{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"297. The fundraising mistakes that haunt founders for years","description":" Giving away 10% of your company before you have a product might seem like a reasonable price for mentorship and introductions.  But do the math at exit, and you get a very different story.  In this episode, Sophia Matveeva&amp;nbsp;talks to Melanie Nabar, growth equity investor at Volition Capital, about what the fundraising journey actually looks like from the investor side \u2014 and what founders need to understand before they enter it.  You'll learn:  Why the equity you give away at the very beginning is the most expensive equity you'll ever part with The difference between seed, venture capital, growth equity and private equity \u2014 and which is right for you Why a founder owning only 5% of their own business is a red flag for serious investors How to stress-test an investor relationship before you're locked in Why companies are staying private longer \u2014 and what that means for your exit strategy The due diligence questions founders rarely think to ask   Sophia also shares her own experience joining a corporate accelerator \u2014 and why she wishes she'd had this conversation first.  &amp;nbsp;Timestamps:  00:00 - Introduction: The equity trap of accelerators 03:22 - Are all accelerators created equal? 08:23 - Why VCs care about founder dilution 15:10 - Fundraising stages: Friends and family to IPO 24:55 - Why companies stay private longer 28:21 - Building investor relationships over time 32:03 - Stress testing investor relationships during diligence 37:41 - Why growth equity is the sweet spot 41:44 - Closing  Free AI Mini-Workshop for Non-Technical Founders Learn how to go from idea to a tested product using AI \u2014 in under 30 minutes. Get free access here:&amp;nbsp;techfornontechies.co\/aiclass Follow and Review: We\u2019d love for you to follow us if you haven\u2019t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We\u2019d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on&amp;nbsp;Apple Podcasts. Simply select \u201cRatings and Reviews\u201d and \u201cWrite a Review\u201d then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast. Listen to Tech for Non-Techies on:   Apple   Spotify   YouTube    Audible    Pandora   Transcript:&amp;nbsp;https:\/\/www.techfornontechies.co\/blog\/the-fundraising-mistakes-that-haunt-founders-for-years ","author_name":"Tech for Non-Techies - Practical app &amp; AI strategy for non-technical founders.","author_url":"https:\/\/www.techfornontechies.co\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/40679840\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/200296580"}