seedfunding

While every business faces its own unique challenges, many early-stage SaaS startups share common characteristics that can dictate their success or downfall.

Figuring out what makes these startups thrive and what causes them to crumble requires years of expertise and industry knowledge.

Having invested in and worked with over 450 pre-seed & seed stage SaaS startups, Marvin Liao has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to identifying and nurturing profitable and sustainable SaaS businesses.

In this episode, Marvin joins us to discuss everything early-stage SaaS founders should be doing. He provides actionable tips and advice including focusing on a narrowed-down, niche audience, remembering to listen to your gut instead of relying solely on data, and waiting until your business is more established before raising growth capital. According to Marvin, 

“I’ve found that, in general, bootstrap founders are better at running businesses. Money can be a crutch. You figure out business basics faster when you don’t have a lot of money. It forces you to not waste time. So, bootstrap first, and then once you’ve gained traction and have a better sense of what you’re building and who you’re targeting – that’s the time to raise funding.”

Marvin also touches on the common mistakes that SaaS founders make, like modeling themselves after industry giants, spreading their focus too thin instead of doubling down on what works, and undercharging for their software while it’s still a work in progress. 

If your SaaS business is still in its infancy, then you can’t afford to miss out on Marvin’s expert insights to help your business reach its full potential.

While every business faces its own unique challenges, many early-stage SaaS startups share common characteristics that can dictate their success or downfall.

Figuring out what makes these startups thrive and what causes them to crumble requires years of expertise and industry knowledge.

Having invested in and worked with over 450 pre-seed & seed stage SaaS startups, Marvin Liao has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to identifying and nurturing profitable and sustainable SaaS businesses.

In this episode, Marvin joins us to discuss everything early-stage SaaS founders should be doing. He provides actionable tips and advice including focusing on a narrowed-down, niche audience, remembering to listen to your gut instead of relying solely on data, and waiting until your business is more established before raising growth capital. According to Marvin, 

“I’ve found that, in general, bootstrap founders are better at running businesses. Money can be a crutch. You figure out business basics faster when you don’t have a lot of money. It forces you to not waste time. So, bootstrap first, and then once you’ve gained traction and have a better sense of what you’re building and who you’re targeting – that’s the time to raise funding.”

Marvin also touches on the common mistakes that SaaS founders make, like modeling themselves after industry giants, spreading their focus too thin instead of doubling down on what works, and undercharging for their software while it’s still a work in progress. 

If your SaaS business is still in its infancy, then you can’t afford to miss out on Marvin’s expert insights to help your business reach its full potential.

While every business faces its own unique challenges, many early-stage SaaS startups share common characteristics that can dictate their success or downfall.

Figuring out what makes these startups thrive and what causes them to crumble requires years of expertise and industry knowledge.

Having invested in and worked with over 450 pre-seed & seed stage SaaS startups, Marvin Liao has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to identifying and nurturing profitable and sustainable SaaS businesses.

In this episode, Marvin joins us to discuss everything early-stage SaaS founders should be doing. He provides actionable tips and advice including focusing on a narrowed-down, niche audience, remembering to listen to your gut instead of relying solely on data, and waiting until your business is more established before raising growth capital. According to Marvin, 

“I’ve found that, in general, bootstrap founders are better at running businesses. Money can be a crutch. You figure out business basics faster when you don’t have a lot of money. It forces you to not waste time. So, bootstrap first, and then once you’ve gained traction and have a better sense of what you’re building and who you’re targeting – that’s the time to raise funding.”

Marvin also touches on the common mistakes that SaaS founders make, like modeling themselves after industry giants, spreading their focus too thin instead of doubling down on what works, and undercharging for their software while it’s still a work in progress. 

