VC Minute

By Rich Maloy

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Category: Investing

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Episodes: 232

Description

Quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better. Founders, do you feel like you're fundraising on an uneven playing field? You are. The VC minute is here to help you level up. Venture capitalists navigate pitches and negotiate investments every day. They know the ins and outs and are up-to-date on the current funding environment. But as a founder, it may be your first foray into fundraising, and no matter how much success you've had in other areas nothing truly prepares you for the fundraising journey. The VC Minute was created to help founders close this gap. While it may seem like securing an investment at the seed stage is mostly driven by luck, there are steps founders can take to increase the odds of successfully raising a round. And that's what we're going to cover on the VC Minute through a series of short episodes. I'm going to share with you insights to help navigate the seed stage financing dynamics. I'm Rich Maloy, Managing Partner at SpringTime Ventures with 25 years business experience a dozen years in the startup ecosystem. I've applied my experience from sales, finance, and venture investing, to help startup founders fundraise better.

Episode Date
226. Rays of Hope, Paths Forward
Apr 26, 2024
225. Seed Crust: This is the Seed Crust
Apr 25, 2024
224. Seed Crust: VC Allocation Shift
Apr 24, 2024
223. Seed Crust: Backlogs Everywhere
Apr 23, 2024
222. Seed Crust: The Story So Far
Apr 22, 2024
221. Post-Fundraising, Hire Smart and Celebrate! feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
Apr 19, 2024
220. Negotiating Valuation feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
Apr 18, 2024
219. Create a Board Team to Drive a Fundraise feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
Apr 17, 2024
218. Early Financial Pitfalls feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
Apr 16, 2024
217. CFOs Help You Understand Your Business feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
Apr 15, 2024
216. What You Can and Can't Control feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
Apr 12, 2024
215. Mental Game of Fundraising feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
Apr 11, 2024
214. Time-wasting VCs feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
Apr 10, 2024
213. Raising During a Downturn feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
Apr 09, 2024
212. Raising During Boom Times feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
Apr 08, 2024
211. The Pitch Deck is YOUR Story
Apr 05, 2024
210. The Real Reason Long Pitch Decks Are A Red Flag
Apr 04, 2024
209. Send the Update!
Apr 03, 2024
208. Honing Your Target Customer
Apr 02, 2024
207. Why now?
Apr 01, 2024
206. Lessons Leading: Why Most Venture Funds Don't Lead
Mar 22, 2024
205. Lessons Leading: Momentum
Mar 21, 2024
204. Lessons Leading: The Business Agreement And Back To Relationships
Mar 20, 2024
203. Lessons Leading: Manage Legal Depth
Mar 19, 2024
202. Lessons From Leading My First Round: Relationships & Lawyers
Mar 18, 2024
201. It's Supposed To Be Hard feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
Mar 15, 2024
200. Fundraise Process feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
Mar 14, 2024
199. The Deck Stands Alone feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
Mar 13, 2024
198. Master Three Pitches feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
Mar 12, 2024
197. Fundraising Is A Core Skill feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
Mar 11, 2024
196. Startup Maxims: Do Things That Don't Scale
Mar 08, 2024
195. Not ABF. Instead, Always Be Cheerleading feat. Liz Giorgi, CEO & Co-Founder of Soona
Mar 07, 2024
194. Startup Maxims: Invest in Lines, Not Dots? Investors Invest In Relationships.
Mar 06, 2024
193. Startup Maxims: Always Be Fundraising. Really?
Mar 05, 2024
192. Startup Maxims: Ask for Money, Get Advice
Mar 04, 2024
191. The Purpose of the First Meeting feat. Eric Marcoullier
Mar 01, 2024
190. A VC's Job Is NOT To Write Checks feat. Eric Marcoullier
Feb 29, 2024
189. Features Don't Sell Products feat. Eric Marcoullier
Feb 28, 2024
188. #1 Killer of Startups feat. Eric Marcoullier
Feb 27, 2024
187. CEO Has Three Responsibilities feat. Eric Marcoullier
Feb 26, 2024
186. This Will Not Be Your Last Startup feat. Eric Marcoullier
Feb 23, 2024
185. Three Questions To Ask Before Shutting Down feat. Eric Marcoullier
Feb 22, 2024
184. Three Ways To Shut Down & The Terminal Plan
Feb 21, 2024
183. Shut Down Week and Write Offs
Feb 20, 2024
182. The Two Things I'm Looking For In A Deck
Feb 16, 2024
181. The Power of Specificity
Feb 15, 2024
180. Follow Ons Part 3: The Follow-On Death Spiral
Feb 14, 2024
179. Follow Ons Part 2: Everything Takes Longer
Feb 13, 2024
178. Follow Ons Part 1: Lengthening of Seed Phase
Feb 12, 2024
177. Follow Up on DocSend Opens
Feb 09, 2024
176. Simplicity is Genius
Feb 08, 2024
175. Start With Your Elevator Pitch
Feb 07, 2024
174. The Power of Updates
Feb 06, 2024
173. Season 4 Kick Off
Feb 05, 2024
172. Valuation Is Only One Part of the Term Sheet feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
Nov 10, 2023
171. Key Terms for Founders Negotiating Term Sheets feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
Nov 09, 2023
170. Asking VC Questions Builds Relationships and Gets Clear Answers feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
Nov 08, 2023
169. Fundraising Process Starts With Storytelling, Network and Finding the Best Partner feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
Nov 07, 2023
168. Raising 9 Rounds in 10 Years for 2 Companies, He's Not Building the Plane While Flying It, feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
Nov 07, 2023
167. Working Up From the Bottom, Get Investors By Building an Investable Business feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
Nov 03, 2023
166. Benefits of RBI vs. Fee-Based Lenders, Deal Terms and Aligning Founder+Investor Interests feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
Nov 02, 2023
165. Retaining Ownership: RBI vs. VC and Real World Implications of Bootstrapping feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
Nov 01, 2023
164. Exits, Ownership, Alignment with Investors and Revenue-Based Finance, feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
Oct 31, 2023
163. Meet Curt, Bootstrapping on Credit Cards feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
Oct 30, 2023
162. Utilize Fractional Talent To Access Experienced Executives feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
Sep 29, 2023
161. Reach High to Build an Amazing Board of Independent Directors feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
Sep 28, 2023
160. Prep to Hire and Fire During Your Fundraise feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
Sep 27, 2023
159. Post-Funding Mistakes: Over-Spending & Not Forecasting Cash feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
Sep 26, 2023
158. Post-Funding Mistakes: Under Reporting feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
Sep 25, 2023
157. There's Never Been A Better Time To Start A Company feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
Sep 22, 2023
156. Take Care of Your Team With Option Pools And Increasing Exercise Windows feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
