Discussion Topics

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. After the pitch comes the investor discussion, in person or by conference call.  Research the investors in advance by looking them up on LinkedIn and their own company websites. In setting up a call or […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In developing the pitch deck, there are several mistakes I often see. One of the most common is trying to explain in great detail how the product or technology works. Instead, focus on the benefits […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the fifth slide is the monetization slide. It answers the question on how you make money.  Show the business model you are using such as recurring revenue, transaction fees, or other. […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the twelfth slide is the Investment Opportunity slide. This slide shows the fundraise target and how much is raised so far. Include interest and committed investors as well as invested funds […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the eleventh slide is the Financial slide. The Financial slide gives the current status of the company with respect to revenue, expenses and profit. You want to convey highlights such as […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the tenth slide is the Value Proposition slide. The Value Proposition slide shows what value your product/service brings to the customer.  It should answer the question, ‘what benefits does it offer’ […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the ninth slide is the Team slide. Show the C-level team, include the CEO, CTO, and CSO. Include a picture of each team member with their name and title. Show the […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the eighth slide is the Competitive Advantage slide. First, highlight your core value proposition for the customer. Show what value the customer receives from your product/service. A competitive advantage gives you […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the seventh slide is the Competition slide. The Competition slide often helps highlight the market size and strength by showing who else is playing in that space. In your slide, highlight […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the sixth slide is the Traction slide. For this slide, show current sales as well as the funnel of upcoming sales opportunities. Include forecast numbers for each opportunity. Show the pipeline […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the fourth slide is the Market slide. The Market slide shows the size of the opportunity. Show total available market, which is anyone you can sell to. Then show the serviceable […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the third slide is the Solution slide. For your solution, show a picture of the core product or technology so the investor gets a sense of it. Describe how you came […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck the second slide is the Problem slide. It’s important to start the pitch with the problem you are solving so the investor has a frame of reference for your startup. Show […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In your pitch deck, the first slide is the Title slide. It’s important as it’s the first slide the investor will see. It should convey the style and culture of the company. On the slide, […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. After funding, you need to keep your family and friends investors informed on the status of the startup. Consider the following: Be transparent about the results and share both bad news as well as good […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The goal of the pitch deck is to introduce your deal to an investor and find out what is essential to that investor. The goal is not to tell your full story or explain how […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising funds from family and friends, you could take it in the form of a gift.   Most family and friends want to help you out rather than make a return.   A gift is an […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In launching your startup you must consider your intellectual property strategy. Intellectual property or IP includes patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.  You should trademark your company name. For your technology, you can either file […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In raising equity funding, you can only raise from investors who are accredited. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) establishes the criteria for those who are accredited. You can see the specific requirements on the […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In launching your startup you must consider employment law.  You should check to see what contracts your prospective employee may have signed with a former employer around non-competes, non-solicitation agreements, and assignment of inventions.  A […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In launching your startup you must have a legal entity to raise funding. Start with an LLC or Limited Liability Company. This can be filed with your Secretary of State at your state government.  The […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. All startups need to have a legal entity. Before you launch your fundraise make sure you have a legal entity filed as you’ll need it for accepting investment funds.  Start with an LLC which is […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. If you want to raise venture capital funding, then check these points to see if you are venture fundable: Do you have the following: – Recurring revenue – Do you have recurring revenue in your […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Raising funding requires document and business preparation as well as pitching and extensive followup. Throughout the process there’s one thing you need to do before you can raise the funding.  You need to build a […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In fundraising, milestones are specific goals you have accomplished. In crafting your fundraise story, focus on key milestones both those you just hit and those you are striving for. This demonstrates you are making progress. […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as anchor clients. Anchor clients are those who prepay for a custom version of your product. They are typically […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as consultation funding. Consultation funding is using consultation work to pay the bills and salaries while you are building […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others. In general, equity funding is for launching and growing a business and is the most expensive form of funding.  