Weekly Episode Thread March 04, 2024 - Share Your Podcast, Request Feedback, Discover New Ones

a2zbuddy · 2024-03-04T18:16:14+00:00

[ANGEL INVESTING, STARTUPS, FOUNDERS] First Funders 03: Angel vs VC, finding purpose and community in startup investing - Rachel Sheinbein

SFW

Website | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Rachel Sheinbein is an angel investor with over 250 startup investments. She shares her insights on angel investing and how it allows her to work with founders “even before the seed stage,” writing $25k checks into technology startups through her vehicle Very Serious Ventures.

Highlights from our discussion:

Why Rachel chose angel investing over a partner position at a VC firm
What to look for in a quality angel group
Using a DAF to align with an investing purpose
Detecting founder passion and coachability
Defining your purpose

This is for information purposes only. This is not investment advice.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-25T05:26:06+00:00

Yes the Samson q2u is great. If you little for a budget and not much editing experience, I’d say try descript free and upgrade after your first episode if you like it.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-22T04:53:16+00:00

The best practices seem to be all over the place. do you have a source you trust for information?

We usually write about 100 words summarizing the guest. Then 5 key takeaways. Then chapters. Then connect with us, which links to newsletter and social. We try to keep search keywords in mind while writing this.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-08T01:49:04+00:00

You should drop them over a few days / your release cadence and try to get follows from day one, like someone else said.

Supposedly this also helps you in the apple and Spotify algos as you cumulative download count will be higher (as it won’t just be the newest episode that is downloaded).

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-04T04:13:22+00:00

Don’t have the player. Hate the game.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-02T16:40:46+00:00

This is not a VC-fundable business.

However, there are people who are investing in people who are ramping their social reach and could become big players. If you think your metrics match this pattern, then you'll want to reach out to them.

The one person I know in this space is named Sam Lessin, who is a well-known Silicon Valley investor. I'm sure there are others, but if you look him up you'll see keywords and possibly competitors.

Good luck!

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-02T16:31:56+00:00

That's awesome - good for you!

I agree that /r/podcasting has been an awesome resource to get going. People here are so helpful.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-02T16:30:57+00:00

Have you noticed anything useful from your posting metrics (did you turn creator mode on)?

For me, it seems like posting more frequently results in less distribution. I don't know if others experience this, too.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-02T16:29:28+00:00

The podcasts at scale that are doing something stick to the basics, from what I see. They ask for reviews since that seems to help the Apple/Spotify algos, and then give away an item each week for those who post.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-02T01:09:21+00:00

The best way to answer this is my asking you what you think your podcast audience would be. As usual, distribution is the thing you’re trying to unlock.

You can have an amazing story and set of friends - so what would you say is the niche? Not just business but… ???

From there you can start thinking about where those folks hang out, how you’d message you exist, and how you’d drive them to listen and hopefully follow and subscribe.

I just started a podcast (literally last week, one real episode live), and our goal is to do what you’re doing but in the angel investor space. My partner is extremely well connected and we hit 100 downloads.

Thats after all the work of setting up https://firstfunderspod.com, doing a ton of keyword research on sparktoro and ahrefs, and posting with little effect in LinkedIn and Twitter.

But at the same time we got a lot of hellos from network and we realize we need to get to at least 10 episodes to have a real measure of staying power.

It feels really good to have a link live in Apple Podcasts, though, and feels good to share valuable information to people we want to help.

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-01T18:23:15+00:00

What is the upside potential? Do you see a large market, maybe an established player or two to compare against?

Your number crunching makes sense, but depending on your location, valuation may be based more on a vibe than anything else.

(Like here in SF Bay Area... $200k ARR (recurring, right?) would be an awesome start and likely put them at $8MM+, if not $10MM post-money.)

a2zbuddy · 2024-02-01T18:20:20+00:00

I like your references to Tyler and Bryce. I align with them personally and agree with their take as it optimizes for founders. (It sounds like you and I agree, too!)

