Updated November 1, 2024

Today, I’m speaking with Yusuf Bilesanmi, CEO and founder 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.

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Updated June 12, 2024

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

– How to stop overcomplicating building rapport with investors

….

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Updated July 9, 2024

In this episode of the Talking To Investors podcast, I’m speaking with Timur and Nadia 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

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Updated July 9, 2024

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

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Updated July 9, 2024

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

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Updated July 9, 2024

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

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Updated May 7, 2024

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

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Updated December 7, 2023

“We’re completely stuck. I don’t see how we can make it work,” wrote the COO.

Brandon (name changed) had been negotiating with this client for two years.

And he was at risk of losing them because the COO felt “stuck” – all after Brandon had put in 100 hours of unpaid work.

And you know what the strange thing is?

This was an exceptionally lucrative deal for his client – at minimal cost, with minimal risk.

How much do you think their profits would skyrocket?

$750.000 per year.

So why wasn’t Brandon able to close the deal (even after two years)?

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Updated May 7, 2024

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

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