Sep 21, 2023
155. Founders Beware of Deal Structure and Stacking SAFEs feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
Sep 20, 2023
In Memory of Jessie Dixon
Sep 20, 2023
154. Valuations are Down; Down Rounds Are Up feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
Sep 19, 2023
153. Time Between Fundraises is Growing feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
Sep 18, 2023
152. Founders Add Value - Have Them On Your Cap Table feat. Abby Mercado, CEO @ Rescripted
Sep 15, 2023
151. Getting Sixty Angels to Invest feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
Sep 15, 2023
150. Don't Take Venture Capital feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
Sep 14, 2023
149. Valuation Matters To Your Team feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
Sep 14, 2023
148. Questions to Ask VCs feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
Sep 13, 2023
147. Warm Intros Only feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
Sep 12, 2023
146. Two More Investor Trick Questions feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
Sep 12, 2023
145. Intro + Trick Question feat. Abby Mercado, CEO @ Rescripted
Sep 11, 2023
144. Time Is Our Most Precious Asset
Sep 09, 2023
143. Staying Top Of Mind
Sep 08, 2023
142. Tuesday Expenses - Getting Unusual Data Requests from VCs
Sep 08, 2023
141. Pattern Matching & Recency Bias
Sep 07, 2023
140. Pre-Seed or Seed? Which Are You?
Sep 05, 2023
139. Qualities of the Right Investor feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 11, 2023
138. Build Your Network Before Fundraising feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 11, 2023
137. Prepare Follow Up Materials In Advance feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 10, 2023
136. You Have To Believe The Story You're Selling feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 10, 2023
135. Fundraising Friends feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 09, 2023
134. The Mental Game of Fundraising While Running The Business feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 08, 2023
