Talking To Investors: The Impact Startup Negotiations Podcast

Ben Kimura-Gross
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This is what you're going to learn in the Talking To Investors podcast: - How investors like to be approached. - Strategies to convince investors to fund your startup without feeling like you’re begging. - How to talk to impact investors at eye level by learning to understand their mindset. - How to build relationships that have more staying power than plastic in the ocean. - Stop wasting your and THEIR time with a shotgun in the dark approach - improve your search method.

Episodes

  1. #10 Why Investors Are Backing Eja-Ice: Yusuf Bilesanmi’s Game-Changing Refrigeration Tech

    10/31/2024

    #10 Why Investors Are Backing Eja-Ice: Yusuf Bilesanmi’s Game-Changing Refrigeration Tech

    In this episode of the Talking to Investors podcast, I’m speaking with Yusuf Bilesanmi, founder and CEO of Eja-Ice. We discuss: ► How Eja-Ice went from solving one Nigerian woman’s refrigeration problem to designing a path to saving 39.8 million tons of fish from going to waste. ► Yusuf’s advice on how to boost your funding without giving away equity. ► How to attract donors and strategic investors when the traditional ones don’t understand your market. ► How a customer-focused mindset can help founders develop products that are both impactful and  profitable (and make investors notice). ► The best ways to get your foot in the door with investors and secure funding from day one - even when you’re starting from scratch. ► Why rushing to raise funds hurts your long-term success - and how to avoid that trap. ► Yusuf’s secret to balancing long-term client relationships and short-term investor demands. ► How understanding local market needs can unlock global business opportunities for impact startups.

    35 min
  2. #9 How Evan Davies Takes the Pressure out of Fundraising & Sales - while Closing more Deals

    06/12/2024

    #9 How Evan Davies Takes the Pressure out of Fundraising & Sales - while Closing more Deals

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Evan Davies, CEO and co-founder of Scrapp. We discuss: ► The crazy level of commitment you get from people you can laugh with, and how to make that happen ► The greatest boost you can give your fundraising - without an investor ► Why reaching out to investors via lists hardly ever works and what you should do instead And …  ► How to stop overcomplicating building rapport with investors ► How triggering the desire to help can get you a lot of warm introductions ► The biggest green flag for VC funds ► The top 3 reasons investors decided to fund Scrapp ► How to get social proof for more warm introductions ► How to assess what kind of investor you should look for and avoid wasting time with a bad fit ► The worst thing you can do that’ll fracture your relationships and kill rapport instantly ► Why you should stop asking investors for money if you want them to fund you ____________________________________________  Want to know more about Evan or get in touch with him? ► Evan's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-gwynne-davies/ ► or visit Scrapp here: https://www.scrapprecycling.com/ ____________________________________________  Get my free ebook: “Eliminate The Noise: Find The Top 5% Of Investors That’ll Supercharge Your Impact Startup”: https://perfectmatchinvestor.com/ ____________________________________________

    50 min
  3. #8 How to Build a Next-Level Reputation with Investors, with Nadia and Timur of Magnotherm

    05/30/2024

    #8 How to Build a Next-Level Reputation with Investors, with Nadia and Timur of Magnotherm

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Nadia von Oesterreich and Timur Sirman of Magnotherm. We discuss: ► What Nadia & Timur learned not to do (from Elon Musk) ► The secret link between company culture and productivity - and how that shifts your fundraising into higher gears ► How strict hierarchies led to plane crashes and Nokia’s nosedive - and how Magnotherm solves that problem ► Hiring superstars versus hiring keepers - why effectiveness beats efficiency every time ► How to make employees ambassadors for your startup, even with investors ► How to SHOW investors that you’re capable of pulling this off ► The most effective way to build a great reputation with investors ____________________________________________ Want to know more about Magnotherm or get in touch with them? ► Magnotherm's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/magnotherm/ ► or visit their homepage here: https://www.magnotherm.com/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “Eliminate The Noise: Find The Top 5% Of Investors That’ll Supercharge Your Impact Startup”: https://perfectmatchinvestor.com/

    39 min
  4. #7 How to Gain an Unfair Advantage at Investor Meetings with Michael Henriksen

