What Angels Look For

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

Angel investors are not professional investors in the same way as venture capitalists.

Angel investors are typically successful business people who want to invest in startups.

The old angel saying is, they want to make a little money, do a little good, and have a little fun.

They often have a broad or general investment thesis.

They don’t focus on one sector or niche in most cases.

They look for startups that are solving a big problem with a differentiated solution, and led by a strong team with experience.

They look for product validation and market validation.

The product works, and people will pay for it.

Most importantly, they look for startups demonstrating the growth story.

The revenue is growing, and the startup is making good progress on building the business.

There needs to be a large potential reward but it doesn’t have to be 100X as in the case with many VCs.

They avoid companies that need to raise a large amount of additional capital, as this will dilute them.

They get excited about an opportunity that has recently reached an inflection point.

This could be closing a lighthouse customer, launching the final version of their product, or hiring a team to accelerate sales.

In raising funding, position your deal for angel investors with these care abouts.

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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First Meeting With an Investor

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

After a number of calls with a prospective investor, there comes the first meeting in person.

Here are some key steps in running that meeting:

Introduce yourself and your team.

Show the market you are pursuing.

Present your solution.

Show your sales process and how it works.

Explain your go-to-market strategy.

List the milestones you plan to achieve with the funds raised.

Define the fundraising status, including the amount, terms, and how much has been raised so far.

Make the presentation a collaborative effort, taking questions along the way to ensure everyone is tracking with you.

Answer questions directly and to the point.

If the question begins with How many or How much then the answer should be a number.

If the question begins with When, then the answer is a time or date.

Stay on topic and avoid long, meandering stories.

Finally, come prepared knowing your numbers.

Consider these points when preparing for your investor meeting.

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/
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In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Alan Foreman, the CEO of Be Secure, who discusses the transformative journey of his company in the realm of heart health. Alan shares that he founded Be Secure nine years ago after a lengthy career in Accenture's Life Sciences division. Currently, the company is on a $12 million growth raise to commercialize its breakthrough heart health technology, which received FDA clearance recently. Be Secure focuses on making preventive rather than reactive heart health solutions, leveraging their powerful, device-agnostic software that offers high accuracy ECG readings in consumer and medical devices alike, such as the latest versions of the Whoop and Fitbit devices.

Alan elaborates on how the recent challenges faced by Philips, a significant player in heart monitoring technology, present both a testament to the need for better solutions and an opportunity for Be Secure to make a substantial impact on the market. Alan details the company's innovative use of cybersecurity experts and detailed signal processing to develop technology that bridges consumer wellness and medical-grade ECG technology. He highlights how Be Secure's cloud-based and on-device solutions offer transformative accuracy and efficiency in heart monitoring, even earning the interest of major insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield. The conversation turns to the scalability and swift deployment of Be Secure’s solutions in medical environments, emphasizing how their data quality can accelerate and improve diagnosis in cardiologists' workflows. Alan stresses the importance of their upcoming scale-up and commercial focus, particularly in filling the funding gap to expedite the deployment of their remarkable technology in the healthcare space.

We also learn about Be Secure's financials and investment strategy, which involves contributions from venture capital and venture debt providers. Alan emphasizes ongoing discussions with top medical companies and the anticipated rapid revenue growth fueled by the latest FDA clearance. The episode wraps with Alan addressing some practical questions about scaling, design timelines, and the lifecycle of deals with their partners, giving a comprehensive view of Be Secure's promising future. For more updates and opportunities to engage with Alan and Be Secure, stay tuned to Investor Connect.

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/
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Early Stage Traction

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

In the very early stage of the life of a company, traction can be more than just revenue growth

Here are some key traction points to look for.

The founder has an idea.

The founder has an idea and a pitch deck.

The founder has an idea, a pitch deck, and an MVP or minimum viable product

The founder has an idea, a pitch deck, an MVP, and a customer.

The founder has an idea, a pitch deck, an MVP, and a customer with revenue.

The founder has an idea, a pitch deck, an MVP, and a customer with revenue that is growing.

The founder has an idea, a pitch deck, an MVP, a customer with revenue that is growing, and a repeatable process for signing up customers.

By breaking the early stage into phases, one can better understand if the startup is making progress.

Startup investors look for signs of traction and momentum in the deal before investing.

Consider this more nuanced version of traction in assessing very early-stage startups.

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/
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Why Now?

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

In raising funding, it’s important to instill a sense of urgency in the fundraiser.

One of the key elements is describing why now is the right time for this fundraiser.

Follow these steps to show how everything is aligned for success:

The team is experienced and in place.

The product is ready and has been validated.

The market is ripe for disruption.

The window of opportunity has been opened by a recent event.

An inflection point now gives the startup an advantage over the competition.

Show how all the elements have lined up to make this a successful endeavor.

It’s important to show the why now, as investors may assume that the startup can raise funding at any time.

Make it clear, now is the time to pursue this opportunity.

The chance of success is at its greatest.

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/
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Build Your Presence With a VC Fund

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

In raising funding from a VC fund, it’s important to understand the partner team.

Each VC fund has a number of senior partners, junior partners, and others such as analysts and scouts.

One of the partners will bring the founder to a weekly group meeting of the team to hear pitches from the founders.

The partner bringing in the founder is the advocate.

The founder pitches to the team.

The team discusses and decides to pursue or pass.

This process can play out over several weeks.

The advocate’s job is to convince the team that they should pursue the startup.

The founder’s job is to arm the advocate with updates and information to help close the team members.

Each team member has their own list of founders they want the fund to support.

The advocate must bring compelling information and overcome objections from others.

In raising from a VC fund, provide your advocate with enough ammunition to build your presence within the VC fund.

It’s helpful to know more about the team and their careabouts.

It’s a must to always go through your advocate.

Consider these points when raising funds from a VC 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/
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How To Say No to a Startup

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

Investors receive pitches from startups almost every day.

Many of these startups simply don’t match the investment thesis of the investor.

Here’s how to say no to a startup.

Respond with the same level of effort that the founder put into the outreach.

For an automated email, simply don’t respond.

For a personalized email outreach, respond with a message “thank you for your outreach, this doesn’t fit our investment thesis. We look for” and explain your target area.

For a warm introduction, respond with what you like about the deal, but admit this doesn’t appear to be a fit.

It’s often the case that the founder will come back with more information.

In this case, respond with feedback on how to make the deal more interesting.

If the deal is missing key information, then advise the founder to include those key points.

This provides value to the interaction between the investor and 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

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Don’t Play the Scenario Game in the Pitch

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

Founders are confronted with many options for their fundraising.

If they raise more, they can achieve more milestones.

If they raise less, they can achieve fewer milestones.

Some founders play out these scenarios in the pitch to investors.

This is a mistake.

Multiple scenarios of varying amounts of funding with differing outcomes only confuse the investor.

Investors often try to figure out what the startup is doing.

Adding complexity with several fundraising options only makes the process harder.

It’s best to choose a fundraising amount and decide what can be done with it.

Present this to the investor.

If multiple investors indicate this is not the best path forward, then consider changing it.

It’s okay to have multiple versions of the pitch, each geared to a different investor type.

Choose the appropriate version of the deck for the one you are pitching.

Avoid the multiple-scenario game in the pitch.

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.