Founders Should Show Credibility to the Investor

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

Investors see many pitches from a wide range of founders.

To stand out, the founder should show credibility to the investor.

Those with exits should put that first in the pitch.

This shows you know how to reach a successful exit for your investors.

Those who were part of companies that exited should also bring up that win.

This shows you know what success looks like and have a hand in it.

Those who have achieved success in their previous job, such as leading a business unit at a major corporation.

This shows you know how to lead people and manage projects.

Those who have substantial technical experience, such as building a significant product.

This shows you know how products are built.

Those who have led successful marketing or sales initiatives.

This shows you know what it takes to run a successful sales and marketing operation.

Founders should showcase their experience to build credibility with the investor.

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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Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
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On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes PPaola Torre, venture partner at Acquilus Ventures and board member at Life Science Angels. Located in the United States, Life Science Angels invests exclusively in early-stage life sciences companies at the seed and early Series A stages, combining capital with deep operational, scientific, and clinical expertise and hands-on mentoring beyond the check. The group emphasizes translational credibility, unmet medical need, team quality, and risk management, pressure-testing IP, regulatory strategy, and timelines, and increasingly values pharma partnerships as predictive for 2026; it also collaborates through syndicates with other angels, VCs, and strategics.

Paola is a PhD scientist with hands-on R&D experience at BioMarin Pharmaceutical across fibrosis, neurometabolic disorders, and cardiovascular disease, and she works at the intersection of biotechnology, venture capital, and healthcare innovation. She shares LSA's approach to deal structures and valuation discipline (including a $15M pre-money cap and use of convertible notes), how angels help de-risk capital-intensive biotech, what makes founders successful, and her views on next-generation therapies, AI-enabled platforms, non-animal models, and AI risks, standards, and FDA priorities.

Visit www.lifescienceangels.com

Reach out to at www.linkedin.com/in/paola-torre-phd/?locale=en_US

________________________________________________________________________

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.

When Investors Turn You Down

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

Investors say no to most of the deals they see.

Founders should take 'no' in stride and do the following:

Review the deal for the risks the investors see.

Some investors worry about risks that don't exist, as they are not familiar enough with the company or the market.

Founders should show how they mitigate those risks anyway.

Founders can also review the valuation to see if it's out of market.

If only some investors have a problem with the valuation, then the founder can use warrants with those investors to help close the gap.

Founders can also review the business to see if all the values in the business are coming through on the pitch deck.

Finally, the founder should review the positioning of the startup.

There are many ways to position the deal so it is attractive to the investor.

Potential positionings include financial.

This shows how the business makes money and can scale to make a great deal of money.

Other positionings include impact.

This shows how the business is providing a community benefit.

Another position is the low-risk option.

This shows how the business is running a known business model, with a proven team that has already exhibited significant success.

Consider the valuation, the values in the business, and the positioning of your startup when the investors say no.

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.

Music courtesy of Bensound.