    05/15/2024

    #7 How to Gain an Unfair Advantage at Investor Meetings with Michael Henriksen

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Michael Henriksen, founder and CEO of Wavepiston We discuss: ► Who can get you into the room with the directors of a bank and what to do when you're there ► The #1 way to test if the investors are earnestly or just casually interested (don’t waste time with time-wasters) ► How to be prepared for unexpected opportunities and use them fully ► What you have to get right as a lo-tech startup if you want investors to trust you ► When to start warming up investors ► What to do when the engineer who can answer a tricky question isn’t in the room with you ► Why sending out random pitches on websites is a bad idea ____________________________________________ Want to know more about Michael or get in touch with him? ► Michael's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calimero/ ► check out the Wavepiston crowdfunding success: https://www.seedrs.com/wavepiston2 ► or visit their homepage here: https://wavepiston.dk/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “Eliminate The Noise: Find The Top 5% Of Investors That’ll Supercharge Your Impact Startup”: https://perfectmatchinvestor.com/

    50 min
  5. #6 Investor FOMO: How Julia got her 1st funding round oversubscribed, even had to decline investors

    05/01/2024

    #6 Investor FOMO: How Julia got her 1st funding round oversubscribed, even had to decline investors

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Julia Bialetska, founder and CEO of S.lab We discuss: ► The top 3 reasons why investors were eager to invest in S.Lab ► The biggest waste of time when doing investor outreach (and what you should do instead) ► The secret to quickly assessing whether an investor is right for your business ► How Julia got ~100 warm B2B sales leads for pilot projects without having to go through the daunting process of climbing up the ladder in corporate organizations until you finally talk to a decision-maker ► The best investment type for investors and early-stage startups ► How to foster relationships with investors and make them WANT to support you ► Why you have to stop putting impact first, especially when fundraising ____________________________________________  Want to more about Julia or get in touch with her? ► Julia's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliabialetska/ ► If you’re interested in her product, visit her website here: https://www.ilab-s.com/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “Eliminate the Noise: Find the top 5% of investors that’ll supercharge your impact startup”: https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/

    59 min
  6. #5 What Physical Product Startups Need to Fundraise from VCs

    02/28/2024

    #5 What Physical Product Startups Need to Fundraise from VCs

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Daphne Postma, former fund manager at Triodos. We discuss: ► The best win-win contract clause to boost your valuation ► The one thing to avoid at all costs if you don’t want stakeholders to hate you and ruin your exit ► How compromises can mess up your investment deal - and make you look stupid ► How your confidence can hurt your startup and when it’s crucial to rein it in ► That there’s more power in understanding a failure than in not understanding a success ► How not to respond when an investor adjusts your valuation downwards ► How to DD your investor and why you must ► Why bluffing your way through contractual discussions is a very bad idea - and the easy way to manage your knowledge gaps without losing the investor’s respect ► The ill effects of playing at being a founder - shit or get off the pot! ____________________________________________ If you think Daphne Postma would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to her here: ► Daphne's LinkedIn profile:   / daphne-postma-b6620850   ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “7 Scientifically Proven Strategies That Get You Into More 2nd Meetings With Investors”: https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/ ____________________________________________

    41 min
  7. #4 How Founders Get Investors Begging to Fund Them, with Alina Klarner

    01/24/2024

    #4 How Founders Get Investors Begging to Fund Them, with Alina Klarner

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Alina Klarner of Impact Shakers. We discuss: ► The deal Alina missed out on when a startup got too many funding offers! (and how this founder achieved that) ► Why great founders don’t try to “win deals” ► How giving up competitiveness will give you a competitive edge ► What investors prefer you to do instead of asking for money ► The #1 reason why investors ignore your outreach ► Warning: if you do this, investors will ignore you ► Why even a perfect fit investor might not fund you - even if you have a sound business ► The top 4 superpowers of every successful startup ► The worst thing you can do when an investor says something you don’t understand ► What matters most to impact investors to maximize impact AND returns ► Is VC funding really your best option? ____________________________________________ If you think Alina Klarner would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to her here: ► Alina's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinaklarner/ Or visit Impact Shakers at ► https://www.impactshakers.com/ ____________________________________________ Get my free ebook: “7 Scientifically Proven Strategies That Get You Into More 2nd Meetings With Investors”: https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/ ____________________________________________

