Startup Funding Espresso – How Investors Provide Mentorship at Scale
Release Date: 12/12/2025
Startup Funding Espresso – Stages of Technology Adoption
Investor Connect Podcast
Stages of Technology Adoption Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Technology adoption goes through several stages over the life of that technology. Here are the steps of adoption: Unknown -- no one knows the technology. Awareness -- some hear about it but don’t know what it is. Understanding -- those who know it understand how it works but don’t know what to do with it. Belittlement -- those who know it consider it an underperforming technology and discard it as a toy. Usefulness -- some users find use cases...
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Startup Funding Espresso – Acid Test for Startup Valuation
Investor Connect Podcast
Acid Test for Startup Valuation Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Valuation is a key negotiating factor in startup investing. There are many valuation models available. The most common is the use of comps or comparables to see if the valuation is at market rate. Consider using the acid test for startup valuation. The acid test for startup valuation compares the money invested so far to the proposed pre-money valuation. Some call this the Money-in method. To calculate this value, take the pre-money valuation and...
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Startup Funding Espresso – Innovation Looks Trivial in the Early Days
Investor Connect Podcast
Innovation Looks Trivial in the Early Days Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In the early days of a startup, innovation can look trivial. Innovation is often applied to the lower end of the market. New technologies often start as simple devices or applications. These devices have minimal functionality and lack robust features. In vetting startups, look past the minimal functionality to the rate of change of the technology. While today it may seem trivial, a fast growth rate can move it into a more competitive...
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Startup Funding Espresso – Hiring a Professional CEO
Investor Connect Podcast
Hiring a Professional CEO Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Startup founders take the CEO position because they bring the vision and passion to launch the company. They know the domain and are building the core product and go-to-market strategy. They are the ultimate authority at the company. As the company grows and then scales, there comes a time for a professional CEO. Here’s a list of key characteristics to look for in a professional CEO: One who has experience managing a large company....
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Startup Funding Espresso – How Startups Can Make Better Forecasts
Investor Connect Podcast
How Startups Can Make Better Forecasts Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Forecasting is a key skill founders need for raising funding. Investors want to know the founders' expectations for the business with the funds raised. Here are some key steps to make better forecasts: Start with a baseline. If the startup has revenue, then use that as the starting point. If the startup is pre-revenue, then look to similar startups to set a baseline. Determine the drivers behind the revenue. This could be leads generated,...
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Startup Funding Espresso – How To Build an Elevator Pitch
Investor Connect Podcast
How To Build an Elevator Pitch Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The elevator pitch is the short form of your startup pitch. It introduces the deal to an investor and gives the key highlights. The goal is not to tell them everything but rather to intrigue them to learn more about it. Here’s how to build an elevator pitch: State in five words or fewer what the startup does. Show two examples of the impact of the startup using numbers. This could be exploding revenue, such as “We’re seeing 50% month over...
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Startup Funding Espresso – The Nuances of Pitching
Investor Connect Podcast
The Nuances of Pitching Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In pitching investors, there are key nuances that can make or break the pitch. Here is a list of nuances to consider when pitching: Use the pitch to build a collaboration. Funding is a part of it, but not the only thing. Start your pitch with your core value proposition. State in plain language what your company does. If you have revenue numbers, build the pitch around them. Showcase the growth story with a graph showing a curve going up and to the right...
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Startup Funding Espresso – Key Skills for a Startup Founder To Have
Investor Connect Podcast
Key Skills for a Startup Founder To Have Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Successful startup founders share several key skills. Here are the key skills for a startup founder to have: They have access to the networks that are vital to their startup success. This includes investor networks for funding and customer networks for buying the product. They are flexible. They can pivot the business when the market changes or they discover a better one. They are persistent. They stick with it during the down times as...
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Startup Funding Espresso – Launching a Startup in a New Domain
Investor Connect Podcast
Launching a Startup in a New Domain Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Markets shift and change, creating new startup opportunities. Founders seek new markets in which to launch a startup. For those launching a startup in a new domain, here are some key steps: Read several books describing the domain and how it works. Talk to domain experts in the space to learn the details of the market. Look for unmet needs that must be addressed. Identify experts in the domain who can advise you. Ask one or two to be a mentor....
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Startup Funding Espresso – Revenue Solves All Problems
Investor Connect Podcast
Revenue Solves All Problems Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In a startup, revenue solves all problems. Funding can help, but only for so long. As long as you have cash, you can run the startup. When you run out of money, then it’s over. Revenue can fix any problem. If you need more sales support, you can hire them. If you need to fix a product, you can bring in a developer to do the job. If you need more leads, you can hire a marketer. Funding can solve many problems, but it’s limited. There’s only so...
info_outlineHow Investors Provide Mentorship at Scale
Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.
Startups seek out investors not only for funding but also mentorship.
Most pitch sessions are valuable not because they raised funding, but because they provided feedback to the founder.
The challenge for investors providing feedback is that it most often comes in a one-on-one format.
For investors to be effective across a large number of startups, mentorship must scale.
Here are some ways to scale mentorship for startups:
Record the sessions, including the pitch and the feedback, and post them online for other startups to watch.
Capture the founder’s questions along with written feedback and post online.
Provide feedback in large group settings so other founders can benefit from it.
Capture pitches and feedback in online webinars and then post the results online.
Take the feedback from the above and compile it into an online training course.
Provide the training to groups of startups in accelerators and incubators.
Provide the training at startup events with large numbers of startups in attendance.
Capture the questions and answers into an online blog post.
Consider these steps in scaling your mentorship to the startup community.
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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