Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 7, 2024

Many companies have struggled to develop their flexible work policies, but what you may not realize is that many investors are watching — and judging them. Indeed, a number of investors have explicitly and publicly integrated work-from-home (WFH) policies into evaluations of prospective investment targets.

culture 234

culture consulting investing investment 234

Dream It

AUGUST 10, 2020

Speaking to investors can require a language of its own. Luckily, he’s a pro when it comes to pitching investors and distills the advice so it’s easy to avoid. Don’t do this; these buzzwords have become tirelessly overused and not longer illicit meaningful value to investors. A good balance of humility and confidence is key.

pitching 341

pitching disruption startup advice 341

The Seraf Compass

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Early stage investors are often asked to sit on boards, and many sets of investment terms require that outside investors sit on the key board committees. But what’s involved in being on an Audit Committee, and how do you do it right?

entrepreneurs 262

entrepreneurs board investing investment 262

The Seraf Compass

MAY 3, 2023

Because while there are many components that make up a successful angel investor, the most fundamental truth is that without access to great deals, your odds of making money will approach zero. Buffett’s concept of winning the Ovarian Lottery is an excellent starting point for the second article in our series on building a diverse portfolio.

creativity 265

creativity 265

Entrepreneurs' Organization

AUGUST 1, 2024

Angel investors, pivotal figures who provide funding, guidance, and resources, are particularly sensitive to how they are acknowledged. So, what are some of the recognition perks that truly resonate with angel investors and influence their decision to support your venture? Let’s explore them. Let’s explore them.

mentorship 214

mentorship strategy angel investing support 214

The Seraf Compass

JUNE 22, 2022

This profile is the third in a series of interviews highlighting the work of interesting impact investors. Peter Adams is a Colorado-based author, investor, speaker, educator and community leader.

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ventures education communities 255

Entrepreneurs' Organization

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Yet founders often trip up when it comes to investor relations — the ongoing communication and relationship building after that first check clears. I sat down with Mohammadi and his co-founder, Eduardo Fonnegra , to get their tips on avoiding common investor relation pitfalls. Seek investor advice to strengthen your business model.

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pitching consulting advice communities 213

American Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 25, 2024

The post AI Robotics Fulfillment Company Nimble gains FedEx as an Investor and Strategic Client appeared first on American Entrepreneurship Today®. We’re excited to scale with Nimble’s technology to make our team members’ work easier while providing a differentiated, industry-leading fulfillment service.”

entrepreneurship 98

entrepreneurship sustainability technology board 98

The Seraf Compass

APRIL 20, 2022

Experience is what you get, when you don’t get what you want. When I made my first angel investment in 2000, I wish I knew then what I know today. As a newly minted angel, I assumed that angel investing would be easy to jump into and become successful at. I was partially right… it was easy to jump into.

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angel investing investing investment 291

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 2, 2025

Investors can sign up for a two hour slot here to get six intro meetings to founders.) Events like these foster a lot of good conversation around where good deal flow comes from and where investors should be spending their time. Good deal flow or not, its super easy to keep busy as an investor. Fintech investor?

VC 195

VC pitching B2B marketing networking 195

The Seraf Compass

JULY 10, 2024

Estate planning is a critical aspect of financial management that often flies under the radar for many investors, especially those involved in the dynamic world of angel investing. While most individuals update their estate plans every three to five years, it begs the question: is this sufficient for angel investors?

angel investing 163

angel investing venture capital VC strategy 163

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Know your numbers And you should “know your numbers and be able to defend them” during early meetings with candidate investors. Later stage investors sometimes look for less, since the business has already proven its capability to stay in the game and has already completed its product development cycle, eliminating more risk for the investor.

VC 62

VC investing investment capital 62

This is going to be BIG.

