Omslagafbeelding van de show Funded with Alex Wittenberg

Funded with Alex Wittenberg

Podcast door airCFO

Engels

Technologie en Wetenschap

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Over Funded with Alex Wittenberg

Funded is a show taking you behind the scenes of the startup fundraising process.I'm Alex Wittenberg, CEO of airCFO, and every episode I talk to people who've been through the fundraising gauntlet: founders who just closed rounds and VCs writing checks right now.We get into the gory details that don’t make it into the press release. Founders share how they hustled their way onto VCs’ radars, how they refined their pitches, and what terms they negotiated. VCs explain what makes them take a meeting, how their firm evaluates deals, and why they say yes or pass.If you're raising money or thinking about it, this show is for you.New episodes every week.

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18 afleveringen

aflevering Community, AI, and Knowing When Not to Raise | Aileen Allen, Mercury Fund artwork

Community, AI, and Knowing When Not to Raise | Aileen Allen, Mercury Fund

In this episode of Funded, Alex sits down with Aileen Allen, Partner at Mercury Fund, a 20-year-old Texas-based VC investing at seed and Series A in vertical AI, developer tooling, and agentic commerce. Aileen spent 15+ years as a go-to-market operator at companies like Atlassian before making the jump to venture. She shares why she thinks some founders shouldn't take venture capital at all, why the skills that matter in go-to-market are shifting toward editorial instincts and community building, and how Mercury evaluates founders when AI has made it easier than ever to ship a V1. More about Mercury Fund: https://www.mercuryfund.com [https://www.mercuryfund.com] We also have a newsletter! In The AI CFO, Alex explores the tools, wins, and hard lessons shaping the future of startup finance. Every two weeks. Subscribe here: https://www.aircfo.com/the-ai-cfo?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast [https://www.aircfo.com/the-ai-cfo?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast]

28 apr 2026 - 51 min
aflevering Why Market Size Trumps Everything In VC Deals | Jesse Robbins, Heavybit artwork

Why Market Size Trumps Everything In VC Deals | Jesse Robbins, Heavybit

Jesse Robbins from Heavybit breaks down what VCs actually look for when evaluating early stage startups and why most founders get it completely wrong. Jesse reveals the brutal truth about funding stages - pre-seed typically needs zero revenue but credible design partners, seed stage requires $500K to $1.5M in revenue, and Series A demands $1.5M to $3M. He explains why market size is the ultimate arbiter of whether Heavybit will invest, even if they love the team and product. The conversation dives deep into founder evaluation, where Jesse looks for personal grit and strong cofounder dynamics over flashy credentials. He shares why founders who can grind without positive feedback and maintain their vision through adversity are the ones who succeed. Jesse also breaks down Heavybit's investment process, from the best ways to get on their radar to what happens in partner meetings. He explains their hands-on post-investment approach, including structured onboarding, bi-weekly partner meetings, and customized sprint programs.

28 jan 2026 - 1 h 7 min
aflevering Strategic Confidence in the Seed Funding Round | Henry LeGard, Verisoul artwork

Strategic Confidence in the Seed Funding Round | Henry LeGard, Verisoul

In this episode of Funded, Alex Wittenberg sits down with Henry LeGard to explore his fundraising journey for Verisoul, a company dedicated to detecting fake accounts and bots. Henry shares valuable insights on the challenges he faced and strategies he employed during a seed round. In this conversation, Henry recounts a creative yet ultimately ineffective marketing stunt involving Mardi Gras cakes aimed at attracting potential clients. Alex and Henry deep dive into constructing a compelling narrative that resonates with investors by focusing not just on traction but also on the size of the market opportunity and the strength of the team. They discuss tactics for generating investor interest and managing the fundraising process effectively. Through this discussion, Henry emphasizes that investors are primarily swayed by a compelling story and potential for massive growth rather than just current performance metrics.

22 jan 2026 - 55 min
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Super app. Onthoud waar je bent gebleven en wat je interesses zijn. Heel veel keuze!
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