Tech
Founder Questions

Founder Playlist resources for founders in enterprise, consumer and university spinouts.

Fundraising
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What questions should I be prepared to answer in the university licensing process?
Name Alan Gordon Director of Business Development at Harvard University
Tech • Fundraising
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How can I create an awesome pitch deck?
Name Andrew Lau CEO at Jellyfish
Tech • Fundraising
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As an angel investor, which qualities do you look for in early stage companies?
Name Dharmesh Shah CTO at HubSpot
Tech • Fundraising
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How much ownership should I expect to give up when fundraising?
Name Janet Comenos CEO at Spotted
Tech • Fundraising
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How are valuations determined?
Name Janet Comenos CEO at Spotted
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I negotiate on valuation?
Name Janet Comenos CEO at Spotted
Tech • Fundraising
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How long do pitch meetings usually last?
Name Janet Comenos CEO at Spotted
Tech • Fundraising
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Should I optimize for the highest valuation?
Name Janet Comenos CEO at Spotted
Tech • Fundraising
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What advice do you have for moms who are starting their fundraising process?
Name Jessica Nam Kim CEO at Ianacare
Tech • Fundraising
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What relationship should I expect to have with my investors?
Name Jessica Nam Kim CEO at Ianacare
Tech • Fundraising
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How should I approach investors? Ask for advice, not money.
Name Mary Imevbore CEO at Waeve
Tech • Fundraising
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What is a VCs expected time frame for $100M in net revenue vs. run rate?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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What is the difference between shares and options?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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How does dilution work for founder shares?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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What should I put in direct costs vs. overhead?
Name Jamie Goldstein Partner at Pillar
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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How should I prepare for a pitch meeting with investors?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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Do I need a pitch deck?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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What should I include in my pitch deck?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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Should I send my pitch deck out in advance of an investor meeting?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 2: What questions should I ask investors during pitch meetings?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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Can you describe the relationship you have with your VCs?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I decide which investors I want in my syndicate?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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When should I tell my VC bad news?
Name Helen Adeosun CEO at CareAcademy
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I know I'm ready to pitch VCs?
Name Mary Imevbore CEO at Waeve
Tech • Fundraising
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When should I think about selling my company?
Name David Cancel CEO at Drift
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 2: Should I bootstrap my company?
Name Chad Laurans Fmr CEO at SimpliSafe
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: Should I bootstrap my company?
Name Patrick Campbell CEO at ProfitWell
Tech • Fundraising
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Which VC firms should I target with my outreach?
Name Mary Imevbore CEO at Waeve
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 3: How do I develop a winning business model?
Name Mary Imevbore CEO at Waeve
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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Part 2: What should I consider when choosing an investor?
Name TJ Parker CEO at PillPack
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 2: How much should I aim to raise in my seed round?
Name TJ Parker CEO at PillPack
Tech • Fundraising
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How long do pitch meetings usually last?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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Do I need a lead investor?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I ask my VC for a raise?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Advisors & Board of Directors
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Part 2: What should I expect from my relationship with my VCs?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: What should I consider when choosing an investor?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I say no to an investor?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Advisors & Board of Directors
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Part 1: What do I do if two important investors can't agree on anything?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Advisors & Board of Directors
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Part 1: What do I do if my relationship with my investor isn't working out?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Advisors & Board of Directors
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Do I need a pitch deck?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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What role should the CFO play in the fundraising process?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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What financials should I prepare for pitch meetings?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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What tips do you have for founders with little financial experience?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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What questions should I ask when hiring a CFO?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Benefits
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How transparent should I be with my VCs?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Advisors & Board of Directors
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What role should the CFO play in the company overall?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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When should I hire a CFO?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Benefits
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How many years of financials should I prepare for the pitch meeting?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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When should the COO / CFO role be linked?
Name Yvonne Hao Fmr. COO / CFO at PillPack
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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Part 1: What questions should I ask investors during pitch meetings?
Name Jason Robins CEO at Draft Kings
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 2: How do I manage if multiple VCs are interested in my round?
Name Jason Robins CEO at Draft Kings
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I build a financial model?
Name Jamie Goldstein Partner at Pillar
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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How do I know what is fair in my term sheet and what isn't?
Name Jamie Goldstein Partner at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 2: How do I develop a winning business model?
Name Jamie Goldstein Partner at Pillar
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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What is expected from an R&D focused company who won't have revenue for years?
Name Jamie Goldstein Partner at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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Why does Pillar offer to buy common stock?
Name Jamie Goldstein Partner at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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What should I say if I don't know an answer to a question?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I share data or confidential information with VCs?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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What questions should I ask investors?
Name Steve Kokinos CEO at Algorand
Tech • Fundraising
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When a VC says "let's stay in touch", what does that mean?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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How much potential revenue will get VCs excited?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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If my product is more technical, how deeply should I dive into those details?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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If I have an MVP, should I demo the product in the pitch meeting?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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Should I show market opportunity bottom-up or top down?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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How often should I be speaking with my VC?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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What order should my pitch deck slides be in?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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How closely should my voiceover match the content on my slides?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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Do VCs help me build my team and fill it with experts?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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Should I be concerned about the information in my pitch deck being passed around?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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How long should my pitch deck be?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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How much should I practice my pitch?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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What's the first step in creating a pitch deck?
Name Sarah Hodges Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 2: How do I tell my personal story so it resonates with investors?
Name Jason Robins CEO at Draft Kings
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I get the attention of the VCs?
Name Jason Robins CEO at Draft Kings
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: How do I develop a winning business model?
Name Gail Goodman Fmr. CEO at Constant Contact
Tech • Budgeting & Planning
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How do I create momentum in my deal?
Name Dave Balter CEO at Flipside Crypto
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I get the attention of the VCs?
Name Dave Balter CEO at Flipside Crypto
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: What should I expect from my relationship with my VC?
Name Dave Balter CEO at Flipside Crypto
Tech • Fundraising
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Should I take a meeting with an associate or principal instead of a partner at at VC ?
Name Dave Balter CEO at Flipside Crypto
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: How do I manage if multiple VCs are interested in my round?
Name Dave Balter CEO at Flipside Crypto
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I know VCs will like my idea?
Name Steve Conine Co-Founder at Wayfair
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I manage criticism of my business from investors?
Name Steve Conine Co-Founder at Wayfair
Tech • Fundraising
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Are there any alternatives to VC funding?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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Which team members should be in the pitch meeting?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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How much should each team member speak in a pitch meeting?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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How much progress are VCs looking for in pre-seed and seed companies?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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How big does my target market have to be to make my company VC backable?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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Should I consider venture debt?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising
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How much ownership do investors expect?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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How long should the funding from my seed round last?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: How much should I aim to raise in my seed round?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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What should I say when asked about valuation?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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How are valuations determined?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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Is there a minimum valuation that gets VCs excited?
Name Russ Wilcox Partner at Pillar VC
Tech • Fundraising
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Part 1: Should I optimize for the highest valuation for my company?
Name Dave Balter CEO at Flipside Crypto
Tech • Fundraising
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How do I know my idea is right for VC funding?
Name Parker McKee Principal at Pillar
Tech • Fundraising