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

She was threatened by the company, yet her call for change and her callout of top investors went largely ignored. Even after Fowler’s article came to the forefront and investors Freada and Mitch Kapor broke ranks with their silent co-investors in their now-famous open letter , things didn’t get better. They got worse.

coworking spaces 545

coworking spaces hospitality culture coworking 545

Paul G. Silva

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

The late-night pivots, the investor meetings that change everything, the moment you realize your MVP needs a complete rebuild while your runway is dwindling? I am thrilled to introduce Forge the Future —an immersive roleplaying simulation designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals!

entrepreneurs 217

entrepreneurs entrepreneurship education incubation 217

This is going to be BIG.

MARCH 21, 2025

This is what I know it feels like for a lot of founders and investors alikefloating in the rarified air of extremely successful people defined by their outcomes. If youve started a company, and things arent going wellthe best thing you can do for your startup, your investors money, and for your own mental health is to ask for help.

VC 268

VC consulting health enablement 268

Paul G. Silva

MARCH 25, 2025

Facing Reality Just in Time: The River Valley Investors Story After running the River Valley Investors (RVI) angel group for 15 years, I watched as attendance dwindled and investment activity slowed to concerning levels. The organization was rapidly declining and close to not having enough members to run effective meetings.

leadership 130

leadership angel investing entrepreneurship investing 130

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Second, almost no professional investor will consider putting that much into a startup until there is proof of market demand, product viability or some other mitigation of failure. The investors want a motivated entrepreneur, and it is certainly more difficult to motivate a twenty percent owner than a sixty percent owner.

startup 127

startup consulting creativity financing 127

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 13, 2025

My goal in pitching was to convince you of X, Y and Z because I think if someone believed those things, theyd want to be an investor. Before you close out a pitch, with five minutes left, ask the following: Thanks for your time. Do you think thats the right way to look at this? Did I convince you enough to setup another call?

pitching 370

pitching VC founder investing 370

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

founders, marketers, investors?—?and Trust, which today has announced a $9 million financing (Upfront is an investor), is a platform designed to help make the most of marketing investment by providing both analytics and a community of likeminded executives to share what’s working, and what’s not, across platforms.

founder 424

founder peer-to-peer sustainability VC 424

Dream It

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

When pitching a potential investor or customer, time is of the essence. In this Dose, Mike Ravenscroft , Startup Success Manager of Dreamit Healthtech, reveals his top five common mistakes founders make when answering customer and investor questions. For example, an investor asks, “What’s your monthly recurring revenue?”

VC 513

VC pitching health founder 513

Dream It

JULY 12, 2021

Both notes and SAFEs are fairly easy instruments to put together, they both (kind of) defer the valuation discussion, and investors can lock in an investment more easily at an earlier stage and price. Convertible notes and SAFEs can both be structured with a discount that rewards early investors for taking a really big risk.

founder 397

founder financing finance angel investing 397

Dream It

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

We did a previous dose on 5 things investors wish startups knew. Managing Partner, Steve Barsh , sat down to give us 5 MORE things investors wish startups knew. Investors want to understand why you’re going left when everyone else is going right. Investors want to hear, “Our unique insight is __”… in your pitch 2.

startup founder 397

startup founder founder startup pitching 397

Revolution

AUGUST 2, 2022

miles to visit founders, college campuses, co-investors, ecosystem builders, and communities in rising cities. Rise of the Rest Senior Associate, James Barlia , and Senior Director of Strategy, Jamie Rodota , also headed to the Palmetto State to meet with local investors and judge the College of Charleston Founders Club’s pitch competition.

economic growth 344

economic growth innovation communities startup ecosystem 344

American Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Investors recognize the growth potential and impact of this rapidly rising fintech providing digital payments and banking solutions across Africa. Global impact firm Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated. Moniepoint Inc., Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, co-founded Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) in 2015.

investing 105

investing investment entrepreneurship leadership 105

Revolution

MARCH 26, 2025

When I started AOL, not far from here in the fields of Northern Virginia, most of our venture dollars came from investors in Silicon Valley and New York. They have the potential to ensure that great ideas arent left behind but instead can take root and grow in communities across the countrynot just in traditional techhubs.

capital 147

capital innovation entrepreneurship culture 147

This is going to be BIG.