133. Pre-Seed Pitch Is The Most Fun - Live In The Vision feat. Neha Govindraj, CEO @ Bonside
Aug 07, 2023
132. A Thousand Reasons To Say No, Only One Reason To Say Yes
Aug 04, 2023
131. Angel Investors Are Everywhere and Nowhere
Aug 03, 2023
130. Setting Investors Up For Success
Aug 03, 2023
129. Kicking Off Season 3
Aug 01, 2023
128. Season 2 Wrap
Jun 27, 2023
127. Not "Female Founder," Just "Founder" Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 23, 2023
126. Focus. Distraction Is Kryptonite For Founders feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 22, 2023
125. Come Prepared With Questions and Next Steps feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 21, 2023
124. Done Differently: Numbers & Vision feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 20, 2023
123. Found Self-Care: Part of the CEO's Job feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 16, 2023
122. You Can't Convince Investors They're Wrong feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 15, 2023
121. Eternal Optimists & Achievable Valuations feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 14, 2023
120. Reasons Investors Pass On Your Round—NOT On You feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 13, 2023
119. Demonstrate You've Thought About The Question feat. Rachel McCrickard, CEO @ Motivo Health
Jun 12, 2023
118. Going from Seed to Series A, Money is a Tool feat. Josh Sanchez, CEO @ FloatMe
Jun 09, 2023
117. Commanding the Fundraising Process, Mistakes & Storytelling feat. Josh Sanchez, CEO @ FloatMe
Jun 08, 2023
116. Accountability & Updating on the Three P's
Jun 07, 2023
115. Asking for Advice feat. Josh Sanchez, CEO @ FloatMe
Jun 06, 2023
114. First Time Founders Should Focus on Accountability - feat. Josh Sanchez, CEO @ FloatMe
Jun 05, 2023
113. The Penny Gap
May 31, 2023
112. Do You Invest Pre-Revenue?
May 31, 2023
111. Messaging Market Fit feat. Brandon Brooks @ Zinsu
May 26, 2023
110. Using CDFIs To Get From Zero To One feat. Brandon Brooks @ Zinsu
May 25, 2023
109. Bootstrapping, Plan B Is Another Way To Make Plan A Work feat. Brandon Brooks @ Zinsu
May 24, 2023
108. Early Believers Are A Lightning Rod feat. Brandon Brooks @ Zinsu
May 23, 2023
107. Founders Outside the Lines feat. Brandon Brooks @ Zinsu
May 22, 2023
106. Be You
May 19, 2023
105. Lean Into It
May 18, 2023
104. VC Minute on Substack
May 17, 2023
103. Talk To Your Slides
May 16, 2023
102. Founder Intros
May 15, 2023
101. Toxic Myth of Entrepreneurship feat. Alex Raymond @ Conscious Entrepreneur Summit
May 12, 2023
100. About The Conscious Entrepreneur Summit feat. Alex Raymond @ Conscious Entrepreneur Summit
May 11, 2023
099. How To Deal With Burnout feat. Alex Raymond @ Conscious Entrepreneur Summit
May 10, 2023
098. The If-Then Mindest Trap feat. Alex Raymond @ Conscious Entrepreneur Summit
May 09, 2023
97. Confronting Imposter Syndrome Kicks Off A Journey feat. Alex Raymond @ Conscious Entrepreneur Summit
May 08, 2023
096. Filling The Pool After The First Investor Is In feat. Dama, CEO @ Manatee
May 05, 2023
095. One Thing To Optimize For When Choosing Investors feat. Dama, CEO @ Manatee
May 04, 2023
094. What Is Your Weak Point in Driving Conviction With Investors? feat. Dama, CEO @ Manatee
May 03, 2023
093. What To Do Differently On A First Fundraise feat. Dama, CEO @ Manatee
May 02, 2023
092. Fundraising Is Hard feat. Dama, CEO @ Manatee
May 01, 2023
091. Having Someone in Your Corner
Apr 28, 2023
090. How To Interview A Startup Lawyer
Apr 27, 2023
089. Strategize With Your Lawyer
Apr 26, 2023
088. You Don't Know What You Don't Know
Apr 25, 2023
087. Why You Need A Startup Lawyer
