How VCs Raise Money From Investors (LPs) feat. Gale Wilkinson
12/21/23 • 36 min
2 Listeners
Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.
Today's episode features Gale Wilkinson, founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed fund and angel community investing in transformative WorkTech software and currently deploying capital out of a $23.4M Fund II and their 500+ member angel community.
Previously founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. Gale has led $70M+ in early-stage deals across 125+ portfolio companies, and she has made 50 personal angel investments.
In this interview, Gale and KP delve into all-things VC and share their insights on topics such as:
00:00 Intro
03:02 The Work Tech Thesis
04:53 The Kauffman Fellowship Experience
05:47 Traits of a Great Investor
07:26 The Shift in the Venture Landscape
08:54 The Future of Venture Capital
09:46 Investment Strategy and Criteria
11:38 Lessons Learned from Fundraising
13:04 Choosing the Right Problem to Solve
18:32 The Discrepancy in Funding for Underrepresented Groups
25:28 Advice for Founders
34:53 Focus for the Future
Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.
Share your thoughts on this episode. Thanks for listening!
Links:
Gale on X: https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
VITALIZE on X: https://twitter.com/VitalizeVC
VITALIZE Venture Capital: https://www.vitalize.vc/
KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP
Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.
Today's episode features Gale Wilkinson, founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed fund and angel community investing in transformative WorkTech software and currently deploying capital out of a $23.4M Fund II and their 500+ member angel community.
Previously founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. Gale has led $70M+ in early-stage deals across 125+ portfolio companies, and she has made 50 personal angel investments.
In this interview, Gale and KP delve into all-things VC and share their insights on topics such as:
00:00 Intro
03:02 The Work Tech Thesis
04:53 The Kauffman Fellowship Experience
05:47 Traits of a Great Investor
07:26 The Shift in the Venture Landscape
08:54 The Future of Venture Capital
09:46 Investment Strategy and Criteria
11:38 Lessons Learned from Fundraising
13:04 Choosing the Right Problem to Solve
18:32 The Discrepancy in Funding for Underrepresented Groups
25:28 Advice for Founders
34:53 Focus for the Future
Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.
Share your thoughts on this episode. Thanks for listening!
Links:
Gale on X: https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
VITALIZE on X: https://twitter.com/VitalizeVC
VITALIZE Venture Capital: https://www.vitalize.vc/
KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP
Previous Episode
The Most Underrated Marketing Strategies (feat. Jess Chan)
Welcome to another episode of the Build In Public Podcast.
Today's episode features Jess Chan, founder of Backbone, a platform designed to streamline email marketing for small eCommerce teams. She is one of the top retention marketing experts, with expertise in retention marketing through email and SMS.
She previously founded Longplay Brands, a full-service retention & lifecycle marketing agency for DTC e-commerce brands. Jess bootstrapped the agency scaling to 7-figures in revenue in the first 18 months.
In this interview, Jess and KP discuss various topics related to entrepreneurship and e-commerce such as:
00:00 Intro
02:18 Inflection Points and Drive to be an Entrepreneur
05:22 Transition from CMO to Entrepreneur
06:49 De-risking the Decision to Become an Entrepreneur
09:18 The Pressure to Succeed and the Importance of Long-Term Thinking
11:00 The Value of Failure and Learning from Mistakes
12:19 The Perception of Risk in Entrepreneurship
15:16 The Emotional Experience of Being an Entrepreneur
17:12 The Importance of Long-Term Growth and Avoiding Short-Term Thinking
19:20 Building Strong Foundations for Long-Term Success
21:21 The Journey from Agency to Product Business
24:21 Discovering the Opportunity for Backbone
28:21 The Emotional Intensity of Running an Agency
30:39 Appreciating the Malleability of Service-Based Businesses
34:41 The Slow Compounding of Software Businesses
35:56 The Role of Agencies and Services in Cash Flow
36:23 Optimizing for Exit vs. Agency Model
42:02 Retention Marketing Strategies
46:33 Mistakes in Email Marketing
48:27 Building a Strong Foundation for Business
51:50 Ideal E-commerce Business to Purchase
55:05 Rapid Fire Round
Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.
Share your thoughts on this episode. Thanks for listening!
Links:
Jess on X: https://twitter.com/jjesschan
Longplay Brands: https://www.longplaybrands.com/
Backbone: https://www.gobackbone.co/
KP on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP
Next Episode
Jason Cohen on Missionaries vs Mercenaries and The Impact of Passion in Business
Welcome to 2024's 1st episode of the Build In Public Podcast! 🎉
Today's episode features Jason Cohen, four-time entrepreneur across 24 years who has built both bootstrapped and VC-funded businesses in his career. He had two exits and two unicorns and has been writing for 17 years on the Internet. You may have seen him on X as @asmartbear or read one of his articles at this blog: asmartbear.com
Jason is currently the Chief Innovation Officer of WP Engine which is a startup unicorn that he started in 2010. The company raised over $300m in funding, has over 1,200 employees globally and serves billions of web requests daily for 200,000 customers as one of the top-ten largest web platforms in the world.
In this episode, Jason and KP discuss the significance of passion, the role of writing in personal growth, and the story behind Jason's beef with the term "MVP" in startups :) The conversation touches on challenges entrepreneurs face, the difference between missionaries and mercenaries in business, and strategies for finding great startup ideas.
The list of topics covered and relevant timestamps are:
00:00 Intro
05:26 Jason's Writing Routine
08:34 Redefining Product Development: From MVP to SLC
23:25 The Power of Being Mission-Driven in Building a Company
27:48 Finding Great Startup Ideas
30:48 How to Select Between Multiple Business Ideas Effectively
40:48 Finding the Perfect Work Companion: Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses in Hiring
41:38 Tips for Maximizing Productivity and Authentic Engagement on Twitter
51:38 Wrap-Up
Build In Public Podcast is an interview show where KP chats with ambitious startup founders, CEOs, and top Internet creators to unpack their stories, insights, and lessons.
Note: If you loved the conversation or had questions/comments to share, please post on X or DM me directly :) Always hungry for feedback. Thank you!
Links:
Jason's handle on X: https://twitter.com/asmartbear
Jason's blog: https://longform.asmartbear.com/
KP handle on X: https://twitter.com/thisiskp_
KP's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarthikPuvvadaKP
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