Each […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as grants. Grants are typically provided by government organizations to spur research and make a small contribution to the […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as crowdfunding. There are several forms of crowdfunding such as crowdfunding with prepayment, crowdfunding from non-accredited investors, and crowdfunding […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups use equity to fund their business.  Equity is an ownership stake in a company.  Equity aligns everyone’s interest in the startup. It preserves cash since it’s only paid upon the exit of the […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Another source of funding is supplier funding. Supplier funding comes from those who provide services to your company such as contract manufacturing, software development, legal, accounting services, and more. Suppliers provide their services in exchange […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as a line of credit. A line of credit is a short-term loan from the bank to help smooth […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as bootstrapping and barter. Bootstrapping is using your own funds and that of initial customers to launch your business.  […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In today’s startup world it seems everyone is a startup investor in some form or fashion. Startup investors call me to discuss deal structures, valuations, or serial entrepreneurs. I can tell the difference between a […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as equipment leasing. Equipment leasing is used to reduce cash requirements for a startup by leasing the equipment rather […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equipment leasing lets you borrow funds to obtain assets such as computers, machinery, and other items you may need to build your product and run your business.  Instead of raising equity funding to buy the […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as licensing. You may be able to reduce the amount of funding needed to grow your business by licensing […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as factoring. Factoring is selling your accounts receivables to a finance company at a discounted rate.   It’s not a […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. When you sell a physical product and invoice the customer, it can take 30, 45, 60 days or more before they pay.   Factoring provides funding by reducing your accounts receivable by selling the invoice.  The […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as loans. Loans are debt instruments that must be repaid. Startups can find it difficult to get a traditional […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Equity funding is just one source of funding for your startup. There are many others such as accelerators and incubators. Accelerators and incubators provide startups with workspace, mentorship, pitch practice, and in some cases funding.  […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups use loans to fund their business. If you are taking a loan from family and friends, here are some points to consider: The first step is to determine the amount of the loan […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups raise funding from family and friends on their first round to get the startup going. Before launching, make sure you do the following:  Co-founders should agree on the equity split for each one […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups use profit sharing to fund their business.  It is important that everyone involved has a very clear understanding of how “profit” is calculated. There are three locations in the startup’s profit and loss […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. I’m often asked if you should you take money from family and friends to fund your startup. Outside investors will look at family-and-friends funding as a sign of support for your business.   If your family […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups use loans to fund their business. Here are a few ways to set up a payment structure and schedule. For payment structure you can use: Interest-only payments — in the beginning the startup […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups raise funding from family and friends on their first round to get the startup going. For those considering family-and-friends funding, think about the profile of the type of investor you need. Clearly, the […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. So how do Venture Capitalists make money? VCs charge the limited partners a management fee on the funds raised. This is traditionally 2% which is paid out every year for the life of the fund.   […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The fund manager provides a quarterly report to the Limited Partners.  The reports typically contain the following sections: 1) Fund Manager Commentary — the fund manager provides an overview of the current news and trends […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Investors in the startup space have a certain expectation for returns.  Startups raising funding should keep in mind these expectations and only approach them if they have a deal that is in the game for […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. When a Venture Capitalist makes an investment, they place a portion of their allocated investment upfront in the first round and save the rest for a follow-on round. Most VCs put criteria on the startup’s […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Both angels and venture capitalists often invest in syndicates.   In a syndicate, one of the investors leads the round and the other investors follow.  Sometimes the syndicate is a formal group in which the lead […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. A venture fund brings a fiduciary responsibility to those raising the funds from limited partners.  A fiduciary means the VC must act in the best interest of the investors. VCs who sit on the boards […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing So how do Venture Capitalists raise funding? VCs raise funding from limited partners which include family offices, high-net-worth individuals, foundations, pension funds, and other sources. Institutional investors such as pension funds require a track record, […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Targeting investors for your fund and getting buy-in is a key step in raising a fund.  Potential investors include family offices, high-net-worth individuals (HNI), and angel investors.  Larger institutional investors such as pension funds, are […]

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. So what is growth equity? Growth equity refers to investing in a company at later rounds such as Series C or D. These companies typically have $3-5M of revenue and are beginning to start the […]