Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Justine Palefsky and Tas Amina of Kindred (www.livekindred.com), a members-only home exchange platform. In this episode, Justine and Tas talk about how they spent time doing "founder dating" before committing to starting Kindred, how they raised capital from various strategic angels such as Elad Gil, Rohan Seth, Eric Wu, Payal...
May 25, 2022•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Jonathan Hollis of Mountside Ventures, a UK based advisory firm that helps European startups raise capital (www.mountsideventures.com). In this episode, Jonathan talks about what it means to be "investor ready," what to include in a startup financial model, how to identify the right investors, how many VCs you should talk to, typical terms ...
Apr 22, 2022•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Andrew Romans of 7BC Venture Capital (https://www.7bc.vc/) an early-stage venture fund focused on powering the digital economy through AI, FinTech, and software technologies. In this episode, Andrew shares what he's looking for in a startup, tactics he used for raising his first venture fund, tips for winning over LPs, the pro...
Apr 11, 2022•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Daniel Liebeskind of Topia.io, a place for people to come together in the metaverse and create interactive social experiences. In this episode, Daniel talks about the dangers of raising too much money, what you need at each round (FnF, Seed, Series A), and why he believes you should build in public. He also goes deep into what...
Apr 06, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Nick Cuomo of Allstar, which is building a "TikTok for gamers" (learn more at www.allstar.gg). In this episode, Nick shares his story raising capital from Mark Cuban, tips for pitching NY Angels, how to use Foundersuite to run a tight fundraising process, how to build timelines into the process, and much more. Allstar has rais...
Mar 23, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with John Zeratsky of Character, a Milwaukee based venture fund with an investment strategy focused on Product Design (www.character.vc). In this episode, John shares his 5-day design sprint process, what he's looking to invest in, tips for qualifying and pitching LPs, and more. Character has raised $30 million for its inaugural fu...
Mar 18, 2022•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Ahmed Omar of Odiggo, which makes an NFT marketplace for books. In this episode, Omar shares tips for getting into Y Combinator, finding founder / market fit, doing a major business and market pivot, tips for MENA founders, and much more. The Company has raised over $4 million in two rounds from investors that include Y Combinator, 500 Star...
Mar 11, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with "Burnt Banksy" a pseudonym for an anonymous founders behind Burnt Finance (www.burnt.com) a marketplace for trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Burnt originally garnered fame for burning an original Banksy artwork and then selling higher as an NFT In this episode, he talks about how he used profits from his Gamestop winnings to purchase the...
Mar 02, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Jason Yeh of Adamant Ventures (https://www.adamantventures.com/) a firm that provides content and training to entrepreneurs who are raising capital. In this episode, Jason discusses why he believes the best fundraising approach is to demonstrate you have a great business (and then help investors discover you), tips for fundraising preparati...
Jan 29, 2022•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Iddo Tal of Raise The Round (https://www.raisetheround.com/) a startup fundraising bootcamp. In this episode, Iddo shares his amazing 7-step process for managing VC meetings, tips for following up after an investor pitch, how to demonstrate traction (even before you have launched your startup), and much muck more. Iddo is a Silicon Valley-b...
Jan 20, 2022•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Suman Siva of Marco Experiences (https://www.marcoexperiences.com/), a platform that sells bespoke retreat packages to help foster company culture. In this episode, Suman talks about what it was like when he worked at Softbank Vision Fund, advice for pitching Slow Ventures, tips for building out a network of fellow founders, and more. The C...
Jan 07, 2022•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Bunim Laskin of www.Swimply.com, a marketplace for backyard swimming pool rentals. In this episode, Bunim talks about his Ultra-Orthodox Jewish upbringing and how becoming an entrepreneur was "rebellious," how he proved the concept and generated interest before writing any code, how he tapped the "camaraderie of founders" to get intros to h...
Dec 16, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Ofek Ron of Plantish (www.plantish.com) an Israeli company making plant-based seafood. In this episode, Ofek talks about how he started with a bold mission, used that to recruit a team, and then used the team to attract investors. He also shares great tips for making a funding round go fast including how to generate "FOMO" among investors, ...
Dec 10, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Phil Libin of Mmhmm (https://www.mmhmm.app/), a communications company that is creating a better way to communicate via video — both in real-time and asynchronously. Phil previously founded note-taking app Evernote. He was also a VC at General Catalyst and co-founder of product studio All Turtles. In this episode, Phil talks about why he mo...
Dec 02, 2021•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Nhon Ma of Numerade.com, an AI powered digital tutoring platform with over 1 million video lessons. In this episode, Nhon talks about the epiphany moment of doing asynchronous tutoring, how he used a "traction story" with investors to pitch the business pre-revenue, why he believes founders must earn the right to pitch investors, how game t...