Apr 24, 2023
086. Share Your Advice
Apr 17, 2023
Building An Insider (Not Bridge) Round
Apr 15, 2023
085. Insider Round
Apr 14, 2023
084. Didn't Go According To Plan
Apr 13, 2023
083. Greater Fool Theory
Apr 12, 2023
082. Seed Investing Is A Team Sport
Apr 11, 2023
081. About That Bridge Round
Apr 10, 2023
080. Generating Aha Moments
Apr 07, 2023
079. Aha Moment
Apr 06, 2023
078. Know Your Numbers
Apr 05, 2023
077. Pitching A Pivot
Apr 04, 2023
076. Storytelling About You
Apr 03, 2023
075. Getting Funded On Proof and Winning Grants feat. Kat Weaver
Mar 31, 2023
074 . Transparency feat. Kat Weaver
Mar 30, 2023
073. Investors Are Not Your Customers feat. Kat Weaver
Mar 29, 2023
072. Storytelling feat. Kat Weaver
Mar 28, 2023
071. Tailor Your Pitch To Your Audience feat. Kat Weaver
Mar 27, 2023
070. The Right Reason To Fundraise
Mar 24, 2023
069. The Internal Partner Pitch
Mar 23, 2023
068. VP of Investor Relations
Mar 22, 2023
067. Finish the Thought
Mar 21, 2023
066. Negative Signaling
Mar 20, 2023
065. Cold Emails - Is this For Me? Is This Interesting?
Mar 17, 2023
064. Cold Emails - What Is This Business?
Mar 16, 2023
Founder Self Care Compilation
Mar 16, 2023
063. Pitch Deck Essentialism
Mar 15, 2023
062. Sacred Cows
Mar 14, 2023
061. Acknowledge Your Reality
Mar 13, 2023
060. Self-Compassion
Mar 10, 2023
059. Sleep
Mar 10, 2023
058. Find a Therapist
Mar 09, 2023
057. Spend Time on Yourself
Mar 08, 2023
056. Chronotype & Know Thyself
Mar 07, 2023
055. Ask For Help
Mar 03, 2023
054. Relentless Reprioritization
Mar 02, 2023
053. GSD Day
Mar 01, 2023
052. Timeboxing
Feb 28, 2023
051. Kicking Off Season 2
Feb 27, 2023
Season 1 | Part 2 | Episodes 26-50
Aug 18, 2022
Season 1 | Part 1 | Episodes 1-25
Aug 17, 2022
050. VC Validation
Aug 12, 2022
049. Learn From Every Pitch
Aug 11, 2022
048. Building Investors' Confidence In You
Aug 10, 2022
047. Pausing the Treadmill
Aug 09, 2022
046. Sell The Vision
Aug 08, 2022
045. No Is the Second Best Answer
Aug 05, 2022
044. Dribs and Drabs
Aug 04, 2022
043. TAM Defined
Aug 03, 2022
042. Questions for Investors About Risk
Aug 02, 2022
041. Too Risky
Aug 01, 2022
040. Series A in 6 Months
Jul 29, 2022
039. FOMO - The Subtle Knife
Jul 28, 2022
038. Conservative
Jul 27, 2022
037. Bridge Round
Jul 26, 2022
036. Talking About Exits
Jul 25, 2022
035. Back to the Pool Party
Jul 22, 2022
034. The Hard Truth
Jul 21, 2022
033. Venture Scale Returns
Jul 20, 2022
032. Too Early
Jul 19, 2022
031. Your Real Fundraising Competition
Jul 18, 2022
030. Just Send The Deck
Jul 15, 2022
029. Break The Frame of Reference
Jul 14, 2022
028. Two Decks
Jul 13, 2022
027. Don't Make Me Think
Jul 12, 2022
026. The Deck Gets The Meeting
Jul 11, 2022
025. Don't Email The Whole Firm
Jul 08, 2022
024. Tell an Investor You're Interested
Jul 08, 2022
023. Updating Investors
Jul 07, 2022
022. Reaching Investors
Jul 06, 2022
021. Finding Investors to Target
Jul 05, 2022
020. Oversubscribed
Jul 01, 2022
019. Target Raise
Jun 30, 2022
018. Runway
Jun 29, 2022
017. Here, There, Capital
Jun 28, 2022
016. VC Treadmill
Jun 27, 2022
015. Lead Investor
Jun 24, 2022
014. Deadlines
Jun 23, 2022
013. Pooled Interest
Jun 22, 2022
012. Sales Process
Jun 21, 2022
011. Work Your System
Jun 20, 2022
010. Put Your Email in the Deck
Jun 17, 2022
009. Week 1 Wrap
Jun 17, 2022
008. Work Within Investors Systems
Jun 16, 2022
007. Drive Action, Not Conviction
Jun 15, 2022
006. Expect more SHITS
Jun 14, 2022
005. SHITS
Jun 13, 2022
004. Overstating Commitments
Jun 13, 2022
003. Communicating To Your Pool Party
Jun 13, 2022
002. Chief Pool Party Officer
Jun 13, 2022
001. Pool Party
Jun 13, 2022
VC Minute Trailer
May 05, 2022