In this episode, we sit down with Coco Brown, founder of Athena Alliance, to discuss her journey of transforming a nonprofit into a venture-backed enterprise and successfully raising $2.5M in funding. Coco shares her experience with the challenging fundraising climate of 2023 and how she navigated countless investor rejections. She talks about the pivotal moment when one investor’s commitment turned things around and how that single yes sparked a wave of support. We explore her strategies for capital efficiency, the importance of community, and the innovative approaches she took to secure funding. Listeners will gain insights into the realities of raising capital, the power of perseverance, and the impact of having a strong network. Coco's story is a testament to the resilience and creativity required to succeed in the startup world.

A lot of entrepreneurs take risks when they're young and have nothing to lose. For others, it's a different story. Maybe they found their dream job, started a family, bought a house, and then something happens that completely throws them off course. Today's guest was one of those people. After an unexpected situation, he decided to take a chance and start a company he saw an opportunity for back at his previous job in AI. It ended up being a good chance to take. Today we're speaking with Brian Raymond, first time founder and CEO of Unstructured IO, a company that's connecting enterprise data to LLMs. And we have to say... his story is wild. In 2 years, Brian's managed to raise $65 million dollars in venture capital across three rounds. The most recent of those being a $40M Series B led by Menlo Ventures. Brians journey into entrepreneurship was unique, but also one I think a lot of you listening will be able to relate to.

When all you've ever known is running a bootstrapped startup... the world of venture capital can feel pretty intimidating. Bootstrapping a company is an extreme sport, and so is going down the path of venture capital - but each path is completely different from one another. You might have been able to build an amazing company that you believe can be huge (with the help of venture dollars), but without understanding how the game of venture capital actually works - you're at a huge disadvantage. Today's guest Analisa Goodin, founder and CEO of Catch+Release knew this and decided to be proactive about it. Way before she went out to raise her first of three successful rounds, she became a relentless networker which over time, led her to conversations with VCs getting her to learn the space. Clearly, something clicked because Catch+Release has now raised over $31M in venture capital. Listen to the full episode to hear more details on her most recent rounds as well as advice she has for up-and-coming founders looking to raise capital.