Nov 24, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors who have raised capital. This episode is with Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures, a VC fund that invests in startups led by women. In this episode, Jesse talks about how she leveraged her Valley Girl Show and blog to build her network, how she pitched 500 investors to close 50, tips for first time VC fund managers, advice for courting fund-of-funds and RIAs, what types of s...
Nov 16, 2021•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Paxton Maeder-York, CEO of Alife Health (www.alifehealth.com) a startup building tools to combat infertility and improve IVF through artificial intelligence. In this episode, Paxton talks about raising capital for a startup before a product is launched, pitching vision and a plan, tips for storytelling, and more. The Company raised $9.5 mil...
Nov 05, 2021•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Ben Narasin of Tenacity Venture Capital, a new seed stage fund that invests in FinTech, mobile, marketplaces, gaming, and other categories. In this episode, Ben talks about how he raised 2/3rds of the $50 million target in only 25 days, what multiples on investment he expects at the seed stage, how he plans to use SPVs, how to set a target ...
Nov 03, 2021•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Thibaud Hug De Larauze Of Back Market (www.backmarket.com) a marketplace of refurbished electronics such as iPhones, Macbooks etc. -- part of the emerging "circular economy" class of startups. In this episode, Thibaud shares how he came up with the idea for a market for "renewed" electronics, how he got the company off the ground in France,...
Oct 29, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Garin Toren of ping (www.pingloud.com), makers of technology that reads aloud your text messages, emails and instant messages from all major platforms while driving. In this episode, Garin shares his detailed (and very clever) strategy for cracking into multiple angel groups at once, why he decided to use a continuous fundraising / "rolling...
Oct 12, 2021•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Slava Rubin of Vincent (https://www.withvincent.com/), a search engine for alternative investment opportunities such as crypto, NFTs, real estate, art, collectibles, etc. Previously, Slava was a co-founder of Indiegogo, one of the pioneers of crowdfunding. He's also an active startup investor. In this episode, Slava talks about his process ...
Sep 07, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Brett Fox, a startup advisor who has also worked in venture capital. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/foxbrett/ and https://www.brettjfox.com) In this episode, Brett talks about what to do if you lose a co-founder while raising capital, how many people to bring to VC pitch meetings, top mistakes startup CEOs make, how establish an emotional con...
Aug 19, 2021•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Frances Tang of Awkward Essentials (https://awkwardessentials.com/) a a medical-grade sponge made to absorb excess fluid after sex. In this episode, Frances talks about the scrappy ways she got her product-focused business off the ground, the challenges of raising capital for a sex-related business, her process for finding investors that wo...
Aug 10, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders and investors. This episode is with Michael Kim of Cendana Capital (https://www.cendanacapital.com/), a "fund of funds" that invests in very early stage venture capital funds. In this episode, Michael talks about why he started Cendana Capital and how he raised his fund, the types of emerging VCs he prefers to invest in (and what he's looking for when meeting a new VC), the evolution o...
Aug 04, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Naomi Shah of https://www.meetcute.com/, a media company that produces original, scripted romcoms in podcast form. Before starting Meet Cute, she was a member of the investment team at NYC-based Union Square Ventures. In this episode, Naomi talks about her journey from the trading floor at Goldman Sachs to the venture world (USV) and then o...
Jul 29, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Thomas Fairey of Stakester.com, a platform that users to play online games and compete for money and prizes. In this episode, Thomas talks about how pitching is a performance, how fundraising can be done as a formulaic sales process, how he automated a lot of his outreach and follow up, how the intent of the first contact is not to invest b...
Jul 16, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Travis Holoway of SoLo Funds, a community and app that enables peer to peer loans. In this episode, Travis talks about his mission to create an "Airbnb for loans", how he plans to unlock capital from "guys like his Dad," how he raised his initial capital from Black angel investors, advice for fundraising and much more. The Company recently ...
Jul 06, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Donnel Baird of Blocpower.io, a Brooklyn-based climate technology startup that is making American cities greener, smarter, and healthier by retrofitting older buildings with more efficient energy systems. In this episode, Donnel talks about how he got started by "greening" some barber shops in Harlem and then landed a government contract, g...
Jun 09, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Dima Syrotkin of Panda-Training.com, an online coaching and employee development platform. In this episode, Dima talks about how he funded his startup using a combination of loans, government grants, R&D credits, and other incentives. He also talks about his experience at SLUSH Conference and the startup scene in Finland. How I Raised It is...
Jun 05, 2021•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Produced by Foundersuite (www.foundersuite.com), "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Marie Tors of Reeveal.ai, an augmented reality shopping assistant that helps you select the right products. In this episode, Marie discusses raising capital for a startup based in France, how often she sends an investor update, advice for other French founders, the challenge of seeking money vs. seeking the "right" investors, and more. The ...
Jun 05, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
