Starting a Relationship With an Investor

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In raising funding from an early-stage investor, the founder must build a relationship with that investor.

Here are some key steps to starting a relationship with an investor.

Learn their background and experiences from online sources.

It's important to know their education and work experience.

Research the investor by talking to their portfolio companies.

Talk with mutual connections to learn more.

Broach the discussion about the level of support the investor can provide.

Adjust the expectations you have for the investor.

Check their interest in joining an advisory board.

In the early stages, this is often an informal board that meets from time to time to discuss key issues.

Actively solicit feedback from the investor and make clear it's always invited.

Set up a time to meet on a regular basis in person.

Finally, find a mutual interest outside of work so the discussion can focus on other things from time to time.

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.

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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/
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In this episode of Investor Connect, Hall T. Martin opens the new TEN Capital Connect event focused on applying AI to investing, bringing investors together to share tools, get feedback, and hear pitches while highlighting TEN Capital's work since 2009 connecting startups and investors, supporting fundraising strategy, and running multiple monthly events (https://tencapital.group/events) alongside expansion into the MENA region and the launch of the "TEN Capital Connect" Substack newsletter on AI in startup investing and funding.

Hall then introduces investors in the room including entrepreneur Andy Fogarasi, Incisive Ventures managing partner Martin Tobias (a B2B software pre-seed investor and early DocuSign backer), and other early-stage investors and operators. The first company pitch features Pete Ferrari of Healthy For Life presenting Joka (Allulose) as a sugar alternative with claimed metabolic benefits, early traction including repeat purchase and subscription growth, a distribution network, AI-driven demand capture, and a pending patent for cleaner manufacturing, while raising $5M in equity at a $20M pre-money valuation, followed by investor Q&A on defensibility, clinical trials, and go-to-market execution.

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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.

Building a Moat Into a Startup

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Startups in the early days have little to protect the business beyond intellectual property.

As the company grows, the startup can build a stronger moat.

Here are some key steps for building a moat into a startup:

Network effects -- grow the network within your customer base to strengthen the business.

Design the product and the marketing to connect others to the customer base.

Platforms -- design a platform into the solution offered.

A platform brings reduced cost and greater capabilities versus one-off products.

Integrate with partners -- use APIs and other technical connections to create a seamless solution for customers.

Integrations add value and are difficult to compete against.

Bundle products -- package several services into a single product.

Through bundling, one creates a better solution that appeals to a broader audience.

Long-term sales contracts -- signing long-term contracts provides a moat.

Customers who want to switch will find it costly, and competitors will get tired of waiting for the customer to come back to the table.

Proprietary data -- data that is unique to the business adds value.

Unique data can be mined for additional products and services.

Brand -- build a brand that provides a unique promise to the customer.

Brands take time to build but can provide an additional moat for the company.

Consider these steps in building a moat into 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 Capital-Efficient Startup

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Investors look for capital-efficient businesses to invest in.

Founders looking to raise funding should first consider building a capital-efficient startup.

Here are some key steps to building a startup that is capital-efficient:

Look for a business opportunity that generates good revenue from the customer.

The customer will pay a high price for the product.

This often comes from a good product-to-market fit.

The business runs efficiently and doesn't need a great deal of money to provide the product or service.

Businesses in this category are considered frugal and spend carefully.

Salaries are kept low, which raises the value of the equity of the business.

The startup is in a high-growth market segment generating organic growth.

The startup is highly scalable and doesn't need a great deal of capital to grow.

Capital-efficient businesses in the long run should do better because they don't have to raise capital as often.

Investors should look for these drivers in potential startup investments.

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 Sales Metrics To Look For

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In reviewing startups, here are the key metrics investors should look for:

Annual contract value -- the value the customer spends on the product in one year.

This needs to be a meaningful amount of money in order to grow a startup.

Customer lifetime value -- the total amount of money the customer spends on the product.

This indicates how well the product meets the customer's needs.

Sales pipeline -- the number and revenue value of sales prospects.

This shows ongoing demand for the product from new customers.

Conversion rate -- this shows how many leads turn into sales.

This needs to be a known figure so as to calculate how many leads to generate to meet a sales goal.

Sales team turnover -- this shows how long sales reps stay with a company.

This shows how many salespeople need to be recruited and trained.

Referrals -- shows how many leads come from partner channels.

This shows how many partners need to be recruited and trained.

Customer retention -- this shows how long customers use the product.

This determines how many new customers need to be recruited.

The goal of metrics is to define the current business model so it can be tuned to operate efficiently.

Look to see how well defined these metrics are for a potential startup 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 info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

How To Get the Most out of a Pitch Session

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

For those setting up a pitch session, here are the key steps so the presenter and investor get the most out of it.

Decide the goal of the pitch session.

This could be providing practice for the presenter, or giving feedback on the pitch, or making an investment decision.

Determine the criteria for selecting the presenters.

Recruit startup presenters who meet the criteria.

Set up an agenda for who will pitch and how long.

Provide documentation upfront about the pitches, including the deck or executive summaries.

Set aside time for general questions after each pitch.

Set expectations about what will be covered in the pitches and what will not.

Encourage questions that drive to the goal of the pitch session.

Discourage questions and feedback that distract from the goal.

Set aside time for one-on-one discussions between the investors and the presenters.

Make available the presenters' contact information.

Encourage follow-up by the investors.

Consider these steps in how to get the most out of a pitch session.

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.

Fundraising Is a Sales Process

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Fundraising is a sales process.

Consider these steps in setting up your fundraiser:

First, build the investor documents, including pitch deck, terms sheet, and data room.

In fundraising, you are selling equity in your company.

This is the same as a brochure or data sheet for your product.

Second, build a list of prospective investors to pursue.

Just as you have an ideal customer profile for selling your product, so you also have an ideal investor profile.

Search for investors that fit your ideal profile.

Third, research your investor prospects to learn more about them.

Fourth, make initial contact with the investor.

Update them on your fundraiser.

Fifth, and most importantly, follow up to check interest

Answer their questions and update them on your progress.

Sixth, identify your best investor prospects and move to close.

It takes seven touches to close a sale so it takes seven touches to close an investor.

Seventh, review the characteristics of the investors who came in to learn more about how you found them, where they hang out, and what they wanted.

This will inform your process on how to find more investors.

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.