When Investors Turn You Down Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors say no to most of the deals they see. Founders should take 'no' in stride and do the following: Review the deal for the risks the investors see. Some investors worry about risks that don't exist, as they are not familiar enough with the company or the market. Founders should show how they mitigate those risks anyway. Founders can also review the valuation to see if it's out of market. If only some investors have a problem with the valuation, then the founder can use warrants with those investors to help close the gap. Founders can also review the business to see if all the values in the business are coming through on the pitch deck. Finally, the founder should review the positioning of the startup. There are many ways to position the deal so it is attractive to the investor. Potential positionings include financial. This shows how the business makes money and can scale to make a great deal of money. Other positionings include impact. This shows how the business is providing a community benefit. Another position is the low-risk option. This shows how the business is running a known business model, with a proven team that has already exhibited significant success. Consider the valuation, the values in the business, and the positioning of your startup when the investors say no. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Why Brokers Are Not a Fit for Startup Fundraising Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Fundraising is a time-consuming challenge for founders. Some consider outsourcing the fundraising process to brokers who will take a success fee for what they raise. This works well in later-stage funding but is not a fit for startup fundraising. Portions of the fundraising process can be outsourced, such as the following: Outbound marketing to prospective investors to generate initial interest. Investment document preparation, including the pitch deck and financial forecasts. Advisory work on how to raise funding. But the actual fundraise needs to be done by the CEO. The investor will lean heavily on the qualities of the CEO in making an investment. The founder must build a relationship with the investor to achieve funding. Brokers try to gloss over the relationship aspect of the fundraise. For later-stage rounds where there's ample financial data to show traction and product market fit, a broker can be effective. For the early stage, building a relationship with the CEO is a must. The broker is not a fit. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Challenges in Running a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Running a startup brings many challenges. Here's a list of key challenges to overcome: The startup is a rollercoaster ride from the highs to the lows. Be prepared to have your emotions go through turmoil. The founder must move everything. There's no corporate flywheel behind you. There's no brand that attracts customers. Every single customer must be won with hand-to-hand sales combat by the founder. Sales is filled with many no's and a smattering of yes's here and there. Hiring people is a challenge. There's an infinite number of prospective employees and contractors, but only a few that fit. It's a full-time and a half job. The hours are long and intense. The founder must build the culture from the start and carry it through to all new hires. Building culture takes time, as nothing is won quickly. Investors should take this into account when considering funding the startup. Going from nothing to something is one of the biggest challenges in the business world. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Risks in a Startup Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors reviewing a startup for a potential investment know there are many risks to consider. Here's a list of key risks to look for in a startup: Team risk. Does the startup have the right team with the right skills, and can they work together? Market risk. Will the market provide enough opportunities for the startup to succeed? Competition risk. Will the competition outrun the startup? Timing risk. Is now the right time to launch this startup? Funding risk. Will the startup be able to raise enough funding to accomplish the milestones? Marketing risk. Will the startup be able to get its message across? Sales risk. Will the startup choose the appropriate sales channels and hit the forecast? Technology risk. Will the technology landscape move against the startup and obsolete their technology? Product risk. Can the team build the proposed product? Hiring risk. Can the team hire the right people based on their location and position in the market? Consider these risks in making a startup investment decision. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Testing for Product Market Fit Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, investors look to see where the startup is in finding product/market fit. Here are some key tests to check how close your startup is to product-market fit: Demand outstrips supply. The startup finds itself constantly adding more server space for customers. The startup finds itself hiring more team members to manage the customer load. The product value shows through. Customers find value in the product and tell you so. Sales appear to be closing more quickly. The word of mouth from the users generates a faster close rate. Cash in the bank account appears to be growing faster than before. There's buzz in the market. The press wants to write about your company. You receive unsolicited comments about the excitement around your startup. Proof of product market fit shows up in customer usage, increasing sales, financial metrics, and word of mouth. It's often clear to see when you have product-market fit. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome David Vulcano, Vice President for clinical research, compliance and integrity at HCA Healthcare and president of Music City Angels, who shares how the Nashville chapter fits within the multi-city Community Equity Partners network and how the group invests through both angel funds and a club model. David walks through their process—light initial screening via the website, chapter-based prescreening, and monthly live pitches—along with what they want to see in early companies, including an MVP (not R&D), clear problem/solution, strong team, investment terms, and an exit strategy. David discusses the sectors they find compelling, including healthcare, fintech, advanced materials, EV/battery technology, and infrastructure, and he notes that "AI" alone isn't enough without a real problem being solved. He highlights what separates strong founders in the room—preparation, coachability, and hitting key points within a short pitch—and outlines common red flags such as uncapped SAFEs or convertible notes and founders who haven't thought through realistic exit scenarios. We also cover how Music City Angels adds value beyond capital through board roles, connections, syndication, and shared diligence across investor networks, as well as Tennessee ecosystem resources like Launch Tennessee matching funds and the Entrepreneur Center for pitch help. David offers advice to new angel investors to learn through group meetings and shared diligence, and he emphasizes that founders should submit through the Community Equity Partners website for the fastest path to a clear answer. Links mentioned: Community Equity Partners website. Reach out to at davidvulcano@outlook.com ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Avoid Out-of-Market Valuations Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the founder should avoid out-of-market valuations. There may be investors who become so excited about the deal that they offer a valuation that is above the current market. While this may appear to be a great opportunity to get a better price, the founder should avoid it. Out-of-market valuations can put off other investors. It will be difficult to finish the raise when the valuation is far off from the norm. The founder should put that valuation into the context of the company's overall fundraising plan. Pose this question: if the founder takes funding on that valuation, what will it take in revenue to raise the next round at a higher valuation? If this revenue level seems daunting, then it means the proposed valuation on this round is too high. Raise at a valuation that gives the founder the opportunity to raise the next round without too much of a challenge. Be able to point to other companies raising at that valuation so as to convince investors to join. While out-of-market valuations may seem like a gift, they're short-lived and will become a problem later. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Use an Investor List in a Fundraise Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, a founder starts with their own network. When that runs out, he looks for additional sources. There are many investor lists available through online resources. Here's how to use an investor list in a fundraise. Check your connections to the investor through your network, including social media. If you have mutual connections, then note those as well. Capture the information into the list so you can use it later in the follow-up process. Reach out to the contacts on the list with a customized message just for each one. This puts you on their radar that you exist and are in the same space. Next, reach out to their portfolio companies for mutual connections. Build a relationship with the founders of the portfolio companies by offering something useful to them. By building these relationships, one can then ask for introductions. This takes time, so it's best to start this process in advance of launching a fundraising campaign. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Next Round Will Require More Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the bar goes up with each round. The revenue must be higher, and milestones must be achieved. In raising funding, consider how to build a steady growth rate into the business. Look to avoid those businesses that have strong seasons and cycles throughout the year. Rework the revenue model to smooth out the bumps. Just because you have raised substantial funding doesn't mean that you should hire a great number of people. It's best to keep the fundraise small, so you have time to build momentum in your sales. No matter how many salespeople you hire, it will take time for customers to work your product into their process. Start with small rounds and then increase them. The next round will require more revenue, team, and product. So plan on a careful hiring plan with a thoughtful product rollout. Work to turn products into revenue Keep expenses to a minimum. Showing a steadily increasing revenue rate is the best story to tell in fundraising. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Keep a Good Relationship With the Founder Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors see a tremendous amount of dealflow. For some, it can become wearisome to see the same mistakes repeated. It's important for the investor to keep a good relationship with the founder. This means avoiding arrogant or condescending feedback to the startup. It also includes treating the startup founder with respect for their time. Avoid wasting the founder's time on secondary issues. Focus on the core issues first. Use the time to help the founder improve their deck and their business plan. Even if the startup is not a fit, set a goal to help each startup in some way. By keeping a good relationship, the investor may find that the next startup the founder launches is a good fit for investment. Startups are the ultimate long game in investing. It takes years to reach the successful exit of most startups. By keeping a good relationship with the founder, you can increase the chances of success. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

When To Close the Round Early Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the founder sets a target. Oftentimes, the target is a rather large number. It's best to break the larger raise into smaller rounds. This lets you run a series of smaller campaigns inside the larger fundraise. One of the benefits of breaking the raise into smaller rounds is that it gives the founder more control over the campaign. If one of the rounds is not going well, then the founder can choose to close it early. Instead of raising $1M, the founder could decide to close at $750K and move the remaining $250K to the next round. The funds will ultimately be raised, but the founder does have a choice of raising them now or raising them later. If one of the rounds is going very well, then the founder can choose to oversubscribe and extend it. This means taking some of the raise in the following round and drawing it into an earlier one. Consider how your fundraise is going and if you should close early or oversubscribe. