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Automating Your Dealflow Process Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup investors see a tremendous amount of deal flow. Finding quality deals is the challenge. Here are some key steps to automate the dealflow process: Set up tools to search for founders with a specific background. For example, one can set a search to find founders from Y Combinator or Techstars. Search for founder configurations. One can search for startups with two co-founders, which in some analyses, have a higher success rate. Search for early-stage startups in the MVP phase. Most venture capitalists don't look to invest at the very earliest stage. Connect with angel groups deaflow by connecting to their pipeline. Set growth criteria and tune the search for those with a higher growth rate. Set the search for specific sectors such as life sciences, tech, or consumer product goods. By determining the key criteria, one can automate the search process to find deals that fit those criteria. Consider what criteria you are looking for and set up automation tools for 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Key Criteria for Venture Capital Investment Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Venture capital requires a specific type of startup to meet its investment objectives. Here's a list of key criteria VCs look for: Large market size. The market is large and growing fast. This provides the startup numerous opportunities to find a position in the market. Large market population. The market population provides ample opportunity to scale the startup. Short sales cycles. The startup can close customers quickly and at a relatively low cost. Amenable to technology. The startup can use technology to provide a portion of the solution. This gives the startup the ability to automate the business process. Perception of value. The customer gets the value proposition of the startup quickly. This makes customer acquisition efficient. Sustainable value proposition. The product provides value over a substantial amount of time. Flash trends are hard to grow in the long term. Look for these criteria in startups to fund with venture capital dollars. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Andrew Kazlow, entrepreneur, writer, and host of The Diligent Observer. Andrew shares how he moved from an engineering background into the business side of industrial automation, then returned to Texas A&M for an MBA where he studied what's "broken" in angel investing and found that volunteer-driven investor networks often create a slow, painful process for founders, especially around due diligence. He explains what angels commonly overlook, starting with self-awareness and having a clear investing strategy, then emphasizes prioritizing demand-side validation over product excitement and using frameworks such as team, tech, and TAM to surface red and yellow flags. Andrew also discusses PitchBack's evolution from diligence-as-a-service into outsourced operations and emerging software that consolidates the many tools needed to run angel networks, as well as how AI is accelerating screening while making human-to-human judgment more important. He closes with advice on becoming more disciplined as an angel and why founder "platform" and audience matter in fundraising and distribution. Visit The Diligent Observer at thediligentobserver.com Reach out to at linkedin.com/in/andrewkazlow, and on x.com/AKazlow ________________________________________________________________________ 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Handle Soft Commitments Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors provide soft commitments to hold their place in a fundraise but delay the actual investment. The soft commitment is not legally binding. Investors often provide soft commitments while they go through their own diligence process. It's often the case that the investor drops out before making the investment. Here are some steps the founder can take to close a soft commitment: Make it clear other investors are joining the round now by listing their investments. Calculate in dollars the interest and committed funds and share the results with soft commitment investors. Update this number weekly and show how the raise is reaching completion. Baby-step the investor through the process of interest, term sheet signing, and diligence. As the investor invests more time into the deal, they become more committed because their time is in it. If there are several soft commitments, then combine them into one fundraise and put a price on the round that most agree with. This treats the multiple soft commitments as a lead investor. Consider these steps in managing soft commitments for 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Perform Due Diligence on an Investor 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 be doing as much diligence on the investor as the investor is doing on the startup. Here are some key steps to perform due diligence on an investor: What type of investor are they? Angel, venture capitalist, family office, other? What is their track record in investing? Have they invested for a short period of time or for a long time? What type of network do they have? Will this help with fundraising? How well do they know your industry, sector, and business? What is their reputation in the community? Do they make follow-on investments? What do they look for in the investment? The team, the product, the strategy, other? What deal terms do they bring, and does it make sense for the startup? How much equity are they looking for, and does it make sense for their level of commitment? Consider these steps in diligencing an investor 