TSP031 | Mike Edelhart – Hunting beyond the Unicorn
Posted by John Livesay in podcast | 0 comments
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Episode Summary
Mike Edelhart is the lead partner for the Social Starts moment-of-inception investment fund and CEO of the Tomorrow Project.
Key Takeaways
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- 02:30 – How did Mike become an angel investor?
- 07:40 – The team is incredibly important. This can not be emphasized enough.
- 10:00 – Mike believes a good team understands clearly what the company’s mission is.
- 11:46 – Great teams follow their leader with discipline, but not with rigidity.
- 13:25 – Becoming a unicorn is an outcome, not a cause.
- 14:40 – Having the desire to become an entrepreneur isn’t normal.
- 17:00 – Leaders who believe in themselves, their team, and can remain calm when everything goes wrong instills confidence in their team.
- 18:20 – How did Pinterest get started?
- 24:55 – Why did Mike and his team invest in Pinterest in the beginning?
- 27:45 – Entrepreneurs make the common mistake in thinking all investors are the same and they don’t do their homework.
- 30:00 – Mike talks about the rabbit archetype in business.
- 30:50 – Mike breaks down the tortoise archetype.
- 32:45 – What’s the idea behind the bear archetype?
- 36:15 – The final power animal in business is the hawk. Mike explains further.
- 40:00 – Mike recommends the book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds
Tweetables
[Tweet “Entrepreneurship is a socially accepted form of mania”]
[Tweet “What you think is true will probably not turn out to be true”]
[Tweet “Clarity is key trait to get funding”]
[Tweet “Be obsessive about your customers”]
Links Mentioned
SocialStarts – The Venture Bestiary: Hunting Beyond The Unicorn
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds by Charle Mackay
SocialStarts
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TSP030 | Michael Walsh – Slack for Senior Care
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Episode Summary
Michael Walsh is the co-founder of Cariloop and runs the Health 2.0 Dallas chapter. Cariloop is a program that allows people to help manage their older loved ones’ healthcare and needs from start to finish. Michael has raised $500,000 in funding during his first seed round and has some valuable insights to share on what truly makes a successful pitch.
Key Takeaways
- 01:40 – Who is Michael?
- 04:45 – Why was Cariloop founded?
- 10:15 – How/why did Michael pick his accelerator?
- 12:10 – The knowledge and the contacts Michael made at the accelerator were priceless.
- 16:05 – How can entrepreneurs figure out how much their company is worth?
- 20:25 – How has Michael spent the $500k he’s raised?
- 23:10 – How does Michael handle the competitor question with investors?
- 25:45 – Michael believes telling stories is better than pitching.
- 28:00 – Michael recommends the book Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh.
Tweetables
[Tweet “A pitch should be a story that you tell investors.”]
[Tweet “What are pain points of your customer that you solve?”]
[Tweet “When you give a customers control during chaos they buy.”]
Links Mentioned
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Michael Walsh LinkedIn
Michael Walsh Twitter
Cariloop Website
Cariloop Twitter
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TSP028 | Eric Scott – Hard Valuable Fun
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Episode Summary
Eric Scott is the technical assistant for Max Levchin and works at HVF Labs. Eric helps manage external investments at HVF, which stands for Hard, Valuable, and Fun. Eric talks on how the company got it’s name, what Eric and his team look for in a pitch, and talks on why the startup Zen Payroll turned him from a skeptical investor to a major supporter when he heard their pitch.
Key Takeaways
- 02:00 – Eric talks about HFV.
- 04:00 – How did Eric get a job as a technical assistant with Max Levchin?
- 09:30 – How much money does HVF invest in? Around $250k.
- 13:40 – What does Eric look for in a pitch?
- 16:35 – What’s a good pitch that has good ‘defensibility’ against competitors?
- 21:20 – Eric talks a little bit about SmartThings and Cover.
- 24:40 – Eric talks on how he went from skeptical to completely sold when Zen Payroll pitched him.
- 30:10 – What is BlockStream about?
- 36:10 – Eric recommends the book Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar.
- 38:30 – Don’t confuse your investors. Make your pitch clear.
Tweetables
[Tweet “A founder’s authentic passion about the problem is infectious to investors.”]
[Tweet “Do your homework on what investors’ passion points are before you pitch.”]
[Tweet “How to make investors go from skeptical to enthusiastic.”]
Links Mentioned
Raportive
Venmo
Glowing
Hard Valuable Fun
Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar.
Eric Scott Twitter
HVF Twitter
HVF – Breaking the Barrier: the race for the first 1 person $1B company
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