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
169. Fundraising Process Starts With Storytelling, Network and Finding the Best Partner feat. AJ Bruno, Co-Founder & CEO of QuotaPath
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AJ outlines his proven approach to fundraising. He stresses the significance of tapping into your network, constructing a narrative-driven pitch deck, and carefu…
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
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AJ Bruno, QuotaPath's CEO has raised $70 million for QuotaPath and had a successful sale of TrendKite for $225 million, after multiple rounds of funding. He's al…
167. Working Up From the Bottom, Get Investors By Building an Investable Business feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
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How Glade Optics organically attracted seasoned operators as investors through a meticulously planned reputation-building strategy
About Glade Optics
Glade Optics d…
166. Benefits of RBI vs. Fee-Based Lenders, Deal Terms and Aligning Founder+Investor Interests feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
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The hidden costs of fee-based lenders and why Glade Optics went with GCVF for better deal terms and invaluable business insights
About Glade Optics
Glade Optics des…
165. Retaining Ownership: RBI vs. VC and Real World Implications of Bootstrapping feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
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Navigating the emotional rollercoaster of early struggles and the rewards of reaching a sustainable revenue level
About Glade Optics
Glade Optics designs premium sk…
164. Exits, Ownership, Alignment with Investors and Revenue-Based Finance, feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
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Why Glade Optics chose non-dilutive funding: the dual benefits of protecting equity and gaining mentors
About Glade Optics
Glade Optics designs premium ski goggles,…
163. Meet Curt, Bootstrapping on Credit Cards feat. Curt Nichols, Founder & CEO at Glade Optics
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Curt Nichols of Glade Optics shares his journey from bootstrapping with credit cards to scaling a high-seven-figure business in ski gear.
About Glade Optics
Glade O…
162. Utilize Fractional Talent To Access Experienced Executives feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
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Fractional talent is a great way to get experienced team members on a part-time basis to augment your full-time staff in a cost-efficient way.
About Bolster
Bols…
161. Reach High to Build an Amazing Board of Independent Directors feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
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Matt literally wrote the book on startup boards. Heed his advice and find the best possible board members, keeping a balance between independents and investors.
Ab…
160. Prep to Hire and Fire During Your Fundraise feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
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Start your hiring processes while you're fundraising so you can hire as soon as you raise. Otherwise you waste valuable months.
About Bolster
Bolster is the new …
159. Post-Funding Mistakes: Over-Spending & Not Forecasting Cash feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
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The next two post-funding mistakes are over-spending and not forecasting cash. Cash is king!
About Bolster
Bolster is the new way to find the right executives. We s…
158. Post-Funding Mistakes: Under Reporting feat. Matt Blumberg, Co-founder & CEO @ Bolster
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There are three post-funding mistakes Matt regularly sees from founders. The first is under-reporting.
About Bolster
Bolster is the new way to find the right execu…
157. There's Never Been A Better Time To Start A Company feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
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While funding is down, it's down less at Seed. Angel investing is down, but it's likely leveled out and will hold steady. There is still a plethora of capital ava…
156. Take Care of Your Team With Option Pools And Increasing Exercise Windows feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
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Need help building your option pool? Carta has a tool: https://carta.com/option-pool-calculator/
Please listen to Peter's message about option exercise window. Pe…
155. Founders Beware of Deal Structure and Stacking SAFEs feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
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As fundraising constricts, investor-friendly terms come out. Understand the effect these terms have on you and your company, as well as the effects of stacking SA…
In Memory of Jessie Dixon
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On Tuesday, September 12th our friend and operating partner at SpringTime, Jessie Dixon, passed away after a battle with cancer.
Her obituary and details about th…
154. Valuations are Down; Down Rounds Are Up feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
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We all know that valuations are down and that down rounds are up. But does a down round need to be a stigma? Some great companies have been built after down round…
153. Time Between Fundraises is Growing feat. Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta
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Founders, whatever you think it's going to take you to raise this funding, it's probably going to take longer. So begin those conversations earlier than you think…
152. Founders Add Value - Have Them On Your Cap Table feat. Abby Mercado, CEO @ Rescripted
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Founders are always going to add value no matter how big or small the check size is.
About Rescripted
Reaching 9M people monthly, Rescripted is the #1 global media …
151. Getting Sixty Angels to Invest feat. Abby Mercado @ Rescripted
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Rescripted has over 60 Angels on its cap table. How did they do it? Networking "like a crazy person."
About Rescripted
Reaching 9M people monthly, Rescripted is th…