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Basic Due Diligence Process Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors funding a startup must first complete the due diligence process. The objective is to understand all the particulars about the company and the team. Here is the list of the basic due diligence process: The investment. This includes the term sheet, other investors in the round, and dilution impact. Financials. This includes the income statement and balance sheet. If they have revenue, then how much is recognized and when? Do they have debt on the books? What do the financial projections look like for the coming 3 to 5 years? Tax returns if there are any. Team. Who is on the team, and what does their CV look like? Background checks should be run on the key personnel. Contracts. What contracts have been signed for generating revenue? Employee contracts and IP assignments are in this category. Corporate What legal entity is the business filed under? C-Corp, LLC, other? Intellectual property What patents were filed and when? Sales and Marketing What are the current sales channels, revenue, and marketing programs? What are the main products the company sells? Consider this basic list of due diligence for your next investment. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Importance of Vesting Shares Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Vesting shares means taking shares granted to an employee and having them earned over time. A typical vesting schedule is four years with a one-year cliff. This means the employee granted shares will not have ownership of the shares for the first year. At the end of the first year, the employee now owns 25% of the shares granted. After that, the employee earns another 25% each year, and after four years from the start, the employee owns 100% of the shares granted. It's important to apply vesting to shares to incentivize the employee to stay long enough to accomplish the work at hand. Co-founders without vesting can leave at any time and take their shares with them. Their equity is no longer working for the company. Investors often unvest founders' shares and require a vesting schedule to earn them back. This incentivizes the founder to stay with the company. If a founder leaves the company early, then there's equity to compensate those who take their place. Consider applying vesting to the founders in startups you fund. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

What Is Reverse Due Diligence Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Due diligence is the process of reviewing the condition of a company to be acquired. The purpose is to understand the company's current status, including risks, assets, liabilities, and potential opportunities. Reverse due diligence is when the company being acquired reviews the condition of the acquirer. Here are several reasons why one would execute reverse due diligence: This validates the financial stability of the acquirer. The acquisition process takes at least six months and requires a substantial amount of time. It's important to know that the acquirer has the capability and resources to make the acquisition. The acquirer has several options for how to manage the acquisition. The acquired company could be integrated into the acquirer company, or it could be kept separate. A reverse due diligence could help make that determination. A reverse due diligence also determines the best placement of the acquired company's team into the acquiring company. Reverse due diligence is as important as the diligence of the acquired. Consider running a reverse due diligence on your next acquisition. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Jason Taylor, founder and president of CodeLaunch, who shares how he created the program in 2012 to help early-stage tech founders overcome the catch-22 of needing a product to raise funding but needing funding to build the product. Jason explains how CodeLaunch runs regional competitions that narrow hundreds of applicants down to six finalists per region, then pairs each finalist with a three-person team of elite improving developers for an intense pre-event build session designed to accelerate and polish products for launch and fundraising. He also discusses what makes CodeLaunch different—no equity taken, meaningful software development support, and a high-production "venturetainment" live showcase—along with what he looks for in applicants, lessons learned from international expansion, his take on Shark Tank versus Next Founder Up, examples of founder outcomes, and upcoming events in Toronto, Guadalajara, and Dallas. Visit CodeLaunch at www.codelaunch.com Reach out to at [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________ 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

The Importance of a Data Room Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. A dataroom is a collection of the key documents of a startup for a fundraise. The dataroom can be kept in software specifically designed for dataroom access or in a simple storage folder. These documents include legal entity filings, patents, financials, forecasts, cap table, contracts, and more. A well-organized data room is a must-have component of a fundraise. Here are several reasons why the founder needs a good dataroom. Provides a single location for all the documents of a startup raising funding. This prevents the fundraise from becoming a paper chase for the investor. Gives the founder a method for communicating a potentially large amount of data to the investor. Provides a source of information for all the investors in a fundraise. A well-organized data room inspires investor confidence in the company. Provides transparency of the company to the investor, which builds