In this episode of the Talking to Investors podcast, I’m speaking with Yusuf Bilesanmi, founder and CEO of Eja-Ice.
We discuss:
► How Eja-Ice went from solving one Nigerian woman’s refrigeration problem to designing a path to saving 39.8 million tons of fish from going to waste.
► Yusuf’s advice on how to boost your funding without giving away equity.
► How to attract donors and strategic investors when the traditional ones don’t understand your market.
► How a customer-focused mindset can help founders develop products that are both impactful and profitable (and make investors notice).
► The best ways to get your foot in the door with investors and secure funding from day one - even when you’re starting from scratch.
► Why rushing to raise funds hurts your long-term success - and how to avoid that trap.
► Yusuf’s secret to balancing long-term client relationships and short-term investor demands.
► How understanding local market needs can unlock global business opportunities for impact startups.
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Evan Davies, CEO and co-founder of Scrapp.
We discuss:
► The crazy level of commitment you get from people you can laugh with, and how to make that happen
► The greatest boost you can give your fundraising - without an investor
► Why reaching out to investors via lists hardly ever works and what you should do instead
And …
► How to stop overcomplicating building rapport with investors
► How triggering the desire to help can get you a lot of warm introductions
► The biggest green flag for VC funds
► The top 3 reasons investors decided to fund Scrapp
► How to get social proof for more warm introductions
► How to assess what kind of investor you should look for and avoid wasting time with a bad fit
► The worst thing you can do that’ll fracture your relationships and kill rapport instantly
► Why you should stop asking investors for money if you want them to fund you
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Want to know more about Evan or get in touch with him?
► Evan's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-gwynne-davies/
► or visit Scrapp here: https://www.scrapprecycling.com/
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Get my free ebook: “Eliminate The Noise: Find The Top 5% Of Investors That’ll Supercharge Your Impact Startup”:
https://perfectmatchinvestor.com/
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In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Nadia von Oesterreich and Timur Sirman of Magnotherm. We discuss: ► What Nadia & Timur learned not to do (from Elon Musk) ► The secret link between company culture and productivity - and how that shifts your fundraising into higher gears ► How strict hierarchies led to plane crashes and Nokia’s nosedive - and how Magnotherm solves that problem ► Hiring superstars versus hiring keepers - why effectiveness beats efficiency every time ► How to make employees ambassadors for your startup, even with investors ► How to SHOW investors that you’re capable of pulling this off ► The most effective way to build a great reputation with investors ____________________________________________ Want to know more about Magnotherm or get in touch with them? ► Magnotherm's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/magnotherm/ ► or visit their homepage here: https://www.magnotherm.com/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “Eliminate The Noise: Find The Top 5% Of Investors That’ll Supercharge Your Impact Startup”: https://perfectmatchinvestor.com/
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Michael Henriksen, founder and CEO of Wavepiston We discuss: ► Who can get you into the room with the directors of a bank and what to do when you're there ► The #1 way to test if the investors are earnestly or just casually interested (don’t waste time with time-wasters) ► How to be prepared for unexpected opportunities and use them fully ► What you have to get right as a lo-tech startup if you want investors to trust you ► When to start warming up investors ► What to do when the engineer who can answer a tricky question isn’t in the room with you ► Why sending out random pitches on websites is a bad idea ____________________________________________ Want to know more about Michael or get in touch with him? ► Michael's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calimero/ ► check out the Wavepiston crowdfunding success: https://www.seedrs.com/wavepiston2 ► or visit their homepage here: https://wavepiston.dk/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “Eliminate The Noise: Find The Top 5% Of Investors That’ll Supercharge Your Impact Startup”: https://perfectmatchinvestor.com/
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Julia Bialetska, founder and CEO of S.lab
We discuss:
► The top 3 reasons why investors were eager to invest in S.Lab
► The biggest waste of time when doing investor outreach (and what you should do instead)
► The secret to quickly assessing whether an investor is right for your business
► How Julia got ~100 warm B2B sales leads for pilot projects without having to go through the daunting process of climbing up the ladder in corporate organizations until you finally talk to a decision-maker
► The best investment type for investors and early-stage startups
► How to foster relationships with investors and make them WANT to support you
► Why you have to stop putting impact first, especially when fundraising
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Want to more about Julia or get in touch with her?
