How To Build a Better Product

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

Having a better product than the competition is no guarantee of success, but it does help with your fundraise.

Here's how to build a better product:

First, understand the customer and the work they must do.

Know the overall process flow and how the customer's job fits within it.

Analyze the customer job to identify how to make it faster, easier, and cheaper to do.

This includes time and dollars spent.

Identify a key insight about the customer problem.

These insights come from working in the industry or holding the job yourself.

Know not only the customer job itself but also the workflow around it.

Design a product that fits the customer flow and provides a faster, better, and cheaper solution.

If you're not in the industry, then take on a consulting job in the industry for a period of time.

This will build not only your knowledge of the job but also the business around it.

It will give you connections in the industry that will be helpful later.

It will also help you understand how to engage the support of others.

Consider these steps in building a better product for your 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.

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

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On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Sophie Winwood, venture capital investor, ecosystem builder, and co-founder of UnlockVC. Based in the UK, UnlockVC is a global community supporting women in venture capital and connecting investors across Europe and the U.S.

Sophie has spent the past seven years in venture capital, including investing at Anthemus with a focus on early-stage companies and fintech. She co-founded UnlockVC to help expand access, networks, and opportunities for women across the venture ecosystem.

Sophie discusses the changing venture capital landscape, diversity in investing, the rise of solo GPs, AI's role in venture workflows, and why strong relationships and warm introductions still matter for founders and investors.

Visit Unlock VC at unlock-vc.com/

Reach out to atwww.linkedin.com/in/sophie-winwood-92526241/, and on sophie@unlock-vc.com

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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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Startups Fail for Many Reasons

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

Startups fail for many reasons.

Here's a list of the more common ones:

Ran out of cash. This is the most common reason of all.

Could not raise additional funding.

Lost too much business to the competition.

Did not generate enough revenue to make the business model work.

Had a too-high cost basis for running the business.

Didn't hire the right people.

Missed the market opportunity.

The founders could not get along with each other.

Lost interest in the business.

Review this list for your startup.

Consider how to mitigate these risks in your business plan.

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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The Challenge of Angel Investing

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

Angel investing can be a rewarding experience, providing not only investment returns but also making the world a better place.

It also comes with challenges.

Here is the challenge of angel investing:

There's a small number of investable startups.

There's a large number of startups to comb through to find the fundable ones.

There's a substantial number of other investors chasing startups to invest in.

This creates a competitive environment for the best deals.

Most startups genuinely want to succeed, although there are a few that are outright scams.

The process of sorting through the available startups takes time and energy.

One can't always tell a good one from a bad one from a general review.

It takes a deep dive to figure out which startups have the potential to succeed and which ones are destined to fail.

Failure comes from pursuing a market that is too small or building a business that is not scalable, among other reasons.

Consider how to mitigate this challenge in your angel investing.

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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What Are the Odds?

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

Early-stage investments require follow-on funding to reach a substantial size, providing a return to the investors that justifies the risk.

Here are the odds that a startup will raise its next round of funding.

After the first round, about half go on to raise a second round.

This is not unusual, as many investors divide their investment allocation in half for the first investment.

Of the original funded companies, about 30% will go on to raise a third round.

This is equivalent to a Series A round.

Of the original funded companies, about 15% will go on to raise a fourth round.

This is equivalent to a Series B round.

Of the original funded companies, about 9% will go on to raise a fifth round.

This is equivalent to a Series C round.

Of the original funded companies, about 3% will go on to raise a sixth round.

This is equivalent to a Series D round.

After the first round, there is a halving effect in which approximately half the companies are able to raise another round to move to the next level.

Overall, about 70% of the companies will not make a return to their investors due to a lack of an exit.

Startup investment is driven by the power law, which provides the majority of the returns through a handful of the investments.

Consider these odds when making your investment.

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

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

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Evaluating the Team

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

In startup investing, the team is the most important factor pointing to success or failure.

Here are some key steps in evaluating the team for your startup investment.

Look for examples of execution on the current startup.

Execution trumps the idea.

If there's no execution, then it doesn't matter how great the idea is.

Startups are difficult and often challenging.

The team must have the skills to overcome any and all obstacles.

Check the team's education to see if they have foundational knowledge in their domain.

Next, check their past work experiences.

Have they worked at key companies and on relevant projects related to their startup's mission?

See how successful their previous projects have been.

If their work was in the startup space, how many of their companies achieved an exit, and at what level?

Check their passion for the project.

Is this startup the one that will go to the moon, or is it just there to pay the bills till something better comes along?

Finally, check to see that all the skills needed are accounted for in the team.

Consider these steps in evaluating a team for your startup investment.

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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How To Close a Soft Commitment

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

Founders raising funding often ask for general interest first with no commitment.

A soft commitment is an interest from an investor just short of a commitment.

Investors use this to maintain the dialog with the founder as they learn more about the deal.

Some use this as a bargaining chip to gain more favorable terms.

As a founder, here's how to close a soft commitment.

Create a deadline and start driving investors towards it.

The amount of funds raised should be increasing on a weekly basis.

Show other investors are in the deal and they are moving forward.

List names and show their interest.

Show other investors are circling the deal and they represent a substantial amount of funding, albeit potentially.

Finally, gather enough soft commitments to close the round and then set a priced round for it that is attractive to those investors.

Make clear this valuation is only available for the next 30 days, and then it goes away.

This creates FOMO Fear of Missing Out.

Consider these steps in closing soft commitments for your fundraising round.

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

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

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In this episode of Investor Connect, we welcome Hemanth Sheelvant, who currently works in manufacturing consulting with Bosch Manufacturing Co-Intelligence. He discusses how digital twins and AI are reshaping industrial operations—and why even well-funded projects still fail. Hemanth explains the "iceberg problem" in enterprise and AI deployments, where teams focus on the visible technology while underestimating the governance, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, integration, and ongoing operations that drive the total cost.

He shares how to avoid surprises by starting with customer discovery, aligning early with IT and key decision-makers, defining KPIs and budget for pilot-to-scale upfront, and assessing plant digital maturity through pre-discovery studies. The conversation also covers using AI first as a human-assist system, choosing simpler models when they meet the business outcome, building balanced teams with domain experts, and scaling via modular, deployable "Lego block" solutions and SaaS-friendly business models.

Visit Bosch Manufacturing Co-Intelligence at https://www.manufacturing-co-intelligence.com/

Reach out to Hemanth at https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemanth-sheelvant/

________________________________________________________________________

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

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.