Welcome to The AFT Podcast!

Episodes

Old VS young fund - who to reach out to and why? By Amit Mehta
Sept. 27, 2020

Old VS young fund - who to reach out to and why? By Amit Mehta

Amit Mehta, partner at BuildersVC talks about reaching out to funds - should you reach out to an older fund that has been operating for 5 years after the raise or should you reach out to a freshly-raised fund? And why? And what are the indicators of the fund's activity? All in this episode.
Guest: Amit Mehta
2 weeks for fundraising - how to raise a fast round, by David Yaffe.
Sept. 26, 2020

2 weeks for fundraising - how to raise a fast round, by David Yaffe.

David Yaffe, Co-Founder at Estuary, Previously Co-Founder of Arbor (Acquired by LiveRamp) talks about closing a very fast round (2 weeks only) and how that happened. We also discuss the best strategies of gaining new connections and assembling the right network to accelerate the fundraising process.
Guest: David Yaffe
First employees in successful companies - how to build that dream team? By Andrew McIntosh
Sept. 25, 2020

First employees in successful companies - how to build that dream team? By Andrew McIntosh

Andrew McIntosh, Director and Product Management for Platform & Integrations at Veritone Inc that went public in 2017 explains what he believes were the core strategies of the company founders that brought the company to a success. We also talked about early employees getting involved in the fundra…
Accelerating fundraising process - Adrian Mendoza on how to raise a round faster.
Sept. 24, 2020

Accelerating fundraising process - Adrian Mendoza on how to raise a round faster.

Adrian Mendoza, Founder and General Partner at Mendoza Ventures talks about his very first fundraising and why it took him so long. Adrain also talks about the ways to accelerate that process and what methodologies can be applied while fundraising.
Feature diarrhea - how to build product and how to start company in a new country. By Gabriel Paunescu
Sept. 23, 2020

Feature diarrhea - how to build product and how to start company in a new country. By Gabriel Paunescu

Gabriel Paunescu, CEO at Naologic talks about his experience of opening 7 startups at 3 different countries and raising money for some of them. He talks about creating a useful and cheap product and how to start new business in a new place or even a new country.
Angel groups VS Venture Capital - how to choose? By Ryan Whittemore.
Sept. 22, 2020

Angel groups VS Venture Capital - how to choose? By Ryan Whittemore.

Ryan Whittemore, Chief Investment Officer at Florida Funders explains the major benefits of working with an angel group versus a venture capital. We also discussed what major factors should founders look into while making their decision.
Moving to the Silicon Valley as a founder - when? By Carlos Ochoa.
Sept. 21, 2020

Moving to the Silicon Valley as a founder - when? By Carlos Ochoa.

Carlos Ochoa, Founder and Managing Partner at Alpha Impact 8 Ventures explains what it means to expand to the South Americas, who should do it and when is it applicable. We also talked about moving to the silicon valley and specifically - when is it safe enough (in the economic sense) to move to th…
Guest: Carlos Ochoa
Investing in "unsexy" fields, by Denis Kalyshkin
Sept. 19, 2020

Investing in "unsexy" fields, by Denis Kalyshkin

Denis Kalyshkin, principal at I2BF Global Ventures explains what does it mean to work in the "unsexy" field and how the non-technological fields present a great opportunity for startup founders. We also talk about how startup founders can get involved in such fields.
Free accelerators and what does the government support mean for startups, by Miki Reynolds.
Sept. 18, 2020

Free accelerators and what does the government support mean for startups, by Miki Reynolds.

Miki Reynolds - Co-Founder and Executive Director at Grid 110 talks about the support that government provides to the early stage startup founders and specifically talks about Los Angeles eco-system. We discussed a variety of government programs aimed to support startups and how founders can use th…
Advisers to CEOs - who needs them and how much do they cost? By Sherwin Estanislao.
Sept. 17, 2020

Advisers to CEOs - who needs them and how much do they cost? By Sherwin Estanislao.

Sherwin Estanislao, Founding Partner and Investor at Creative Interlace Tech Ventures in this episode of Fundraising Radio talks about who needs an advisor, how to find one and how much approximately should you give him/her. We also talked about the venture studio model and what kind of founders sh…
Acquired for $780 million - lessons learned about Fundraising and moving to the US, by Zain Jaffer.
Sept. 16, 2020

Acquired for $780 million - lessons learned about Fundraising and moving to the US, by Zain Jaffer.

In this episode we talk to Zain Jaffer, Partner at Blue Field Capital and previously the founder and CEO of Vungle(acquired for $780M). Zain talks about how he moved from the UK to the US and about the mistakes that he had made during the fundraising process.
Guest: Zain Jaffer
Stock buyback - how does it work in a startup? By Mike Preuss.
Sept. 15, 2020

Stock buyback - how does it work in a startup? By Mike Preuss.

Mike Preuss, Co-Founder and CEO at Visible.vc explains how he managed to raise the first rounds of funding and how later on his company bought back some of the equity it sold to its investors. We also discussed the importance of following up with current investors and how it should be done.
Guest: Mike Preuss
What is a Hedge Fund and can startups raise from them? By Ryan Zhang and Mi Tu.
Sept. 12, 2020

What is a Hedge Fund and can startups raise from them? By Ryan Zhang and Mi Tu.