    46 min
  8. #3 How to destroy your investment deal in 10 minutes (just before the finish line)

    11/28/2023

    #3 How to destroy your investment deal in 10 minutes (just before the finish line)

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Geet Kalra, investment associate at Advantage Capital. We discuss:  ► The craziest founder statement Geet ever encountered - NEVER say this to an investor  ► The 3 essential empathy skills that make investors believe you’ll be successful  ► And one simple technique to show them you’ve got those skills  ► The single most important switch you have to flip in your head - doing this gets you 95% of the way to aligning with your investor  ► The one contract clause you cannot fight as an impact startup  ► How to get past confusing investor jargon  ► A little tactic to get investors to finetune your financial strategy for you  ► What to do when an investor holds a gun to your head  ► Why sending an email when negotiating a high-value term sheet is a BAD idea - and what you should do instead  ► What to do when you get a term sheet with a “WTF!?-type” clause  ► Which 3 criteria are make-or-break factors for assembling a great board of directors  ► What to do when you DON’T want to give someone a board seat, but your investor insists  ► How getting too excited about closing the deal can harm your startup in the future  ► The atmosphere great founders create vs. the vibe that’ll kill the deal  ► Which platform makes investors more likely to respond when you’re doing a cold outreach  ► And loads of other insights Geet brings to the table.  ____________________________________________  If you think Geet Kalra would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to him here:  ► Geet's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geet-kalra/  And as a special bonus, more insights from Geet on coursera:  ► "Strategy and Finance for the lifecycle of a Social Business": https://www.coursera.org/specializations/strategy-and-finance-for-social-business  ____________________________________________  You’ve Got An Important Negotiation Coming Up And Can’t Afford To Lose?  Visit https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/1-on-1-coaching/  ____________________________________________

    43 min
  9. #2 Why startups with great business models fail, through no fault of their own with Graham Boyd

    11/16/2023

    #2 Why startups with great business models fail, through no fault of their own with Graham Boyd

    In this interview, I’m talking with Graham Boyd of Evolutesix about: why “higher impact delivers higher profit” why so many startups with fundamentally sound business models fail although they’re not doing anything wrong the mindset shift that will double your chances at success why you should start thinking of your company as part of an ecosystem instead of one product that solves one problem and a lot more

    47 min
  10. #1 The truth about what investors really want from founders with Philip Haverkamp

    10/19/2023

    #1 The truth about what investors really want from founders with Philip Haverkamp

    In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I'm speaking with Philip Haverkamp, partner at impact VC fund kopa (formerly Wi Venture). We're discussing: ► Why investors don’t want you to take the first equity offer, even if it was fair. ► How de-risking one massive investor concern can double your chances of getting funded. ► Why a higher valuation doesn’t mean it’s the best offer. ► The kind of investors you should NEVER make a deal with. ► The killer mistake that made investors hang up mid-call and almost cost Phil a great exit. ► How to stop wasting time sending your deck to investors who’ll never look at it. ► At what stage of a negotiation lawyers can do more harm than good. ► One simple thing founders almost never do but which would immediately get them more help from investors. ► And loads of other insights Phil brings to the table. ____________________________________________ If you think Kopa (energy, mobility and nature tech) would be a great investor for your startup, you can reach out to him here: ► Philip's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philhav/ ► visit kopa.vc: https://www.kopa.vc/ ► or kopa's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kopa-ventures/ ____________________________________________ You’ve Got An Important Negotiation Coming Up And Can’t Afford To Lose? Visit https://negotiating-with-goliath.com/1-on-1-coaching/

    45 min
  • 10 Episodes

About

This is what you're going to learn in the Talking To Investors podcast: - How investors like to be approached. - Strategies to convince investors to fund your startup without feeling like you’re begging. - How to talk to impact investors at eye level by learning to understand their mindset. - How to build relationships that have more staying power than plastic in the ocean. - Stop wasting your and THEIR time with a shotgun in the dark approach - improve your search method.

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