

Apps That Matter, Angel Investing, and B2B Sales with Matt Wensing of Stormpulse - sethev
http://www.kalzumeus.com/2013/04/08/kalzumeus-podcast-4-stormpulse-matt-wensing/

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patio11
I'm happy to answer questions, as always.

This is a bit more inside-baseball Silicon Valley-esque than my blog/podcast
usually is, in that a large portion of it covers angel investing. If you're
looking to raise money, particularly without the advantage of physically being
in the Valley, I think it is probably worth your time. Plus if "We just got a
feature request on behalf of Obama" isn't the coolest SaaS story you'll hear
this year I will eat my hat.

~~~
eah13
Thanks a ton for this content. It's super helpful. The rapport that you have
with Matt is definitely something we want with our Angels. If we could have
only individual entrepreneur-angels who were investing because they believe in
our vision, team and product that would be ideal for where we are right now.

The stuff you guys went over at the end regarding Angels vs VCs and VC fund
sizes vs target exit sizes was very concise. It took me a lot of reading to
learn all that stuff over the past year or so, and there it is all in one go
:)

Thanks again.

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ry0ohki
Thanks Patrick! I hate to be "that guy", but the poor sound quality on your
side is really distracting on this one (I see you addressed that, just curious
if you considered rerecording your side)

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wensing
And if anyone has any questions about anything I (Matt @ Stormpulse) said, I'm
happy to comment here as well. Thanks for listening everyone!

~~~
eah13
Matt,

Thanks so much for putting this great podcast out with Patrick. I was just
talking with my cofounders today and saying that, just like code, it's super
helpful to have examples when trying to understand and make choices for your
startup.

I'm an entrepreneur in Durham, NC. I've got a great team working hard on
product and a growing list of gotta-have-it would-be users. We'll be raising
seed capital soon and my question is about choosing your angels. I've met with
a lot of investors who just don't get our business and I can confidently say
we don't want their money. There are a few local angels who are really smart,
though, love our idea and get that it is big. They've been advising us to stay
away from "small fry" angels that they've seen kill other companies by trying
to optimize fo the short term, safe vision. That said, I think there are
enough smart ones for our round and definitely enough when we count silent
ones.

So, questions:

\- Tips on how to vet/chose angels? How did your sense of angels reflect their
actual behavior?

\- I'd really love to hear your advice on whether to try to pitch Valley (or
elsewhere) angels even if we feel we can get the round done locally. I know
it's so tied to who the investors are but it seems a time/money tradeoff with
the possibility of getting talented smart investors from the Bay.

\- Advice on terms, both on the gotta have em and definitely don't do this
side? Seems like everyone has a story here and there seems to be a resurgence
of advice to do a priced seed round over convertible notes.

~~~
wensing
One litmus test that hasn't failed wrt angels is: how complicated are they
trying to make this? Angel investing is not a time in your company's history
for anything more than dead simple, fair terms, and quick turnaround. Avoid
cute and fancy.

Yes, make connections and pitch to people all over. You'll find different
perspectives in SF, NYC, and NC, etc. In my experience angels in SF have the
largest appetite for higher valuations but also a larger appetite for larger
outcomes which means larger plays/markets. YMMV.

Terms: keep it simple. There are a few people that I've heard say 'priced' but
the more popular choice in my circles is convertible.

~~~
eah13
Simple terms and pitch all over. Got it. Thanks!

------
j_s
My question is more meta: why 4 podcasts in 2 years?

Basically, I want to know where producing a podcast ranks among the various
ways to build a professional brand on the interwebs.

~~~
patio11
_My question is more meta: why 4 podcasts in 2 years?_

I follow a few podcasts myself which do it week-in-and-week-out, and I'm
jealous, but not jealous enough to make the podcast a higher priority than
e.g. date night. Keith and I have been pretty busy since the podcast started.
I got married, he and his wife had two children, etc. Our schedule is
generally sort of at the mercy of "We both need availability" _plus_ "We both
need to have something fresh to talk about", and recently I find myself with
very little to talk about that is both novel and appropriate for public
consumption.

 _Basically, I want to know where producing a podcast ranks among the various
ways to build a professional brand on the interwebs._

I know people who are pretty effective at having done it, but it isn't the
primary reason people know who I am. (Blog, Internet commenting at places like
HN, conference speeches, in my case.) I mostly do it because I enjoy doing it,
and it gives me a built-in excuse to chat with smart people about interesting
subjects while also teaching other folks, both of which are interesting to me.

~~~
kokofoo
Congrats on your marriage. I really enjoy your blog posts and podcasts and
comments here on HN. They taught me a lot. Thank you.

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sskates
I love the seed round in 65 characters:
"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNYNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNYNNNNYNNYYYYYYYYYYY"

Really explains raising money to somebody who has never done it before.