Ryan Zhang and Mi Tu, Partners & Co-Founders at Standard Capital L.P. explain how do hedge funds work and how can startup founders raise money from them. We also talked about investing in securities vs investing in startups.
Investing in sports, fitness and gaming industry - what's happening during covid? By Vasu Kulkarni.
Sept. 11, 2020

Investing in sports, fitness and gaming industry - what's happening during covid? By Vasu Kulkarni.

Vasu Kulkarni, Founder and CEO at Krossover that raised $50 million and got acquired in 2017 and currently a Partner at Courtside Ventures. In this episode he talks about how he personally managed to raise funding for his company and why he didn't go the traditional way with it. We also talked abou…
Alternative sources of funding - no dilution for you. By Thomas Rush.
Sept. 9, 2020

Alternative sources of funding - no dilution for you. By Thomas Rush.

Thomas Rush, Founder at Bootstrapp explains the major non-dilutive funding sources that he believes work best for founders and explains what are its major pros and cons. We also talk about the fastest method of raising money and what are it's major downsides.
Guest: Thomas Rush
Constructing MVP and a team - Jon Vlachogiannis about creating success.
Sept. 8, 2020

Constructing MVP and a team - Jon Vlachogiannis about creating success.

Jon Vlachogiannis, currently the Founder at AgentRisk and the Founder at Bugsense that was acquired by Splunk talks about building a successful company and staying lean as long as possible. He explains his approach to fundraising and investing.
Birthday Special!
Sept. 7, 2020

Birthday Special!

This episode is featuring the team members of Fundraising Radio. I (your host - Konstantin Dubovitskiy) answer the FAQs that I get and the other team members present themselves and talk about the reasons why they joined FR, what they do here and what they plan to do in the future.
How to extend your runway to a maximum and still scale? Troy Bolus about Seated.
Sept. 6, 2020

How to extend your runway to a maximum and still scale? Troy Bolus about Seated.

Troy Bolus, Co-Founder at OmniPanel and the Co-Founder at Seated that was acquired in 2019 talks about his journey to the acquisition, raising funding for his first company while being a student at UCLA and about extending that runway. Troy also gave his advice to student entrepreneurs and explaine…
Guest: Troy Bolus
Proptech and sales in proptech - by Zach Aarons.
Sept. 5, 2020

Proptech and sales in proptech - by Zach Aarons.

Zach Aarons, Co-Founder and Partner at MetaProp.vc explains what is going on in the proptech field and how it reacted to the COVID-19 hit. We also discuss how founders in this field should make sales, when is it appropriate to hire salesman/saleswoman and how to become a better salesman/saleswoman …
Guest: Zach Aarons
Silicon Valley path - how does it work and what are the alternative routes? By Rolan Reichel.
Sept. 4, 2020

Silicon Valley path - how does it work and what are the alternative routes? By Rolan Reichel.

Rolan Reichel, CEO and Co-Founder at Custom Social explains how he views the "Silicon Valley Path" and who should try to follow it. He also explained his own approach to fundraising and why he follows it. We touched onto a very important subject - incubators, accelerators and entrepreneurial commun…
How to report to your investors and to prospect investors? By Dan Akivis.
Sept. 3, 2020

How to report to your investors and to prospect investors? By Dan Akivis.

Dan Akivis, Senior Associate at Expansion Venture Capital explains what kind of reports you need to send over to your investors and to prospect investors. We've discussed how to get in touch with them and how to retain a good connection.
Guest: Dan Akivis
Acquired for $985 million by Ebay - legendary serial entrepreneur, Greg Shepard talks about building startups.
Sept. 2, 2020

Acquired for $985 million by Ebay - legendary serial entrepreneur, Greg Shepard talks about building startups.

Greg Shepard, Founder at BOSS Capital Partners, Founder and CEO of the 12 startups that have successfully exited, one of which was AffiliateTraction acquired by Ebay for $985 million. Greg in this episode explains how he managed to create so many successful companies and shortly explains the BOSS s…
Guest: Greg Shepard
Student-led VCs - how do they work? By Ayushi Sinha, Co-Founder at Prospect Student Ventures.
Sept. 1, 2020

Student-led VCs - how do they work? By Ayushi Sinha, Co-Founder at Prospect Student Ventures.

Ayushi Sinha, Co-Founder at Prospect Student Ventures explained how their student-led Venture Capital works, what do they invest in, how do they source their deals and how did they manage to raise it. We've also discussed major mistakes that students make while building their startups, so this epis…
Guest: Ayushi Sinha
When do you make a pivot and how to use your first round of funding? By Andrew Ermogenous
Aug. 30, 2020

When do you make a pivot and how to use your first round of funding? By Andrew Ermogenous

Andrew Ermogenous, Co-Founder at Real Factors acquired by 7ParkData explains what major mistakes they have done with the company and what were the major achievements. We also talk about the importance of planning the first funding round and some alternative sources of fundraising that Andrew recomm…