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
209. Send the Update!
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Consistently sending investor updates maintains awareness, opens opportunities for serendipitous introductions, and demonstrates transparency about the company's …
208. Honing Your Target Customer
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Focusing on a well-defined target customer profile is crucial for rapid growth and investor confidence.
Follow more of Allyson's writing on VC Minute Substack: htt…
207. Why now?
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The longer an investor has been around, the more likely they've seen someone attempting to solve the same problem you're tackling. Convince them "why now" to get …
206. Lessons Leading: Why Most Venture Funds Don't Lead
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Ever wonder why so few funds lead? There are real risks for a small fund.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional…
205. Lessons Leading: Momentum
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I made a critical mistake underestimating the importance of momentum.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Fin…
204. Lessons Leading: The Business Agreement And Back To Relationships
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Coming back around to the first lesson, the relationship between the founder and lead VC is the most important part of the whole process.
About AVL Growth Partner…
203. Lessons Leading: Manage Legal Depth
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Clearly define the depth of legal scrutiny required on each issue to streamline the process.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the …
202. Lessons From Leading My First Round: Relationships & Lawyers
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This past December, SpringTime Ventures led a complicated priced equity round. It was the first round that I ever led and I learned a ton of lessons. The first tw…
201. It's Supposed To Be Hard feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
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About Soona
soona is …
200. Fundraise Process feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
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About Soona
soona is a self-serve content c…
199. The Deck Stands Alone feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
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198. Master Three Pitches feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
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About Soona
soona is a self-serve co…
197. Fundraising Is A Core Skill feat. Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder & CEO of Soona
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About Soona
soona is a self-serv…
196. Startup Maxims: Do Things That Don't Scale
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This is probably my favorite startup maxim of all. It ties in with the Lean Startup Methodology, and is core to figuring out what you should be building and for w…
195. Not ABF. Instead, Always Be Cheerleading feat. Liz Giorgi, CEO & Co-Founder of Soona
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Last episode on ABF. I promise. Maybe. But we're definitely missing the founder perspective on this one, which is why I was glad to have Liz Giorgi's input.
About…
194. Startup Maxims: Invest in Lines, Not Dots? Investors Invest In Relationships.
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What's really at the core of the "lines, not dots" maxim? Relationships.
Mark Suster's classic post: Invest in Lines, Not Dots.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth…
193. Startup Maxims: Always Be Fundraising. Really?
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ABF. Always Be Fundraising. Should you really always be fundraising? Here are some tips on how to evaluate if this is right for you.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL …
192. Startup Maxims: Ask for Money, Get Advice
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This week I'm covering startup maxims — those little phrases we all repeat to each other as common wisdom but may or may not be true, helpful, or relevant.
Today'…
191. The Purpose of the First Meeting feat. Eric Marcoullier
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Just as the purpose of the deck is not to get a check, it's to get the first meeting, the purpose of the first meeting is...
About Eric Marcoullier
Eric coaches fi…
190. A VC's Job Is NOT To Write Checks feat. Eric Marcoullier
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A VC's job is to say "no." Now knowing that, how do you adjust your approach?
About Eric Marcoullier
Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their co…