VC Minute

Quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better. Founders, do you feel like you're fundraising on an uneven playing field? You are. The VC minute is here to help you level up. Venture capitalists navigate pitches and negotiate investments every day. They know the ins and outs and are up-to-date on the current funding environment. But as a founder, it may be your first foray into fundraising, and no matter how much success you've had in other areas nothing truly prepares you for the fundraising journey. The VC Minute was created to help founders close this gap. While it may seem like securing an investment at the seed stage is mostly driven by luck, there are steps founders can take to increase the odds of successfully raising a round. And that's what we're going to cover on the VC Minute through a series of short episodes. I'm going to share with you insights to help navigate the seed stage financing dynamics. I'm Rich Maloy, Managing Partner at SpringTime Ventures with 25 years business experience a dozen years in the startup ecosystem. I've applied my experience from sales, finance, and venture investing, to help startup founders fundraise better.

Episodes

270. A Smaller Deck With Less Information

Don't answer every question in your deck. Give just enough information to pique curiosity. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional ...

October 25, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 270 • 1:59

269. Inside the Mind of an Investor When There's Too Much Text on the Slide

Let's peer into the spooky world inside a VC's brain when you're pitching with a wall-of-text slide.About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fracti...

October 24, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 269 • 1:47

268. Maximum Information in Minimum Words feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend

Understanding that you have a very limited amount of time and space to compete for a limited amount of investor attention.About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted insights pro...

October 23, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 268 • 2:28

267. Too Much or Too Little on the Team Slide feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend

The Team slide is your chance to answer the question, "why you?" A handful of logos is no more helpful than two paragraphs of text.About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted ins...

October 22, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 267 • 3:07

266. From Three Sentences to the Structure of a Solid Pitch, feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend

If your pitch deck should form an argument, the best way to formulate that argument is by writing it out in three sentences. About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted insi...

October 21, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 266 • 3:51

265. Pitch Deck Should Form an Argument feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend

Structure your pitch deck in a way that it forms an argument and each slide supports that argument all the way through. About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted insights p...

October 18, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 265 • 4:08

264. Market Sizing feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend

Market sizing should articulate how you see the market, showing that you understand your target market and can focus on it. About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted insights p...

October 17, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 264 • 3:31

263. Your Deck is Too in the Weeds, feat. Justin Izzo from Dropbox DocSend

You don't have critical distance from your business to be able to get out of the weeds. Get feedback on your deck from someone with that critical distance. About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbo...

October 16, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 263 • 3:24

262. Justin Izzo on the Art and Science of Pitch Decks

The author of Dropbox DocSend's pitch deck analyses shares his insights into building a "snappy" pitch deck.About Justin IzzoJustin is the Lead Data and Trends Analyst at Dropbox Docsend and trusted insights professional with...

October 15, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 262 • 2:48

261. Build the Future, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

"There's very few companies, or people, or teams that get to build the future." -Sunny HanAbout FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technology to manufacturing processes, helping makers focus o...

October 11, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 261 • 2:57

260. Venture Capital Is A Game, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Sunny looks at VC as a game, one that has rules. You can still choose to play with people good people, but know that they have objectives that may not be the same as yours. About Fulcrum

October 10, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 260 • 3:03

259. Delusion and the Series A Extension, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

After raising in the bubble of 2021, the next raise proved both challenging and humbling. About FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technology to manufacturing processes, helping makers fo...

October 09, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 259 • 3:36

258. Raising Series A in 2021, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Sunny shares, "The Series A felt like poetry. It didn't feel like finance. And I think there, underlying that, there's some delusional problems with how I was managing the company at the time."About Fulcrum

October 08, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 258 • 4:20

257. Rapid Growth, Is It the Right Growth? feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

VCs push founders for growth. Founders push their teams for growth. But is all growth the right growth? About FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technology to manufacturing processes, hel...

October 07, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 257 • 4:39

256. Choosing the Right Investors, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Sunny shares his lesson on how he would choose investors. About FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technology to manufacturing processes, helping makers focus on their craft and grow thei...

October 04, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 256 • 3:59

255. Raising Seed and Reaching Investors, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Running a targeted fundraising process—knowing who he want to reach and who can introduce him—got the fundraise moving quickly.About FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technology to manufactur...

October 03, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 255 • 2:45

254. Friends, Family Fools Round, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Sunny leveraged his personal savings and help from family to fund the pivot. About FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technology to manufacturing processes, helping makers focus on their ...

October 02, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 254 • 2:18

253. From Consulting To Startup, Painfully, feat. Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Starting out as a consulting business was a great way to learn what customers wanted, but caused problems as the other founders didn't want to give up the consulting work. About FulcrumF...

October 01, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 253 • 3:13

252. Meet Sunny Han, Founder & CEO of Fulcrum

Meet Sunny Han, founder & CEO of Fulcrum. SpringTime invested in Fulcrum and has been with them through all the ups and downs. About FulcrumFulcrum applies modern technolog...

September 30, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 252 • 3:06

251. Fundraise Now, Or Focus on the Business Then Raise Next Year?

Should you back off of the business to fundraise for 3 months, or can you accomplish more by spending 4 months heads-down growing the business? About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners...

August 23, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 251 • 2:07

250. Get Intros, Set Meetings, Create a Tight Feedback Loop

Block out three weeks just for initial investor meetings to create a tight feedback loop. Put all of your focus into getting as many meetings as possible in those weeks. About AVL Growth Partners

August 22, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 250 • 1:52

249. Before Going To Your Full List, Start With Friendlies

Organize your VC target list into: Friendlies, A-List, and everyone else. Start by pitching your friendlies to get raw VC feedback. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, founde...

August 21, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 249 • 2:30

248. Top Fundraisers First Build Their Lists

Before you send a single email, build a list of 200+ target VCs. Here are four sites you can use for free.signal.nfx.comOpenvc.app

August 20, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 248 • 2:50

247. You Need a Term Sheet Before Thanksgiving

There are 14 weeks between now and Thanksgiving. If you don't have a term sheet by then, you're not going to get one until Q1 next year. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL Growth Partners, f...

August 19, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 247 • 2:24

246. Summertime Slowdown

In fundraising, the end of June is a lot like the end of November. If you don't have a term sheet on the table, you're not going to get one in the next month. About AVL Growth PartnersAVL ...

June 21, 2024 • Season 4 • Episode 246 • 3:05