If your SaaS business is still in its infancy, then you can’t afford to miss out on Marvin’s expert insights to help your business reach its full potential.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why startups shouldn’t model themselves after business giants (02:00)
• Marvin explains why he’s the Forest Gump of Silicon Valley (15:04)
• Why early-stage SaaS founders should focus on bootstrapping instead of VC funding (20:55)
• How to balance data-driven decisions with creative “gut-driven” decisions (28:58) 
• What SaaS founders get wrong when pricing their products (31:26)
• The benefits of focusing on a narrow, niche audience as a startup (35:34)
• The common mistakes SaaS founders make when trying to scale (38:54)
• The criteria Marvin looks at when investing in a business (40:20)
• It’s easier than ever to create a successful SaaS startup (45:37)
• The best professional advice Marvin has ever been given or heard (50:38)

Mentions:

• Empire Flippers Podcast
• Empire Flippers Marketplace
• Schedule a call with our expert sales advisors 
• The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao
• The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding
• Conversion Crimes
• Wayback Machine
• Justine Musk’s Quora post

Sit back, grab a coffee, and listen in as we pick the brain of an early-stage SaaS expert!

While every business faces its own unique challenges, many early-stage SaaS startups share common characteristics that can dictate their success or downfall.

Figuring out what makes these startups thrive and what causes them to crumble requires years of expertise and industry knowledge.

Having invested in and worked with over 450 pre-seed & seed stage SaaS startups, Marvin Liao has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to identifying and nurturing profitable and sustainable SaaS businesses.

In this episode, Marvin joins us to discuss everything early-stage SaaS founders should be doing. He provides actionable tips and advice including focusing on a narrowed-down, niche audience, remembering to listen to your gut instead of relying solely on data, and waiting until your business is more established before raising growth capital. According to Marvin, 

“I’ve found that, in general, bootstrap founders are better at running businesses. Money can be a crutch. You figure out business basics faster when you don't have a lot of money. It forces you to not waste time. So, bootstrap first, and then once you’ve gained traction and have a better sense of what you're building and who you're targeting - that’s the time to raise funding.”

Marvin also touches on the common mistakes that SaaS founders make, like modeling themselves after industry giants, spreading their focus too thin instead of doubling down on what works, and undercharging for their software while it’s still a work in progress. 

If your SaaS business is still in its infancy, then you can't afford to miss out on Marvin’s expert insights to help your business reach its full potential.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why startups shouldn’t model themselves after business giants (02:00)
• Marvin explains why he’s the Forest Gump of Silicon Valley (15:04)
• Why early-stage SaaS founders should focus on bootstrapping instead of VC funding (20:55)
• How to balance data-driven decisions with creative “gut-driven” decisions (28:58) 
• What SaaS founders get wrong when pricing their products (31:26)
• The benefits of focusing on a narrow, niche audience as a startup (35:34)
• The common mistakes SaaS founders make when trying to scale (38:54)
• The criteria Marvin looks at when investing in a business (40:20)
• It’s easier than ever to create a successful SaaS startup (45:37)
• The best professional advice Marvin has ever been given or heard (50:38)

Mentions:

• Empire Flippers Podcast
• Empire Flippers Marketplace
• Schedule a call with our expert sales advisors 
• The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao
• The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding
• Conversion Crimes
• Wayback Machine
• Justine Musk’s Quora post

Sit back, grab a coffee, and listen in as we pick the brain of an early-stage SaaS expert!

While every business faces its own unique challenges, many early-stage SaaS startups share common characteristics that can dictate their success or downfall.

Figuring out what makes these startups thrive and what causes them to crumble requires years of expertise and industry knowledge.

Having invested in and worked with over 450 pre-seed & seed stage SaaS startups, Marvin Liao has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to identifying and nurturing profitable and sustainable SaaS businesses.

In this episode, Marvin joins us to discuss everything early-stage SaaS founders should be doing. He provides actionable tips and advice including focusing on a narrowed-down, niche audience, remembering to listen to your gut instead of relying solely on data, and waiting until your business is more established before raising growth capital. According to Marvin, 

“I’ve found that, in general, bootstrap founders are better at running businesses. Money can be a crutch. You figure out business basics faster when you don't have a lot of money. It forces you to not waste time. So, bootstrap first, and then once you’ve gained traction and have a better sense of what you're building and who you're targeting - that’s the time to raise funding.”

Marvin also touches on the common mistakes that SaaS founders make, like modeling themselves after industry giants, spreading their focus too thin instead of doubling down on what works, and undercharging for their software while it’s still a work in progress. 

