004. Overstating Commitments

If you state that you have a million committed, there better be a million dollars worth of capital in that pool, ready to party. 

About SpringTime Ventures
SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based businesses in the USA. We bring a people-focused approach, work quickly, and reach conviction independently. Our initial check size is $400k to $600k. You can learn more about us and our approach.   

About Rich Maloy
Rich's mission is to rebuild the American dream through entrepreneurship. He works with early stage startups transforming the world, giving all people the opportunity to grow, learn and earn. With prior careers in finance and sales, he's now focused on startups investing through SpringTime Ventures where he is a Managing Partner. He's a father of two young children and loves sci-fi, skiing, and video games.  

Transcript

Rich: 0:01

One note of caution. It's incredibly important. You do not overstate the commitments in your round. If you state that you have a million committed, there better be a million dollars worth of capital in that pool, ready to party. This is not the place for fake it till you make it. There's no faster way to kill your pool party than to lie. When you misrepresent relationships or commitments and an investor uncovers that, you've ruined that relationship. They've left the party and not only are they not coming back, but any time, your name and your company comes up, they're warning others. Don't overplay your hand here. If you really want to test somebody's commitment, ask them to use their name. If they're hesitant on that, then they're not committed. You will do better by showing that your funding round is coming together check by check, person by person, than overstating this too quickly.