Investor Connect – Richard May of Invest in Texas Initiative
In this episode, Hall welcomes Richard May Executive Director at Invest in Texas Initiative. The Invest in Texas Initiative is a statewide non-profit industry trade association of economic development officials, attorneys, consultants, developers, business owners, and other related service providers. Their mission is to promote the Texas investment landscape internationally.…
Finding a Lead Investor
Look for the right investor to lead your deal, not just the first investor Today, we'll talk about finding a lead investor for your deal. I'm often approached by a startup who has several investors interested in their deal but no one wants to lead it. This is not surprising…
Investor Connect – Kirk Otis of Merger Partners
In this episode, Hall welcomes Kirk Otis of Merger Partners. Hall and Eric talk about how companies can move their marketing function from a startup stage to a growth stage company. Merger Partners, a mid to lower market Investment bank, focuses on connecting entrepreneurs, business leaders, and management teams with…
Use the Rule of 4 to Value Your Startup
Today, we'll talk about how to value your startup. Since startups don't have significant revenue then how do you value your startup when fundraising? Traditional tools such as discounted cash flow, book value, and other standard accounting techniques don't work for early stage companies. For startup valuations we use the…
Investor Connect – Gale Bowman of IrishAngels Ventures
In this episode, Hall welcomes Gale Bowman of IrishAngels. IrishAngels was formed in 2012 as an angel investment network affiliated with the University of Notre Dame. Investors in the network all have ties to the university and they currently have over 230 investors in their active network. IrishAngels focuses on…
What Documents do you Need for your Fundraise?
Today, we'll talk about the documents you need for your fundraise. The pitch deck, the terms sheet, and the projections The first document is the pitch deck.This is usually ten to fifteen slides introducing your deal to the prospective investor. It should cover the basics of the business including the…
Investor Connect – Ed Pearce of Paragon Digital
In this episode, Hall welcomes Ed Pearce of Paragon Digital. Before investing in early-stage companies, Ed was an attorney for many years. He was general counsel of two publicly-traded companies. When both companies sold, he went to work for a venture capital firm in Dallas. Ed has a love for…
The Investor Types for your Startup
Today, we'll talk about the different type of investors you will find in the startup world. There are four type of investors for your startup -- Venture Capital, Angel Investors, Family Offices and High Networth Individuals. There are lenders who provide debt financing but that's a topic for another day.…
Investor Connect – Eric Bielke of GE Ventures
In this episode, Hall is joined by Eric Bielke with GE Ventures. After working with one of the early firms in Data Science, and a foray as an entrepreneur in the solar energy space, Eric joined the VC space focusing initially on energy investments. More recently, Eric has been focusing…
Deal Structures
Today, we'll talk about the deal structure you should use for your fundraise. There's equity, and then there are convertible notes and SAFE notes. If you want a straight loan, then you should use a promissory note. Equity agreements set the valuation for the company and various terms of governance,…
