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
189. Features Don't Sell Products feat. Eric Marcoullier
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If you aren't getting positive feedback from the market, don't start adding things. Strip the product down to its core basic value prop.
About Eric Marcoullier
Eri…
188. #1 Killer of Startups feat. Eric Marcoullier
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Founders are efficiency-seeking missiles, which is what compels them to start businesses, but it's a double-edged sword.
About Eric Marcoullier
Eric coaches first-…
187. CEO Has Three Responsibilities feat. Eric Marcoullier
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The CEO is responsible for three things: communicate the vision, hire great people, and don't run out of money. But it all boils down to just one thing.
About Er…
186. This Will Not Be Your Last Startup feat. Eric Marcoullier
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"This will not be your last startup."
About Eric Marcoullier
Eric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, …
185. Three Questions To Ask Before Shutting Down feat. Eric Marcoullier
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My friend Eric is a very successful startup founder who has been a CEO coach for the last decade. When founders come to him to ask if they should shut down their …
184. Three Ways To Shut Down & The Terminal Plan
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There are ways to shut down: The Ghost, The Bonfire, The Refund. But there's also a great way to sell your startup. That advice is not mine to share, so go read t…
183. Shut Down Week and Write Offs
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This week we're covering an important but difficult topic: shutting down your startup. If you're asking yourself the question, you may already have the answer. An…
182. The Two Things I'm Looking For In A Deck
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When a start up comes into my inbox cold or through another investor, there are really only two things I'm trying to figure out: 1) Is this for me? 2) Is this in…
181. The Power of Specificity
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Allyson joins us to share her insights on providing specificity in the problem being solved. A founder has to be able to convey the severity of the problem and t…
180. Follow Ons Part 3: The Follow-On Death Spiral
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Wrapping this up, I've been watching the "Follow-On Death Spiral" for the last year. It's not all bad news through.
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, …
179. Follow Ons Part 2: Everything Takes Longer
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The time between startup fundraises has grown significantly. Additionally, the time between venture fund vintages has also grown, resulting in a slowdown of capit…
178. Follow Ons Part 1: Lengthening of Seed Phase
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Over the next few days we're going to dive into why follow-on investment is the most important thing for Seed startups. Today, a quick background on the lengtheni…
177. Follow Up on DocSend Opens
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Maybe a founder could explain to me why you would not follow up with investors that opened your deck on DocSend?
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, fou…
176. Simplicity is Genius
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Clear communication is crucial for startup CEOs to sell their vision effectively to investors, customers, and employees. SpringTime partner, Allyson Plosko, share…
175. Start With Your Elevator Pitch
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We met six months ago for 30 minutes. It's been 260,000 minutes since we last communicated. Remind me, what does your startup do?
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Gro…
174. The Power of Updates
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Stay Top of Mind: Learn why regular updates are crucial for startup founders to maintain investor interest and support, especially during fundraising rounds.
About…
173. Season 4 Kick Off
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Welcome back to another season of VC Minute! We are pleased to introduce our sponsor for, AVL Growth Partners. And I talk (briefly) about the #1 thing you should …
172. Valuation Is Only One Part of the Term Sheet feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
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Founders should to look beyond dilution in term sheets, focusing on board configuration's significance and understanding the option pool's impact. AJ offers words…
171. Key Terms for Founders Negotiating Term Sheets feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
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AJ provides valuable insights on term sheet structures, evolving clauses, and understanding investor motivations. He offers practical advice on managing tight dec…
170. Asking VC Questions Builds Relationships and Gets Clear Answers feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
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Discover the key questions founders should ask during partner meetings and initial discussions in this insightful episode. AJ encourages founders to be inquisitiv…