How To Approach a Founder Seeking Funding

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Investors looking to fund startup investments often receive unsolicited calls from founders.

In most cases, the founder is not yet fundable but is making a go of it.

To find quality investments, investors need to be proactive in their outreach to founders.

Here are some key steps in approaching a founder about funding.

An introduction will be helpful, especially if the founder has a great deal of interest from the investment community.

A warm introduction will open the door for a call or meeting.

Many founders are open to discuss with investors, so a cold email or call will suffice.

In taking the call, the investor should ask, "What help do you need?"

A startup has many needs, and a founder is always looking for help.

The investor can use this as a way of building rapport with the founder.

It's also a good way to learn more about the startup and where they are on the growth path.

By providing mentorship and networking, the investor can test out how well the founder takes feedback and, most importantly, how well they execute on it.

Consider offering help to a founder in your investing outreach to learn more.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_________________________________________________________

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What Investors Look for in a Biotech Startup

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Biotech startups bring a unique set of value propositions and exit opportunities to the startup investor.

Here's what investors look for in a biotech startup:

Investors look first and foremost for a novel target to pursue.

These receive outsized funding rounds at the early stage.

Investors look for platform-based approaches rather than individual products.

The platform promises multiple products at a lower cost to develop.

Some investors look for a fast follower of a recently proven therapeutic.

This could be an alternate target with the same mechanism of action.

Given the amount of funding required to take it all the way to the market, most investors look to exit sooner in a clinical trial or upon FDA approval.

Investors look for exits in the 5 to 7-year window.

They look at how much additional funding will be required to reach the exit.

They avoid substantial follow-on raises as it causes dilution.

Finally, they look for an experienced team, both on the technical side and the business side.

The customer in the biotech industry is not the patient who uses the therapeutic, but rather the pharma company that buys the startup.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_________________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

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How To Introduce Yourself to an Investor

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In engaging investors, startup founders should master the self-introduction.

It's important to make a good first impression.

While some introductions come from others, most often the founder will be introducing themselves.

Here are some key points in introducing yourself to an investor:

Begin with gratitude for their time.

Avoid the entitled attitude, as most founders are not entitled to anything from the investor.

Introduce your name, company, and what your company does.

Use a five to seven-word tagline to describe your company.

Based on the person you are meeting, customize the next sentence to show how the startup is relevant to the investor.

For example, if they are a fit for your fund, indicate that your research shows that.

Avoid the long-winded explanation of what you do and instead engage the investor in the conversation.

The goal is to elicit what interests them the most and take the introduction in this direction.

Investors look for the following in founders to fund:

They have good communication skills.

They know how to prioritize the talking points, putting the most important at the beginning.

They know how to make their information relevant to the one they are speaking to.

They are not nervous or uptight.

They know how to build rapport with the investor.

Finally, they demonstrate confidence even though startups come with a great deal of uncertainty.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_________________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
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The Best Pitch Wins the Lion's Share of the Funding

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

The power law drives the startup investment return.

Only a small number of startups are going to have an outsized return.

The power law also applies to startup pitching.

The best pitch in a group wins the lion's share of the funding.

While investors may view each startup differently, the overall best pitch will typically capture the majority of the funding.

In pitching a group of investors, it's important to bring your best effort as you must first win out over other deals in the room.

The investor has only so much time for diligence and follow-up.

Most investors choose one or two deals to pursue, no matter how many pitches they hear.

Since the pitches came at the same time, investors compare each deal to the other.

It's not often the startup has the ability to choose who they pitch against.

To the extent possible, avoid pitching in a group of very strong startups, as investors will compare your deal to their deals.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_________________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
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Founders Should Show Credibility to the Investor

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Investors see many pitches from a wide range of founders.

To stand out, the founder should show credibility to the investor.

Those with exits should put that first in the pitch.

This shows you know how to reach a successful exit for your investors.

Those who were part of companies that exited should also bring up that win.

This shows you know what success looks like and have a hand in it.

Those who have achieved success in their previous job, such as leading a business unit at a major corporation.

This shows you know how to lead people and manage projects.

Those who have substantial technical experience, such as building a significant product.

This shows you know how products are built.

Those who have led successful marketing or sales initiatives.

This shows you know what it takes to run a successful sales and marketing operation.

Founders should showcase their experience to build credibility with the investor.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
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On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes PPaola Torre, venture partner at Acquilus Ventures and board member at Life Science Angels. Located in the United States, Life Science Angels invests exclusively in early-stage life sciences companies at the seed and early Series A stages, combining capital with deep operational, scientific, and clinical expertise and hands-on mentoring beyond the check. The group emphasizes translational credibility, unmet medical need, team quality, and risk management, pressure-testing IP, regulatory strategy, and timelines, and increasingly values pharma partnerships as predictive for 2026; it also collaborates through syndicates with other angels, VCs, and strategics.

Paola is a PhD scientist with hands-on R&D experience at BioMarin Pharmaceutical across fibrosis, neurometabolic disorders, and cardiovascular disease, and she works at the intersection of biotechnology, venture capital, and healthcare innovation. She shares LSA's approach to deal structures and valuation discipline (including a $15M pre-money cap and use of convertible notes), how angels help de-risk capital-intensive biotech, what makes founders successful, and her views on next-generation therapies, AI-enabled platforms, non-animal models, and AI risks, standards, and FDA priorities.

Visit www.lifescienceangels.com

Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/paola-torre-phd/?locale=en_US

________________________________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
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When Investors Turn You Down

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Investors say no to most of the deals they see.

Founders should take 'no' in stride and do the following:

Review the deal for the risks the investors see.

Some investors worry about risks that don't exist, as they are not familiar enough with the company or the market.

Founders should show how they mitigate those risks anyway.

Founders can also review the valuation to see if it's out of market.

If only some investors have a problem with the valuation, then the founder can use warrants with those investors to help close the gap.

Founders can also review the business to see if all the values in the business are coming through on the pitch deck.

Finally, the founder should review the positioning of the startup.

There are many ways to position the deal so it is attractive to the investor.

Potential positionings include financial.

This shows how the business makes money and can scale to make a great deal of money.

Other positionings include impact.

This shows how the business is providing a community benefit.

Another position is the low-risk option.

This shows how the business is running a known business model, with a proven team that has already exhibited significant success.

Consider the valuation, the values in the business, and the positioning of your startup when the investors say no.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
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For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

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Why Brokers Are Not a Fit for Startup Fundraising

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Fundraising is a time-consuming challenge for founders.

Some consider outsourcing the fundraising process to brokers who will take a success fee for what they raise.

This works well in later-stage funding but is not a fit for startup fundraising.

Portions of the fundraising process can be outsourced, such as the following:

Outbound marketing to prospective investors to generate initial interest.

Investment document preparation, including the pitch deck and financial forecasts.

Advisory work on how to raise funding.

But the actual fundraise needs to be done by the CEO.

The investor will lean heavily on the qualities of the CEO in making an investment.

The founder must build a relationship with the investor to achieve funding.

Brokers try to gloss over the relationship aspect of the fundraise.

For later-stage rounds where there's ample financial data to show traction and product market fit, a broker can be effective.

For the early stage, building a relationship with the CEO is a must.

The broker is not a fit.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

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