even more investor confidence. Can be useful to the investor and founder post-fundraise by providing the historical documentation. Consider building out the data room before launching a 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Invest Using a Fund of Funds Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investing in a series of venture capital funds is one strategy for venture investing. This is a fund of funds investment strategy. Venture funds give the Limited Partner access to the best VCs in the industry. Each of the funds used will also bring a set of management and carry fees with it. The goal is to model out a portfolio of VC funds that provide the best return. The LP can expect a return of 20% IRR each year. Here's how to invest using fund of funds: Choose from a variety of seed and growth funds. Seed funds can have a higher return given the lower cost of entry. Growth funds can return gains faster since they invest in later stage startups. Diversify across sector, stage, and geography. Within the investment thesis diversify across experienced and emerging managers. Assign a numeric score to each facet of the fund and one for the overall score to rank order the funds. Make the portfolio selection based on the rank ordering. Choose funds to fill the gaps in the overall portfolio. Consider these steps for investing in a fund of funds. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Best Practices for Networking Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Networking is a key skill in startup fundraising. The founder must be able to navigate a community to find investors for their fundraise. Here are some best practices in networking in advance of a fundraise campaign: Always ask for referrals. In each discussion, ask for two names of other people to contact. Instead of pitching what you do, ask for advice on what you should do. This involves the listener in the deal and makes them an active contributor. Identify your core mission and make it a part of the discussion. This gives purpose to the conversation. Highlight what your startup offers to solve the problem. This shows a clear benefit of the startup. Look for those with a similar mindset. This helps build your following. Use blogging and social media posting to help find more contacts. This extends the reach of your network. Consider these best practices for networking for 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Dilution by Startup Stage Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Dilution is a major issue for founders. Each stage of fundraising causes another reduction in the founder's ownership. Here are the levels of dilution at each startup stage based on current data: Seed round -- 20% Series A round -- 20% Series B round -- 17% Series C round -- 13% Series D -- 11% Series E -- 10% In the early days of the startup, the founder gives up 20 to 25% of the equity to investors. As the rounds continue, the amount of dilution decreases. By the Series C round, the dilution drops below 15%. In the early days, some founders may have given up 25% or more. It's clear they are giving up more equity than other startups. To reduce dilution, consider the following: Map out the rounds of funding for the life of the startup and factor dilution into the plan. Run a what-if cap table analysis to determine the impact of dilution on the founder's ownership. This will inform the founder on what valuation must be achieved at each stage. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Problems Are Startups Waiting To Happen Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Ideating a new startup begins with a problem. Here are the steps to ideating your next startup: Scan the market for problems. Review the news to find startup ideas. Review customer reviews of products and services. Talk with others about the problems they encounter. Make a list of problems found and categorize them as small annoyances, medium issues, or major problems. All of the above can be solved with a startup. Match the solution to the problem. Small annoyances can often be solved with a mobile phone application. Medium issues can be solved with service solutions. Major challenges can be solved with a larger-scale system. Look for problem-solution fit. Make sure not to over-engineer the solution, as customers won't be able to afford it. Take large problems and break them into smaller ones that can be solved more easily. Consider these steps in finding problems to solve and turning them into startup solutions. 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall T. Martin welcomes Per Nordling, an entrepreneur, angel investor, and SaaS operator who co-founded Medius in 2001, bootstrapped it to about $10M in revenue, raised capital to accelerate expansion, and helped scale the company internationally across Europe, North America, Australia, and parts of Asia before selling his stake. Per shares what founders need before going global, including a verified offer with real customer adoption, a clearly defined ideal customer profile, a deliberate go-to-market strategy, localization and regulatory readiness, and adequate funding. He explains why Partinc Capital focuses on B2B SaaS and AI, how active investors add value through ownership, board, and operational support, and where he sees European opportunities in helping SaaS companies integrate AI while Europe competes primarily through niche AI applications rather than infrastructure, amid heavy regulation and limited funding. Visit Partinc Capital at partinccapital.com/ Reach out to at [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________ 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 [email protected] Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.