If your SaaS business is still in its infancy, then you can't afford to miss out on Marvin’s expert insights to help your business reach its full potential.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why startups shouldn’t model themselves after business giants (02:00)
• Marvin explains why he’s the Forest Gump of Silicon Valley (15:04)
• Why early-stage SaaS founders should focus on bootstrapping instead of VC funding (20:55)
• How to balance data-driven decisions with creative “gut-driven” decisions (28:58) 
• What SaaS founders get wrong when pricing their products (31:26)
• The benefits of focusing on a narrow, niche audience as a startup (35:34)
• The common mistakes SaaS founders make when trying to scale (38:54)
• The criteria Marvin looks at when investing in a business (40:20)
• It’s easier than ever to create a successful SaaS startup (45:37)
• The best professional advice Marvin has ever been given or heard (50:38)

Mentions:

• Empire Flippers Podcast
• Empire Flippers Marketplace
• Schedule a call with our expert sales advisors 
• The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao
• The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding
• Conversion Crimes
• Wayback Machine
• Justine Musk’s Quora post

Sit back, grab a coffee, and listen in as we pick the brain of an early-stage SaaS expert!

While every business faces its own unique challenges, many early-stage SaaS startups share common characteristics that can dictate their success or downfall.

Figuring out what makes these startups thrive and what causes them to crumble requires years of expertise and industry knowledge.

Having invested in and worked with over 450 pre-seed & seed stage SaaS startups, Marvin Liao has certainly earned his stripes when it comes to identifying and nurturing profitable and sustainable SaaS businesses.

In this episode, Marvin joins us to discuss everything early-stage SaaS founders should be doing. He provides actionable tips and advice including focusing on a narrowed-down, niche audience, remembering to listen to your gut instead of relying solely on data, and waiting until your business is more established before raising growth capital. According to Marvin, 

“I’ve found that, in general, bootstrap founders are better at running businesses. Money can be a crutch. You figure out business basics faster when you don't have a lot of money. It forces you to not waste time. So, bootstrap first, and then once you’ve gained traction and have a better sense of what you're building and who you're targeting - that’s the time to raise funding.”

Marvin also touches on the common mistakes that SaaS founders make, like modeling themselves after industry giants, spreading their focus too thin instead of doubling down on what works, and undercharging for their software while it’s still a work in progress. 

If your SaaS business is still in its infancy, then you can't afford to miss out on Marvin’s expert insights to help your business reach its full potential.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why startups shouldn’t model themselves after business giants (02:00)
• Marvin explains why he’s the Forest Gump of Silicon Valley (15:04)
• Why early-stage SaaS founders should focus on bootstrapping instead of VC funding (20:55)
• How to balance data-driven decisions with creative “gut-driven” decisions (28:58) 
• What SaaS founders get wrong when pricing their products (31:26)
• The benefits of focusing on a narrow, niche audience as a startup (35:34)
• The common mistakes SaaS founders make when trying to scale (38:54)
• The criteria Marvin looks at when investing in a business (40:20)
• It’s easier than ever to create a successful SaaS startup (45:37)
• The best professional advice Marvin has ever been given or heard (50:38)

Mentions:

• Empire Flippers Podcast
• Empire Flippers Marketplace
• Schedule a call with our expert sales advisors 
• The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao
• The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding
• Conversion Crimes
• Wayback Machine
• Justine Musk’s Quora post

Sit back, grab a coffee, and listen in as we pick the brain of an early-stage SaaS expert!

Dave started both of the major investing vehicles in Tampa Bay: Florida Funders and SeedFunders. Between the two, he's reviewed thousands of companies and seen them bloom and bust. In this episode Dave shares how those experiences have shaped his investment decision making. And there's no better way to make the wisdom go down than a top ten list.

A good diversification strategy is critical to successful investing. There's a notable exception and that's technology. Whether tech-based or tech-enabled, how companies use tech may be diverse, but that they use it is a constant in the best performers. In this episode, Dave walks us through why Seedfunders is so focused on tech enabled companies and why you should be too.

The future is so bright, we had to break a discussion about it into 2 episodes. In this 2nd conversation we dig into crowdfunding and it's probable trajectory towards being a major source of capital in the future. And whether by new crowd methods, traditional VC channels, seed investing is where the action is flowing. With so much competition for good startups, the money is going earlier and that's where Seedfunders has been all along.

No one can accurately predict the future, but there's no one we would rather have not accurately predict the future than Dave. In this episode Dave brings his research, his insight and a few devices of the ethereal to the table (literally), and we try to figure out what the next few years hold for seed funding.

