VC Minute
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.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 2 minutes
- Episodes
- 275
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2024
230. Seed Crust: The Dangers of SAFEs
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Peter & Allyson share about some of the things founders should be aware of when raising money on SAFE notes.
Seed Crust: State of the Seed Market 1H 2024
Most star…
229. Seed Crust: Year of the Bridge
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Peter Walker dubbed 2023 "The Year of the Bridge Round." In many cases, the founders did what they set out to do, it's just that the bar for Series A moved.
Seed …
228. Seed Crust: Seed To Series A Graduation Rates
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Startups getting from Seed to Series A in two years has dropped by a third. It's creating a "messy middle in the earliest parts of the market," according to Peter…
227. Seed Crust: The Bifurcation and Its Unfairness
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There are rays of hope for the market, but the most important thing is to stay focused on what you can control.
Seed Crust: State of the Seed Market 1H 2024
Most st…
225. Seed Crust: This is the Seed Crust
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Distributions back to LPs dried up. LPs slowed down their fund investments. VCs had to slow down. The cycle feeds itself.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Part…
224. Seed Crust: VC Allocation Shift
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If all Seed & Pre-Seed funds shift just 5% of their allocation from first checks to follow-on checks, there will be $3 billion fewer available for first checks.
Ab…
223. Seed Crust: Backlogs Everywhere
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Join us for a live webinar about the state of the Seed market on May 2 @ 11:00 AM MT (1:00 PM ET // 10:00 AM PT)
https://stvc.us/seedcrust
The backlog in the privat…
222. Seed Crust: The Story So Far
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Join us for a live webinar about the state of the Seed market on May 2 @ 11:00 AM MT (1:00 PM ET // 10:00 AM PT)
https://stvc.us/seedcrust
The market conditions dri…
221. Post-Fundraising, Hire Smart and Celebrate! feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
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After you raise, recognize that you can't possibly hire everyone all at once. Take your time to hire right. And most importantly, celebrate!
About AVL Growth Partn…
220. Negotiating Valuation feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
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What to say when asked about your valuation expectations. And don't forget to negotiate valuation!
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, i…
219. Create a Board Team to Drive a Fundraise feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
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One of Karyn's clients put together a team from the Board to support the fundraise. It drove the process and drove results.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Pa…
218. Early Financial Pitfalls feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
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Avoiding some common financial pitfalls can help with both cashflow and fundraising.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading…
217. CFOs Help You Understand Your Business feat. Karyn Miller, Principal at AVL Growth Partners
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It's invaluable having a CFO that can provide meaning and actionable business insights.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the lead…
216. What You Can and Can't Control feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
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There's so much in fundraising that you cannot control. Focus on what you can control and it will help what you can't control fall into place.
About Guest House
G…
215. Mental Game of Fundraising feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
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By making fundraising into a game, you can change your mindset around it.
About Guest House
Guest House is the first company to automate home staging for agents an…
214. Time-wasting VCs feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
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Advice to founders to avoid time-wasting VCs: ask in the first call if a fund is actively investing.
About Guest House
Guest House is the first company to automate…
213. Raising During a Downturn feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
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A year after the boom-times, raising another funding round was a different story.
About Guest House
Guest House is the first company to automate home staging for ag…
212. Raising During Boom Times feat. Alex Ryden Founder & CEO of Guest House
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Unsure of whether or not he wanted to raise, Alex found himself with term sheets for both venture funding and an acquisition in mid 2021.
About Guest House
Guest H…
211. The Pitch Deck is YOUR Story
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Tell a story that is genuine to you and your startup.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Account…
210. The Real Reason Long Pitch Decks Are A Red Flag
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I didn't have time to make a short deck, so I made a long one instead.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Fin…