Mary Minno Ioannidis’ Post

Founders, VC, and Angel investors - How has the secondary market's growth impacted your business? The secondary market has evolved so much over the last decade. Apart from funds looking to exit their positions, the market was basically nonexistent when I started as a junior VC back in 2011. Fast forward to 2024 there’s a robust marketplace for founder shares, early employee shares, funds, LPs, or anyone who has a valuable asset. As a Pre-Seed stage investor I'm typically proactive when late stage secondary opportunities present themselves. I recognize that our value-add at Recursive Ventures is in spotting opportunities very early on and helping founders gain momentum - get from zero to one. I don’t sit on boards as companies scale up, so I don't have any insights on when’s a good time for a company to IPO or exit in an M&A. I think secondaries are beneficial for the entire eco-system - Founders, Early employees, VCs, and LPs. What do you think?

Creating a compelling pitch deck is more than just a formality; it's your opportunity to captivate investors and pave the way for your startup’s growth. 📈 As Cohort #1 of the #ClimateXAccelerator slowly comes to an end, we got Christoph Rohde to share some gold nuggets on what you should include in your pitch deck when approaching investors. As the Transaction Manager at FASE, Christoph is well-aware that investors say “no” more times than they say “yes”. However, don’t be discouraged… Since 2021, Christoph has supported pre-seed and seed impact ventures in raising over 15 million Euros in funding. So it’s safe to say, he knows how to sway investors! ✨ ✔️ Make use of these insights to enhance your pitch deck with elements that will convince investors to say "yes" to joining your startup’s journey. 🚀

Day 4 of fundraising in public: I spoke to over 10 early stage investors yesterday and this is what I've learnt: 1. We are down-playing ourselves by calling ourselves a sales tool. We are creating new tech, new LLMs designed to change the way we interact with our computers and we need to make that the core of our business. 2. We need to narrow our GTM strategy. When a pre-seed investor is asking for our GTM strategy they are really trying to answer the question "where is my money going?". 3. The reason why pre-seed funds are asking for traction is because of LP pressure. VCs are being treated like startups by LPs. LPs are waiting to see fund performance before investing. Bonus: Kraft ventures's Lainy Painter Singh gave an amazing presentation that gave us a really strong insider scoop into the mind's of our decision makers. Sales leaders are very concerned about the efficiency of their sales orgs as they scale, we need to figure out a way to show quick & direct ROI to sales leaders using rhetora.ai. Finally, founders matter now more than ever. I've been getting a lot of feedback from founders liking the series and finding it inspiring. A big thank you to everyone supporting. A support system is crucial to staying sane. Big shoutout to Aliou BA, Federico Ken Kawashima and Fernando Corral for being an amazing friends and world-class founders. Psst investors, they are raising too ☝

Thought that investor would be the one, only to be left heartbroken? 💔 We've all been there once. But it doesn't have to be this way, not on my watch 👁👇 Think with us for a sec: investors evaluate hundreds of startups to pick one. So why not act like them? Have VCs chase you instead of chasing them, Jaime 💅 I know this sounds crazy but it can really happen if… You build calendar density 🗓️ — the concept of booking meetings efficiently that Jason Yeh is always talking about and that we include in our Latitud Fundraising Playbook because it 🪄just 🪄works🪄 Now you have the what. Here's the how:

"🚀 Calling all angel investors, VCs, and private institutional investors! Exciting times ahead as we seek funding to fuel our innovative startup's journey. Our disruptive solution is poised for exponential growth, with a proven track record and a passionate team ready to make waves. Join us in shaping the future! Share with your connections and repost to amplify our reach. Let's connect, collaborate, and create something extraordinary together! #startupfunding #angelinvesting #venturecapital #venturecapitalist #investmentopportunity #angelinvestors #angelinvestor #privateequity #privateinvestors #institutionalinvestors 💼💡✨"

Hi everyone, here is today’s issue at a glance: 🔝 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 → VC math explained to founders 📝 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 → The best startup ecosystems worldwide 💡 𝗩𝗖 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 → Presence versus infrastructure 🏆 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 (𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂) → Share Road-To-Capital Are you IN or OUT? --- Road-To-Capital Understand how venture capital investors think and act💡

Confessions of Start-up Investors #3: A series of gems from my conversations with various investors & founders in the startup ecosystem. Here are few from last couple of weeks. 1. We are angel investors. We are angels. Not Devils, not God. Ours is to take exits at every opportunity and not try to be VC, the God or the Devil. 2. Don't ask me how much IRR you will make. I can't tell you the future. I can only tell you the past. #confessionsofangels #confessionsofstartupinvestors

🌟 To all the experienced founders and investors! Quick question for you - how important do you find the Friends & Family funding round in a startup's journey? I've noticed it's often a key talking point in later funding stages. Is it just a formality, or do you really dive into how founders handle this early investment phase? Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences! 💭🚀 #StartupFunding #LaidBareFounder #GetMySquad #friendsandfamily

The Crucial Role of Timing in Startup Success ⌛ How Good Timing Makes Great Products They say timing is everything in business. In a survey of 800 VCs, timing was one of the top reasons they noted behind successful or failed investments. (Although it might seem counterintuitive, being early is often more dangerous than being late.) But how do you determine if your timing (or “why now”) is right? Paul Orlando set out to learn more through research and testing his findings. Along the way, he developed a set of helpful frameworks and a process to bring investors, founders, and innovation teams through as they consider where to put resources. Check his new article on The VC Corner to read them 👇 https://lnkd.in/dtdskuRd

💼 Want to know what really drives investors? It’s more than just a great idea! Understanding what drives VCs can make all the difference. At Creasoft Capital, we offer expert consultations to help you tap into what matters most to VCs—and stand out from the crowd. 🚀 🔗 Get ahead and unlock investor interest at www.creasoft.capital. #VCSuccess #StartupGrowth #InvestorInsight #CreasoftCapital