In this episode of the SeedFunders podcast, a new partner, Bob Kropp, pinch hits for Dave. Bob gives an overview of his experience in medicine and what it has helped him understand about investing in medical startups. He also shares why he joined SeedFunders and how valuable the group is to both founders and investors.

There's a lot riding on cap tables. They, in theory, tell us who owns what equity in a company.  But not all cap tables are created equal.  Some show only issued shares, but not option pools or unissued shares.  Some don't include the soon-to-be shares in convertible notes.  Opinions vary on the correct format, so it's important to understand what to look for.  That's exactly what you'll be able to do after listening to this episode of the Seedfunders podcast.

"It's an art and a science" is a descriptor not often used in the financial world. Numbers, by definition, are qualitative. The exception to the norm is valuing startups, which may be neither art nor science, and instead something approaching voodoo. In this episode, Dave acts as startup shaman and explains the various ways to roll the bones to come up with a number.

Term sheets are not legally binding, but people still get pretty attached to them. That makes sense as they represent the first articulation of what could become a pretty big deal for the startup. In this episode, Dave helps us understand the many facets of a term sheet - what they do, what they don't and what it all means to putting a deal on paper.

Bootstrapping, friends & family, pre-seed, seed, series a, series b series c..and here it looks like they just gave and threw the alphabet at the problem of naming the different rounds startups may enter while raising capital. To some extent it doesn't matter because the lines between rounds are blurred. In this episode, Dave charts a path of discovery through the various rounds. For each we consider the generally accepted definition of the round as well as where some may stray from said definition.

Crowdfunding is a term that lives in a cloud of misinformation. At least some of the confusion comes from there being several different types of crowdfunding and changing laws within those types. In this episode, Dave digs into 3 types of crowdfunding: donation, reward and equity. We spend the most time understanding equity crowdfunding, made possible by the JOBS act and other important legislation.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Seedfunders podcast.  In this episode, and the next few, Founder Dave Chitester sits down with host Joe Hamilton to give a 101 overview of all things early stage investing in Florida.  In this episode Dave runs through the different players and their function in the startup ecosystem. Founders, mentors, incubators, accelerators, connectors and funders all play a critical role in building the economy of tomorrow. Listen to the Seedfunders podcast to better understand the important and action-packed world of startups and how you can join in.

Sal's Investment Syndicate: Click for Sal's Syndicate Page

If you’ve used an Amazon Kindle you’ve used tech pioneered by Russ Wilcox and co-founders at E Ink. Russ is now a VC who remembers well the trials of being a founder and is a deep well useful knowledge about building startups. I learned a lot.

Highlights include:

• brief bio of Russ Wilcox
• the founding story of E Ink
• the mistake of focusing on a financing strategy rather than product development
• burning $2 million per month but clients hated the product
• Golden Lesson for Founders: don’t kill your company by sticking to an unrealistically high valuation; propping up valuation is self-delusion
• beware liquidation preferences (jargon-free explanation)
• comparison of VC funding to debt
• Pillar is a seed-stage VC firm founded by people who have started companies
• Pillar’s “phantom partners” are 22 startup CEOs who put money into the fund and roll up their sleeves to help
• Write checks of $1 to $2 million in rounds of $3 to $4 million
• Put in a lot of time and energy to support founders
• Emotional support is provided by the Pillar CEO investors
• Cool Portfolio Company: Kula Bio which has a really clever way to make earth-friendly fertilizer
• Cool Portfolio Company: Higharc creates 3D plans for your home without needing an architect
• Russ Wilcox’s wisdom on platform technologies
• Sal talks about his portfolio company Akili Interactive that has a game to treat ADHD in children and invites accredited investors to join his syndicate at https://www.angelinvestboston.com/our-syndicates
• What Russ learned from his post-exit world tour with his family
• Golden Lesson for Founders: look for a co-founder first

Carbon Black looking for $1B valuation in IPO, Avast looking for $4.5B valuation in IPO, Scality, Minim raised $2.5M in Seed Funding, a Cybersecurity Pledge, and more on this episode on Business Security Weekly!

Full Show Notes: https://wiki.securityweekly.com/BSWEpisode83

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