Investor Profiles: John Peters
We’re thrilled to introduce John Peters, Chairman and President of the Sacramento Angels, one of California’s leading angel groups. With deep experience in early-stage investments, John sheds light on what the Sacramento Angels group looks for in startups, his approach to investment, and his advice for founders.
10 Common Pitch Deck Mistakes
Raising money is hard. It may be the hardest part of starting a company. But you don’t have to make it even harder on yourself through unforced errors in your pitch deck.
Developing Your Pitch Ladder
It’s difficult to calibrate our pitch or description of our company to our conversation partner’s appetite to listen.
Here’s some tips to help you fix that.
Investor Profiles: Jessica Moon
With a unique blend of experience across health equity research, venture capital, and founder support, Jessica offers an insightful perspective on early-stage investing and the intricacies of supporting new ventures.
Navigating the New Investment Landscape
The investment landscape is constantly evolving, and businesses must adapt to these changes if they want to attract investment and thrive.
Investor Profiles: Maria Odiamar Racho
In our latest investor profile, we’re excited to introduce Maria Odiamar Racho, Venture Partner at Qubits Ventures and Founder of Kapwa Capital. Maria shared her perspectives on investing in deep tech and supporting founders from historically underrepresented communities.
Building a Money Machine
This term, often used by investors, refers to a business model that generates consistent, repeatable revenue, ideally with compounding growth. Let’s dive deeper into this concept that every entrepreneur needs to understand.
Investor Profiles: Paul Ratner
In our latest investor profile, we are excited to introduce Paul Ratner, Vice President at Marble Bridge, who shared his perspectives on alternative capital solutions for growing businesses, particularly how Marble Bridge operates at the intersection of investment and lending.
Understanding the Investor Mindset
When pitching to investors, it’s essential to understand what drives their decisions. Investors don’t just want to hear about where your company is today. They want to know about the future. Understanding the investor mindset is incredibly important for any entrepreneur or business owner seeking funding.
Investor Profiles: Matt Blomstedt
In this investor profile, we’re excited to introduce Matt Blomstedt, who brings deep expertise in early-stage investments across healthcare, logistics, supply chain, and fintech.
Investor Profiles: Justin Driscoll
Today, we are excited to share our first investor profile, featuring Justin Driscoll, Principal at LEAD Sports & Health Tech, who shared his perspectives on early-stage investing and what he looks for in a promising company.
Breaking Free from Guilt Trips
As founders and CEOs, the pressure to excel in all areas of life—business, family, personal growth—can often lead us into a familiar and unproductive pattern: the guilt trip. In a recent conversation, our team discussed the intricacies of this emotional journey, revealing insights that could resonate deeply with those in leadership positions.
Surviving the Deluge: Tactics for Prioritization
Most founders feel overwhelmed by the ever growing list of tasks on their To Do list. Here are a few simple ways to focus your attention on what matters most.
The Founder's Guide to Writing Effective Investor Updates
Writing an effective update is one of the most high-leverage activities a founder can engage in! The impact for effort is incredibly high, yet surprisingly, few founders do this well. This field guide will help you craft updates that keep your investors informed, engaged, and ready to support your venture.
The Immense Burden of Being a Founder
Being a founder, especially the CEO, means bearing the weight of immense responsibility and pressure. It is important to understand these pain points and how to deal with them.
Startups Need Revenue (More than Ever Before)
Your idea won’t float you very long. You need actual cash coming in the door, from actual customers. Start early, and get a deal coach as soon as you have real customers.
The True Cost and Impact of People-Debt For Startups
Startups and scale-ups are legendary for their innovative culture and rapid growth. However, amidst the rush to achieve product-market fit and meet investors’ expectations, one critical aspect that often gets overlooked is building the people foundations the business needs to scale.
High-Performance Meetings
Planning meetings sucks. Poorly planned meetings suck way more! With intentionality, good structure, and consistent discipline, you can have High Performance Meetings.
Alignment vs Agreement
One of the most crucial lessons for a great leader is distinguishing between agreement and alignment and understanding why both are necessary for an effective team as it grows.
VCs Are Not Safe
Founders often misunderstand the role of Venture Capitalists, and VCs often misunderstand how founders view them. Clarifying the actual role of VCs will help everyone in the startup ecosystem and help founders get the help they really need.