Playing the Long Game to Secure Seed Funding

Journey from Seed to Series A

The Importance of Finding a Value-Add Investor

We are joined by Nandini Agarwal and Andy Kalmon. This episode focuses on how founders can effectively navigate the VC landscape, emphasizing the importance of aligning with investors' areas of expertise, timing, and preparation. Nandini Agarwal is an investor at Counterpart Ventures, where she focuses on early-stage investments in emerging tech startups. / nandini-agarwal https://counterpart.vc/about/ Andy Kalmon is the founder of Benny, a dynamic startup that is transforming the way businesses engage with their customers. / andrewkalmon https://www.heybenny.com/ Follow us on X https://x.com/sandhill_mktshttps://x.com/getpinxyz Are you an accredited investor? Apply to our syndicate https://sandhillmarkets.typeform.com/... Bring your investment community to life with PIN https://www.getpin.xyz/

Join Sabina Hemmi and Jake O’Shea as they dive into raising capital at the idea stage. Sabina shares her founder journey, while Jake offers the investor’s perspective on backing early-stage visionaries. Sabina Hemmi is the Founder & CEO of GLP Winner, a platform revolutionizing how global leaders are identified and nurtured. With a bold vision and relentless drive, Sabina has secured early-stage funding with just an idea, showcasing the power of innovative thinking and a compelling narrative. / sabina-hemmi Jake O’Shea is a Principal at Antler, a global early-stage VC that invests in extraordinary founders at the idea stage. With a strong background in venture capital and a passion for fostering groundbreaking ideas, Jake brings a wealth of experience in identifying and supporting early-stage founders. / jake-oshea Follow us on X https://x.com/sandhill_mktshttps://x.com/getpinxyz

Triet Nguyen began his career aspiring to work in the events industry, specifically organizing music festivals, but gained valuable experience at nonprofit organizations like The Dallas Entrepreneur Center and Capital Factory, a Texas-based accelerator fund. It was at Capital Factory that he discovered his passion for startups and venture capital, which led him to co-found Cheese Plug, an on-demand charcuterie board delivery service, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later transitioned to MicroVentures as a Venture Deal Flow Associate before joining Render Capital in March 2023. With expertise in portfolio support, angel investing, venture scout networks, and advising startups and emerging funds, Triet brings a well-rounded perspective as both an investor and a founder.

Ben York is the CEO at Genetica. With a background in finance at Citi Group focused on equity derivatives and securitized products, he carried that knowledge into the tech space where he got involved in venture capital at The Arcview Group. Leading deal flow and due diligence at Arcview helped him learn a lot about startups, and eventually led him to working with Christian at Genetica as an advisor. After a year, he transitioned to Genetica full time as the CEO.

With over 13 years of experience in the talent acquisition world, Christian is the Chief Growth Officer at Genetica, a leading cannatech company that is transforming the way people access and consume cannabis and CBD products. He is also an angel investor, advisor passionate about cannatech, mental health, and innovation. He is currently invested in over 2 dozen companies and is part owner of OC Soccer Club. He has also joined the Founder Mental Health Pledge, a coalition of startup investors, founders, and leaders coming together to destigmatize and encourage mental healthcare for founders and the greater startup community.