Stay ConnectedThe Mentors follows twin brothers Vadim and Sergei Revzin as they seek to uncover how successful people build their businesses and careers from day one. Twice weekly, the brothers bring inspiring stories from entrepreneurs, artists, business leaders, and entertainers they meet in NYC, to tell never before heard stories of how people get started, even when they have nothing.
Music by: www.purple-planet.com
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Sometimes even the most seemingly concrete rejection can be reversed if you can effectively make a case for it. In this episode we talk about how we got rejected to speak at a conference happening in two months and why the organizer of the event changed his mind.
We discuss the importance of developing relationships, establishing credibility and communicating value, and when it's appropriate to push a little harder to create opportunities for yourself. We also share another story about how a friend of ours turned a seemingly impossible no into a yes.
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Fundraising is like selling - it only counts when you close the deal. A successful investor pitch is only a small part of the process. The real work is in getting the investors to agree to the investment terms (the negotiation) and wire you the money (the close).
In the last part of this four part series we discuss the most common way to put together a round of investment from multiple funders. You'll learn why it's important to have a lead investor in the mix and how to incrementally get financial commitments from investors to get other investors to commit as well, a process called soft circle.
We also talk through the due diligence process the investor will go through if they're interested in giving you money and the most common pitfalls for first time fundraisers around the actual terms of the investment. We close the conversation by highlighting some ways that you can create urgency to close the deal faster.
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says that empathy played a critical role in his development and success, but he didn't always know how to prioritize empathy.
In this 5 Minute Pick Me Up we talk about how empathy can drastically improve your career (better relationships with colleagues, more opportunities for promotion, etc.) or business (better partner relationships, more customers, faster decision making) and why it's a skill that can be actively practiced and improved.
We also talk about what it means to be too empathetic and the importance of balancing empathy with confidence.
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If you're ever meeting with a professional investor you must remember one thing - you gotta know your stuff. In part three of our Fundraising 101 series we explain what an entrepreneur can expect to happen in a meeting with an investor and how to make sure you're best prepared to increase your chances of getting funding.
We talk about what's non-negotiable to cover in a pitch meeting, including your vision, market, and traction, and why the CEO should always lead the pitch. We also share some tactical advice about selective sharing, NDAs, and the typical response you can expect after a pitch meeting.
In part four of the series we're going to get into the nitty gritty of how to structure the fundraising process and negotiate the terms of your deal!
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It's okay to act without having a clear goal or outcome in mind especially when it comes to creative pursuits. This week we talk about what we learned from Jerry Seinfeld's first book, SeinLanguage and how Sergei's former boss, Andrew Yang, applied the same mentality to running Venture for America and now his campaign for the Presidency.
Previous episode(s) mentioned: Episode 12: Launching Best Sellers, Going Viral, and Avoiding Burnout with Charlie Hoehn
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Investors often require a warm introductions to take a meeting, so how do you meet one if you don't have a big network? When we moved to New York City we knew few entrepreneurs and no investors, yet when building our sales software company we were able to secure dozens of meetings with professional investors.
In part two of our Fundraising 101 series we breakdown our strategy for getting your foot in the door to pitch your startup by meeting other founders. We also share why it's possible to secure meetings through cold emails and how to do it the right way.
Getting investor meetings is similar to getting sales meetings so if you haven't listened yet check out our other episode on a similar topic called Sales For Founders 101: Getting Meetings to get more ideas.
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What can you learn from the person that brought The Office to America? Last week we had drinks with a friend of ours in LA and he told us a story of when he worked for Benjamin Noah Silverman not long before he became co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.
One night at a movie premier after party Benjamin shared some words of wisdom with our friend about achieving success.
In this week's 5 Minute Pick Me Up we talk about what he meant by the simple phrase he shared with our friend and what you can learn from his advice to identify opportunities that can quickly advance your career.
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Most founders will never raise a single dime from investors. This has nothing to do with your capabilities as an entrepreneur. It’s simply the reality of venture economics and the fact that most businesses don’t fit the requirements of a professional investor. The good news is that 95% of business are able to find capital through other means.
In this episode we describe how most entrepreneurs raise capital through four main channels – credit card loans, bank loans, money from friends and family, and good old fashion side hustles (aka contract work). Yes, in 2017 alone VC firms invested $61 Billion in capital, but everything is relative. This money was deployed across 5,948 deals – virtually nothing (1%) compared to the 500,000+ businesses that were started that year.
To help clarify the reality of fundraising, and to provide some data from those that are bullish on raising venture money, we also dive into the true motivations behind angel and venture investors, and what actually makes an entrepreneur fundable – a track record (previous exits), domain expertise, defensibility, a large market opportunity, and tangible go to market execution.
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Humans today manage more relationships than at any other time in history. Our digital networks alone can include thousands of people, so it's inevitable that some of those connections might fall by the wayside through nobody's fault. If you've ever missed an email or forgotten to respond to someone that reached out to you, you might feel guilty and assume that the other person was hurt and doesn't want to hear from you again.
In practice, the opposite is true. In this 5 Minute Pick Me Up we discuss why it's always better late than never to reach back out to a lost contact or to follow up with someone that's dropped off your radar. Even a quick check in is an opportunity to make someone feel appreciated and the chance to reignite a relationship that might lead to incredible personal and/or professional outcomes.
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While most entrepreneurs never raise money from professional investors, many first time founders want to understand how the process works. Having met with a lot of people eager to learn how they can raise money for their startup idea we decided to record a new series called Fundraising 101 to dispel some myths around the process and provide a template for those that think this is the right step for their business.
Part one of our series focuses on what you need to accomplish at minimum before you're ready to approach investors. We discuss the three areas of traction to focus on - Team, Product, and Customers, and why investors invest in lines not dots (ie: consistent output and growth, not individual indicators of success).
We also discuss our experience with fundraising for our tech startup and what we could have done differently. In part two we'll explain how you can quickly setup meetings with professional investors through both cold and warm outreach.
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