JUNE 17, 2024

The fundraising process sucks for about a million reasons—not the least of which is that investors often lack clarity and transparency in their communication. doesn’t really buy you many points with an investor—but coming off like a startup n00b really tanks your chances. Still, there is somewhat of a method to their madness.

startup 410

startup micromobility consulting hospitality 410

Entrepreneurs' Organization

JUNE 19, 2024

Instead, it began with 15 years of hands-on learning in capital markets, working closely with entrepreneurs, investors, and bankers. Despite securing the necessary approvals to operate as a funding portal where entrepreneurs and investors could connect and transact, attracting those people proved to be a Herculean task.

financing 255

financing finance entrepreneurship mentorship 255

Revolution

MAY 23, 2023

Unpacking Proptech: A data-driven series on advancing built world innovation As mentioned in Part 1 , an outsized portion of the proptech investor base comes from the real estate community — a reality I would argue is complicating the industry’s growth. This is largely driven by large investment flows from strategic and tourist investors.

real estate 278

real estate venture capital VC innovation 278

A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC

AUGUST 8, 2022

When fundraising gets tougher for startups, the existing investors (insiders) will often provide a bridge loan to the company to extend the runway for getting another round done. Most commonly they are a bridge to a round of financing with new investors (outsiders). First, bridge loans are a bridge to something else.

financing 265

financing finance leadership capital 265

Dream It

MAY 19, 2021

question is a common and important component of investor Q&A. Investors should not have to ask this question. Investors expect to see cash needs aligned with time base milestones. It’s not uncommon for investors to ask, “Are you willing to raise less?” The ‘How much are you raising?’ It never pays to burn bridges.

pitching 393

pitching board health VC 393

Revolution

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

At the time, restaurants and food tech were on the margins of most investors’ minds and there was skepticism around VC-backed food concepts. Revolution Growth was the first institutional investor to back Sweetgreen?—?we As a long-standing partner?—?Revolution Today, we raise a fork to Sweetgreen.

investing 363

investing investment transportation disruption 363

American Entrepreneurship

APRIL 24, 2025

The company uses proprietary machine learning to optimize uptime, reduce operational costs for its residential and commercial clients that generates long term value important to institutional investors and asset managers who demand predictable returns from solar and battery assets.

energy 97

energy investing investment accelerator 97

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Even then private market investors can paper over valuation changes by investing at the same price but with more structure so it’s hard to understand the “headline valuation.” And it WILL be deployed, that’s what investors do. But rest assured valuations get reset. Except the music stopped. What Happens Next? What is a VC To Do?

VC 416

VC strategy investing investment 416

The Seraf Compass

AUGUST 18, 2021

Early stage investors might not view it this way, but… until a company has some form of financial exit (e.g. acquisition or IPO), you are really more like a donor than an investor! Think of it this way: since there is no liquidity in early stage company stock, you can’t sell the stock and recoup any of your original investment.

strategy 363

strategy investing investment 363

Dream It

APRIL 7, 2020

. — samir kaji (@Samirkaji) April 7, 2020 To guide startups through the confusion, Dreamit interviewed three leaders helping startups secure emergency funding from different perspectives as bankers, attorneys, and investors. Affiliation rules mainly apply to venture-backed companies with an investor that has effective control.

startup 348

startup communities VC ventures 348

American Entrepreneurship

JANUARY 28, 2025

Learn what investors want to hear that triggers their investment decisions. ” Andreese n provides insight into how an entrepreneur pitching for funding should approach investors. .” ” Andreese n provides insight into how an entrepreneur pitching for funding should approach investors. The keyword is compelling.

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pitching investing investment startup 72