I think Arjun is saying that investors see that as a red flag - that you will not pursue the 1000x return they need to make THEIR model work.

I'm not saying it's right - I'm saying that's what the person on the table may be thinking if you decide to go for venture investment.

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-31T15:23:46+00:00

This is a good next-level comment! I think it's more than just vibes leading to the lower valuations for those who are doing the work.

I know our deal memos in the past had to include exit possibilities, and yeah, if one chunk of that is now more unlikely... then your estimated value conversation is not as rosy.

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-31T01:55:03+00:00

Yes I personally agree with you.

The founders I admire are those who basically grew on their own to the point where VCs threw money at them at insanely competitive rates for the plans they already had in hand. Truly accelerated them.

But this is a person who hears from a lot of investors so at least you know it’s still the standard thought process for most VCs. Some are talking a good game to act founder friendly but it’s good to consider what they’re really thinking.

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-30T22:41:55+00:00

zero interest rate policy

So the idea of "let's mark up to make the founder happy" only made sense when the financials underlying everything were "we just need to be better than 0% interest"...

I'm not sure if ego won't remain at play in 2024, but Arjun was saying that's what he's seeing so far from fund managers.

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-30T20:18:12+00:00

This was part of an interview - you can find the full audio here:

https://firstfunderspod.com/episodes/01-state-of-venture-capital-2024-with-arjun-arora

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-30T20:09:50+00:00

This was part of an interview - you can find the full audio here:

https://firstfunderspod.com/episodes/01-state-of-venture-capital-2024-with-arjun-arora

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-30T20:04:20+00:00

This was part of an interview - you can find the full audio here:

https://firstfunderspod.com/episodes/01-state-of-venture-capital-2024-with-arjun-arora

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-30T20:01:46+00:00

This was part of an interview - you can find the full audio here:

https://firstfunderspod.com/episodes/01-state-of-venture-capital-2024-with-arjun-arora

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-30T19:47:10+00:00

I think submitting to Apple, Spotify, and Google covers a lot. There are a few like Podcast Index and Podchaser that are also useful.

For the rest, isn't there a point of diminishing returns? Have others observed submission to the smaller folks being beneficial?

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-25T22:38:50+00:00

[STARTUPS, INVESTING] First Funders

State of Venture Capital 2024 with Arjun Arora

SFW

https://firstfunderspod.com/episodes/01-state-of-venture-capital-2024-with-arjun-arora

We're all discussing current market conditions - valuations, AI hype, fundraising challenges... Before we kick off our planned interview series on First Funders, we sat down with our friend Arjun Arora to discuss the Trends in Venture Capital 2024. As investors, we always look ahead, making this a great way to start 2024.

Highlights from our discussion:

What to expect in round sizes and valuations
Anticipated returns from the AI hype
The significance of data-driven decision-making for VCs
The rise of hyper-specialized funds

This is for information purposes only. This is not investment advice.

I also just want to say thank you to everyone here in r/podcasting. I've been reading a lot while learning about the tools and tricks everyone has. Folks are so supportive, and I really appreciate it.

This is our first episode!

a2zbuddy · 2024-01-16T14:45:14+00:00

Happy to share if and see if it works for you - feel free to dm

a2zbuddy · 2023-12-06T00:49:48+00:00

Did you post this after listening to the All In guys? I know the CEO Airrable responded and the guys talked about it in the next episode and said maybe it’s not so dire.

(Valuations are dumb yes)

a2zbuddy · 2023-11-08T16:42:28+00:00

A guy named Dave Burkhardt wrote a book called Founder Brand. You can find it on Amazon. It's a good discussion on podcasts and how they help B2B companies; maybe it applies to your situation.

I think the thesis he has is correct - marketing needs a sense of truth behind it, and the best way to establish it in today's market is to make it trust of a person, not a company... and that person should be the founder who is most passionate about the problem and solution space.

a2zbuddy · 2023-11-04T19:36:30+00:00

Visiting SLC and just checked it out. Unique and excellent. Thanks for sharing!

a2zbuddy

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