► Julia's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliabialetska/
► If you’re interested in her product, visit her website here: https://www.ilab-s.com/
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Get my free ebook: “Eliminate the Noise: Find the top 5% of investors that’ll supercharge your impact startup”:
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Daphne Postma, former fund manager at Triodos. We discuss: ► The best win-win contract clause to boost your valuation ► The one thing to avoid at all costs if you don’t want stakeholders to hate you and ruin your exit ► How compromises can mess up your investment deal - and make you look stupid ► How your confidence can hurt your startup and when it’s crucial to rein it in ► That there’s more power in understanding a failure than in not understanding a success ► How not to respond when an investor adjusts your valuation downwards ► How to DD your investor and why you must ► Why bluffing your way through contractual discussions is a very bad idea - and the easy way to manage your knowledge gaps without losing the investor’s respect ► The ill effects of playing at being a founder - shit or get off the pot! ____________________________________________ If you think Daphne Postma would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to her here: ► Daphne's LinkedIn profile: / daphne-postma-b6620850 ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “7 Scientifically Proven Strategies That Get You Into More 2nd Meetings With Investors”: https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/ ____________________________________________
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Alina Klarner of Impact Shakers. We discuss: ► The deal Alina missed out on when a startup got too many funding offers! (and how this founder achieved that) ► Why great founders don’t try to “win deals” ► How giving up competitiveness will give you a competitive edge ► What investors prefer you to do instead of asking for money ► The #1 reason why investors ignore your outreach ► Warning: if you do this, investors will ignore you ► Why even a perfect fit investor might not fund you - even if you have a sound business ► The top 4 superpowers of every successful startup ► The worst thing you can do when an investor says something you don’t understand ► What matters most to impact investors to maximize impact AND returns ► Is VC funding really your best option? ____________________________________________ If you think Alina Klarner would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to her here: ► Alina's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinaklarner/ Or visit Impact Shakers at ► https://www.impactshakers.com/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “7 Scientifically Proven Strategies That Get You Into More 2nd Meetings With Investors”: https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/ ____________________________________________
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Geet Kalra, investment associate at Advantage Capital. We discuss:
► The craziest founder statement Geet ever encountered - NEVER say this to an investor
► The 3 essential empathy skills that make investors believe you’ll be successful
► And one simple technique to show them you’ve got those skills
► The single most important switch you have to flip in your head - doing this gets you 95% of the way to aligning with your investor
► The one contract clause you cannot fight as an impact startup
► How to get past confusing investor jargon
► A little tactic to get investors to finetune your financial strategy for you
► What to do when an investor holds a gun to your head
► Why sending an email when negotiating a high-value term sheet is a BAD idea - and what you should do instead
► What to do when you get a term sheet with a “WTF!?-type” clause
► Which 3 criteria are make-or-break factors for assembling a great board of directors
► What to do when you DON’T want to give someone a board seat, but your investor insists
► How getting too excited about closing the deal can harm your startup in the future
► The atmosphere great founders create vs. the vibe that’ll kill the deal
► Which platform makes investors more likely to respond when you’re doing a cold outreach
► And loads of other insights Geet brings to the table.
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If you think Geet Kalra would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to him here:
► Geet's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geet-kalra/
And as a special bonus, more insights from Geet on coursera:
► "Strategy and Finance for the lifecycle of a Social Business": https://www.coursera.org/specializations/strategy-and-finance-for-social-business
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You’ve Got An Important Negotiation Coming Up And Can’t Afford To Lose?
Visit https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/1-on-1-coaching/
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In this interview, I’m talking with Graham Boyd of Evolutesix about:
In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Philip Haverkamp, partner at impact VC fund kopa (formerly Wi Venture). We're discussing: ► Why investors don’t want you to take the first equity offer, even if it was fair. ► How de-risking one massive investor concern can double your chances of getting funded. ► Why a higher valuation doesn’t mean it’s the best offer. ► The kind of investors you should NEVER make a deal with. ► The killer mistake that made investors hang up mid-call and almost cost Phil a great exit. ► How to stop wasting time sending your deck to investors who’ll never look at it. ► At what stage of a negotiation lawyers can do more harm than good. ► One simple thing founders almost never do but which would immediately get them more help from investors. ► And loads of other insights Phil brings to the table. ____________________________________________ If you think Kopa (energy, mobility and nature tech) would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to him here: ► Philip's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philhav/ ► visit kopa.vc: https://www.kopa.vc/ ► or kopa's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kopa-ventures/ ____________________________________________ You’ve Got An Important Negotiation Coming Up And Can’t Afford To Lose? Visit https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/1-on-1-coaching/
