VC Minute
Episodes
275 episodes
173. Season 4 Kick Off
Welcome back to another season of VC Minute! We are pleased to introduce our sponsor for, AVL Growth Partners. And I talk (briefly) about the #1 thing you should be asking Seed phase investors right now. About AVL Grow...
174. The Power of Updates
Stay Top of Mind: Learn why regular updates are crucial for startup founders to maintain investor interest and support, especially during fundraising rounds.About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Gr...
175. Start With Your Elevator Pitch
We met six months ago for 30 minutes. It's been 260,000 minutes since we last communicated. Remind me, what does your startup do? About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, founded ...
176. Simplicity is Genius
Clear communication is crucial for startup CEOs to sell their vision effectively to investors, customers, and employees. SpringTime partner, Allyson Plosko, shares why Simplicity is Genius.Subscribe to the VC Minute Substack to read mor...
177. Follow Up on DocSend Opens
Maybe a founder could explain to me why you would not follow up with investors that opened your deck on DocSend? About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the l...
178. Follow Ons Part 1: Lengthening of Seed Phase
Over the next few days we're going to dive into why follow-on investment is the most important thing for Seed startups. Today, a quick background on the lengthening of the Seed Phase and why Series A raised the bar. About AVL Gr...
179. Follow Ons Part 2: Everything Takes Longer
The time between startup fundraises has grown significantly. Additionally, the time between venture fund vintages has also grown, resulting in a slowdown of capital deployment. All while venture funds buoy the healthy companies in their portfol...
180. Follow Ons Part 3: The Follow-On Death Spiral
Wrapping this up, I've been watching the "Follow-On Death Spiral" for the last year. It's not all bad news through. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is th...
181. The Power of Specificity
Allyson joins us to share her insights on providing specificity in the problem being solved. A founder has to be able to convey the severity of the problem and the specific upside for solving it. Without both, investors know customers jus...
182. The Two Things I'm Looking For In A Deck
When a start up comes into my inbox cold or through another investor, there are really only two things I'm trying to figure out: 1) Is this for me? 2) Is this interesting?About AVL Growth Partners
183. Shut Down Week and Write Offs
This week we're covering an important but difficult topic: shutting down your startup. If you're asking yourself the question, you may already have the answer. And your investors may have already written your company down. About AVL ...
184. Three Ways To Shut Down & The Terminal Plan
There are ways to shut down: The Ghost, The Bonfire, The Refund. But there's also a great way to sell your startup. That advice is not mine to share, so go read this presentation by Geoff Lewis:
185. Three Questions To Ask Before Shutting Down feat. Eric Marcoullier
My friend Eric is a very successful startup founder who has been a CEO coach for the last decade. When founders come to him to ask if they should shut down their startup, he runs this process with them. About Eric Marcoullier...
186. This Will Not Be Your Last Startup feat. Eric Marcoullier
"This will not be your last startup."About Eric MarcoullierEric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their business, find product/market fit and replace ...
187. CEO Has Three Responsibilities feat. Eric Marcoullier
The CEO is responsible for three things: communicate the vision, hire great people, and don't run out of money. But it all boils down to just one thing. About Eric MarcoullierEric coaches first- and second-time tech CEO...
188. #1 Killer of Startups feat. Eric Marcoullier
Founders are efficiency-seeking missiles, which is what compels them to start businesses, but it's a double-edged sword. About Eric MarcoullierEric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long ...
189. Features Don't Sell Products feat. Eric Marcoullier
If you aren't getting positive feedback from the market, don't start adding things. Strip the product down to its core basic value prop. About Eric MarcoullierEric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their compa...
190. A VC's Job Is NOT To Write Checks feat. Eric Marcoullier
A VC's job is to say "no." Now knowing that, how do you adjust your approach?About Eric MarcoullierEric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive long enough to get lucky, figure out their busine...
191. The Purpose of the First Meeting feat. Eric Marcoullier
Just as the purpose of the deck is not to get a check, it's to get the first meeting, the purpose of the first meeting is... About Eric MarcoullierEric coaches first- and second-time tech CEOs, keeping their companies alive l...
192. Startup Maxims: Ask for Money, Get Advice
This week I'm covering startup maxims — those little phrases we all repeat to each other as common wisdom but may or may not be true, helpful, or relevant. Today's maxim: "Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money."
193. Startup Maxims: Always Be Fundraising. Really?
ABF. Always Be Fundraising. Should you really always be fundraising? Here are some tips on how to evaluate if this is right for you. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners
194. Startup Maxims: Invest in Lines, Not Dots? Investors Invest In Relationships.
What's really at the core of the "lines, not dots" maxim? Relationships. Mark Suster's classic post: Invest in Lines, Not Dots.About AVL Grow...
195. Not ABF. Instead, Always Be Cheerleading feat. Liz Giorgi, CEO & Co-Founder of Soona
Last episode on ABF. I promise. Maybe. But we're definitely missing the founder perspective on this one, which is why I was glad to have Liz Giorgi's input. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Gr...
196. Startup Maxims: Do Things That Don't Scale
This is probably my favorite startup maxim of all. It ties in with the Lean Startup Methodology, and is core to figuring out what you should be building and for whom. Here is Paul Graham's original article: https://paulgraham.com/ds.htm...
