Keep a Good Relationship With the Founder Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors see a tremendous amount of dealflow. For some, it can become wearisome to see the same mistakes repeated. It’s important for the investor to keep a good relationship with the founder. This means avoiding arrogant or condescending feedback to the startup. It also includes treating the startup founder with respect for their time. Avoid wasting the founder’s time on secondary issues. Focus on the core issues first. Use the time to help the founder improve their deck and their business plan. Even if the startup is not a fit, set a goal to help each startup in some way. By keeping a good relationship, the investor may find that the next startup the founder launches is a good fit for investment. Startups are the ultimate long game in investing. It takes years to reach the successful exit of most startups. By keeping a good relationship with the founder, you can increase the chances of success. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let’s go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Copyright (c) 2026, Hall Martin and investorconnect.org. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.