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall T. Martin welcomes Michelle Leeuwon, a leader in technology commercialization at the University of Houston working at the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem development. Michelle shares how UH treats commercialization as a translational process—"cultivating deals" by asking three key questions: what problem is solved, who feels the pain enough to pay, and what meaningful proof reduces risk. She explains how her team selects the right pathway (licensing vs. startup formation), aligns technology with market needs, and helps founders narrow use cases, set realistic development and funding timelines, and define clear team roles. The conversation also covers proof-of-concept (gap) funding to build prototypes, validate applications, support scale-up, and drive customer discovery, along with an IP strategy focused on protecting "relevant novelty" to enable licensable, investable deals. Michelle discusses early engagement with industry and investors for feedback, best practices for pairing inventors with experienced operators through UH's Innovate accelerator, metrics centered on risk reduction, and closes with her contact details for licensing and startup opportunities. Reach out to at wwan@central.uh.edu, and on www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-leeuwon-486624170/ ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Avoid These Sins as a Startup Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup investors should act as role models for startup founders. Startup founders are often new to the startup world and so look to others with experience for how best to play the game. Avoid these sins as a startup investor. Not being genuine. Investors want startups to tell it straight, so investors should do the same for startups. If the answer is no, then tell the founder as soon as possible. Lack of honesty. Investors don't like it when founders fudge the numbers. Investors should return the favor and not overpromise or underdeliver to the founder. Lack of transparency. Investors don't like it when founders hold back key information about the company. Investors should not hold back on their concerns about the startup and their chance of success. Lack of depth. Investors want founders to go deep on their space, in particular their market and its customers. Investors should return the favor and go deep into the analysis of the startups' chosen market and the chance of the startups' success. Lack of humanity. Investors need to remember that founders are people too, and investing is more than just numbers. It's about relationships. Avoid these sins as a startup investor. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Challenges of Partnerships Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Bringing on a cofounder has many advantages. There are also disadvantages. Here's a list of challenges with partnerships: Decision making. Partners bring the challenge of making decisions. It's best to decide who has the final say in all decisions to avoid a stalemate. Liability. Both partners are liable for the debts of the business. Profit share. Partners share the profits, so it's best to figure out how it will be divided. Business continuity. The business may falter if one of the partners cannot continue. Set up a plan for what will happen in the event that one or the other partner drops out. Risk. The partners may perceive risk differently, with one who may be a risk taker while the other is risk-averse. Expertise. While two partners are better than one, that still may not be enough for the business to achieve success. Exit strategy. It's best to determine in advance how the business will achieve an exit and how much each partner receives. Consider these points before setting up a partnership. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Benefits of Having a Co-Founder Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Launching a startup is a challenging endeavor. Having a co-founder can bring many benefits as follows: Share the responsibility of launching and running the business. One can hire administrative people and outsource functions, but there needs to be management over each of those areas. Bring more skills to the business. Two people bring more skills and experience than one. Mitigate risk in the business. Two people are better able to handle the risks than a solo founder. Broader network Building a business requires hiring team members, closing customers, and raising funding from investors. Two people bring a broader network to these tasks. Better decision-making Two people can often make better decisions than a single person because they bring a greater range of perspectives. Moral support Two people can support each other better than a solo founder can. Customer and project success Two people can bring more resources to the project than a single person. Consider these reasons for bringing on a co-founder. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound

How To Generate the Herd Effect Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, the startup founder's job is to motivate the investor to engage in the deal. Investors are often motivated by what they see other investors do. This is called the herd effect. This is when people copy what others are doing. Here are some key tips on how to create the herd effect with your investors: For investors who have influence or a network, offer them advisory shares to help recruit more investors. The advisory shares incentivize the investor to promote the deal to other investors. Use social media to showcase your investor updates and encourage existing investors to repost and like the mention. Pitch investors in small groups rather than one-on-one. Five is an ideal number. Investors can see the interest from other investors, which generates FOMO. This also helps build confidence in the investor that they are not alone and will have support from others if they invest. Finally, calculate the interest and committed funds and share with the investors in regular updates. This shows investor interest in the deal. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Avoid Giving Up Too Much Equity in the Early Stages Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the early stages of a company, fundraisers should focus on the minimum amount, not the maximum. The valuation is low, and so the founders encounter greater dilution. The majority of the fundraise should be done later when the valuation has increased. Each round will cost the founder 25% of their equity. Most use convertible notes. Beware of using the convertible note as a credit card in which the founder keeps raising funds on it. At the Series A level, venture capital will check to see if there's enough equity left for their investment. The VC will also want to see enough equity left in the round for the founders. If the founders have given up too much equity in the early stages, then investors will not fund the startup. Founders should keep track of the equity they are giving up with convertible notes. They should have at least 60% of the equity by the time they approach a Series A investor. Consider these points in negotiating early-stage rounds of funding. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Dave Sanders, angel investor and Membership Chair at SAC Angels. Located in El Dorado Hills, California, Sac Angels is a long-running Sacramento-based angel group that's been investing in high-potential early-stage startups since the late 1990s, with about 70 members completing roughly 15–20 transactions a year. The group focuses primarily on broad-based technology (about 70–80%) across the western US while remaining open to opportunities nationwide, and it supports founders not only with capital but also with mentorship, connections, and experienced operator guidance through the early, messy stages of growth. Dave shares how Sac Angels typically invests at the seed stage (with some Series A), with common check sizes of $100K–$250K and rounds often raising $750K–$2.5M. He explains how their multi-class LLC structure allows them to write one check to keep the cap table clean and encourages more participation from members, and he notes SAC Angels' collaborative approach with other groups and accelerators, including Berkeley SkyDeck and the 14-group NSYNC Angels network. Dave also highlights their ability to move quickly on strong, led deals—sometimes writing checks in under 30 days, and in one case in three days. Dave is an active angel investor who helps source, evaluate, and co-invest in seed-stage companies through SAC Angels. He also serves as a GP in a micro fund and has invested across dozens of companies, sharing lessons learned about portfolio construction and the importance of diversification in an asset class where outcomes are hard to predict. With deep experience working with founders, Dave spends significant time coaching and mentoring companies post-investment, using his network to open doors and make strategic connections. He emphasizes that successful companies often differentiate early through strong teams, clean deal terms, crisp storytelling, and the ability to raise follow-on capital—since many startups ultimately succeed or fail based on continued access to funding. Dave discusses what SAC Angels looks for in founders, themes they find compelling today, including AI applied to targeted workflows and health tech, and how syndication and relationships drive access to quality deals. He also shares advice for founders raising their first round—question whether venture is the right path, stay lean, and show real traction—and for new angels to join a group, build a diversified portfolio of 15–20 investments over four to five years, and target disciplined, portfolio-based returns. Visit SAC Angels at sacangels.com/ Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/company/sacramento-angels/ ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

There Are Many Scenarios in Fundraising Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In fundraising, there are many scenarios and strategies a founder can use. Here are several factors that impact which strategy to use: The current market for funding. In up markets, one can raise more funding and at a faster pace. The strength of the startup. Startups with traction and a great team can command greater fundraises. The target growth rate of the company. The higher the growth, the greater the fundraising goal. The type of investor sought. There are angels, venture capitalists, and family offices to consider. Angels can be easier funding to acquire. VCs can invest greater amounts of money. Family offices can be patient money. Throughout the campaign, consider which strategy and scenario to use at each stage. In pitching, be sure not to play out all the options to an investor, as this will be confusing. Choose a scenario and play it out with the investor. Consider these points in choosing the strategy and scenario of your fundraise. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

It's Not Closed Till Money Is in the Bank Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Founders seeking funding will hear yes from an investor. Many founders consider the funding to be done. Founders should move to close the funding and not rest until the funds have been transferred. Many funding commitments never materialize. Issues come up in diligence. The investor has cash flow issues or unexpected expenses. Bad news from the financial markets shakes the investor's confidence. To close the funding, set up a timeline with the investor. Baby step in the process to get the documents signed, the diligence done, and the funds transferred. Remove areas of friction, such as docu-signing the investment documents. Diligence is a key area to watch out for, as new information will come to light. This will have the most impact on an investor's decision. Finally, keep the fundraise going. It's not closed till money is in the bank. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Handle Pushback on Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In fundraising, the founder encounters a variety of investors. Some are concerned about the return, some about the traction, and others about the valuation. For those focused on valuation, here are some key steps to consider: First, check their knowledge of current market valuations. Ask what valuations they've seen on recent fundraises and exits that match your company. Next, identify what they consider the most important factors that drive valuation. This could be revenue, growth rates, team, or other. Finally, ask what valuation they would ascribe to your deal. The goal is to delay the negotiation process and gather as much information as possible. Investors see many deals and have information that most founders do not. Consider how their information informs your valuation. Once you decide on a valuation, stick with it and approach investors who are not as concerned with it. Raise a meaningful amount of funding for the deal. Find comps that support your valuation. Only then do you engage the original investors, but now there's evidence that other investors are in the deal. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Think Minimum Raise, Not Maximum Raise Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Most startup founders calculate how much funding they need to accomplish the goal. This is a good initial step in the fundraising process. The mistake is then asking for that amount of money in one go. It's important to break the raise down into steps and stages. The first round of fundraising should be the minimum needed to reach a milestone. Not a maximum to reach the end goal. The startup's valuation is low in the early stages, so the fundraise should be at a minimum, so the founders don't suffer too much dilution. For a minimum fundraise the founder should consider what is the minimum team focused on a minimum viable product to achieve initial traction. As the startup generates more products, revenue, and traction, it can raise its valuation and take larger amounts of funding. This will reduce dilution and make the job of building and selling the product easier. Consider what your minimum raise should be and what you can do with it. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Start by Looking for Your First Investor, Not Your Lead Investor Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funding, some founders focus solely on finding their lead investor. In most cases, it's better to find investors to join the round even if they are not leading. By using convertible notes and SAFE notes, investors can join the raise. Start with investors who are most likely to join and sign them up. This shows traction with the fundraiser. The investor who takes the lead will look for some evidence that other investors will join. It's rare that the first investor is also the lead investor. In most cases, the lead investor is the 5th, the 10th, or often the 25th investor the founder meets. By picking up investors in the round, this often helps polish the pitch, fill out the data room, and prep the founder for a prospective lead investor. It's easier to pick up investors on a convertible or SAFE note because the valuation is not set. There's a valuation cap that protects the investor from outsized valuation by the founder. Start your fundraise by looking for your first investor, not your lead investor. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Barry, who presents a medical device focused on improving treatment for hydrocephalus, a condition caused by excess fluid in the brain. Barry describes the current standard approach—ventricular-peritoneal shunts that drain fluid from the brain to the abdomen using a long rubber tube—and outlines key issues including infection, clogging, and siphoning that can over-drain the brain. He notes a 40% first-year reintervention rate, with roughly $1B in first-year reintervention costs and about $3B in annual overall health system costs, and explains that patients typically face a lifetime of revisions averaging about 10 surgeries. Barry explains their alternative approach, "physiologic shunting," which drains cerebrospinal fluid into part of the venous system and is placed entirely on the cranium, avoiding the long-tube failure points. The procedure is described as a 15–30 minute implant that can be done under local anesthesia, requires no navigation/robotics, uses standard neurosurgical tools, and is designed for constant, self-regulating flow. He positions the device as a Class II de novo/510(k) pathway and says the team has had two FDA pre-submission meetings, is currently in sheep animal studies, and plans a GLP study later in the year to support an IDE for human use. Barry shares market context: the U.S. hydrocephalus shunt market is about $170M annually with around 100,000 surgeries per year, including about 70,000 revisions; worldwide the market is about $500M. He argues a more reliable device could rapidly capture the revision market and notes the current market is dominated by Medtronic and Integra. He also discusses an additional opportunity in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in patients over 65, stating there are about 700,000 diagnosed in the U.S. and only 1% receive shunts despite symptom improvement. Barry states the company has raised $2.5M to date and is seeking an additional $2.5M via convertible note to reach a first-in-human pilot targeted around 2025, with initial offshore pilots potentially in South America or Australia. Barry is a medical device industry professional who presents a cranial implant designed to simplify hydrocephalus management and reduce revision surgeries. He emphasizes the device's ease of training for neurosurgeons, multiple cranial placement locations, and a "no bridges burned" approach where the implant can be removed and replaced through a small skin incision if needed. Barry describes a competitive landscape that includes one competitor pursuing an endovascular technique, while his team's approach is a surgical technique intended to be safer, simpler, and not dependent on specialized equipment. He also discusses manufacturing readiness, stating a supplier/contractor has been identified and that devices used in animal studies meet sterility and related standards. Barry discusses the shortcomings of current shunts, the company's physiologic shunting approach, the regulatory and study plan toward first-in-human use, the funding raise, and the market opportunity—especially capturing the large revision segment and potential expansion into normal pressure hydrocephalus. ________________________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https:/_/tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Track Interest, Committed, and Invested Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising a round of funding, most founders focus on the invested funds so far. When asked about the progress, the founder quotes the invested amount and the amount left in the raise. This undersells the traction the founder has. In addition to the invested, also track the interest and committed funds. For each investor who has some interest, ask for their level of interest. Add up all the interested investor amounts. For those who are committed but not yet invested, add up those funds as well. In discussing with prospective investors, quote the interest, commitment, and investment. This shows additional interest from investors in the round. A typical update would be, in our $1M raise, we have $600K invested, $250K committed, and interest at $800K. It's often the case that the interest and committed funds are greater than the remaining amount in the raise. This creates scarcity and generates FOMO with the investors who now see that there's not enough room to cover all potential investors. Use this to help close the fundraising round. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.