How I Raised It - The podcast where we interview startup founders who raised capital.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Sean Breuner of AvantStay.com which makes a short term rental booking platform focused on boutique homes and experiences. The Company raised a $5 million Series A round led by Bullpen Capital along with Convivialité Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Presidio Bay Ventures, Zeno Ventures, F-Prime Capital Partners and PLG Ventures. In this episode, Sean talks about building a business alongside Airbnb and other home sharing platforms, the trend and opportunity around "elevated experiences" when renting homes, how he started off asking for advice then launched into a process when raising capital, and more. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Karson Humiston of Vangst. Vangst is an online recruiting platform focused specifically on the cannabis industry (www.vangst.com). The Company raised a $10 million Series A round led by Casa Verde Capital with participation from Lerer Hippeau Ventures, AFI Capital Partners and Phyto Partners. In this episode, Karson talks about how she got into the cannabis industry, why it's critical to form a capital plan -- i.e., what you need the capital for and how you will deploy it, how to set fundraising timelines and deadlines, and more. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Roger Dickey, CEO of Untitled Labs, a "search lab" that is creating and incubating multiple startup concepts. Untitled Labs raised a $2.8 million Seed Round from Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures and Caffeinated Capital. Ashton Kutcher, Nikita Bier, Justin Waldron, Liquid Ventures and other investors also participated. Roger previously founded Gigster and Curiosoft, and is an active angel investor with stakes in 32 startups including Scripted, Unsplash, ClassDojo and many others. In this episode, Roger explains what a "search lab" is and how it compares to the "search fund" or "startup studio" models, how to foster both competition and collaboration amongst the teams, the process of productizing side products and "intentional experimentation" and much more. Note: Roger is hiring for engineers in SF. Visit www.untitled-labs.com This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Charles Jones of LucidMood.net, makers of cannabis sippers (disposable vape pens) designed to elicit specific moods and effects. The Company recently raised $4 million from Gotham Green Partners, and previously raised capital from angel investors. In this episode, Charles talks about the booming market for cannabis startups, how to leverage press and PR to drive inbound investor interest, how to work conferences put on by Arcview Group and IC3 to generate investor leads, when to raise strategic investment to expand distribution, and more. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Bob Moore of Crossbeam (www.getcrossbeam.com). Crossbeam makes leads management software that leverages data for improving business partnerships. The Company raised $3.5 million in seed funding from First Round Capital and Uncork Capital. In this episode, Bob talks about the booming API economy, what to watch for regarding earn-outs after your startup is acquired, when and how to raise capital to improve speed and growth (and optimize for big outcomes), the rise of "platform VCs" and much more. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Debbie Wei Mullin of Copper Cow Coffee. Copper Cow makes an "elevated" Vietnamese coffee product for consumers and retailers. The Company raised $2.48 million in a deal led by Silverton Partners. ChinaRock Capital Management, Montage Ventures, Victress Capital, Amplifyher Ventures, Social Starts and 500 Startups also participated. In this episode, Debbie talks about how fundraising is like finding a needle in a haystack, the metric of "100 meetings per $1M raised," leaning on other founders for investor leads, the Company's debut at the Fancy Food Show, why it's important to maintain confidence that the round will close, and more. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Jeffrey Harris of Springbig which makes customer-loyalty, rewards, and communications software for cannabis dispensaries. Springbig raised $5 million of Series A venture funding in a deal led by Altitude Investment Management. Green Acre Capital and The ArcView Group also participated in the round. In this episode, Jeffrey talks about how the company opportunistically pivoted toward building software for the cannabis market, why finding a lead investor is so critical, being vulnerable and asking for help, resources for finding funding in the cannabis space, and more.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Sachin Dev Duggal, CEO of Engineer.ai a Santa Monica based startup that provides a human-assisted AI platform to build custom software products. Engineer.ai raised a $29.5 million Series A venture rounds in a deal led by Lakestar Advisors (Germany) Jungle Ventures (Singapore) and Deepcore (Japan). In this episode, Sachin talks about raising capital for a startup whose "front end is SaaS and back end is a marketplace," some of the fundraising false starts, why he believes the funding success formula is made up of "purpose + persistence" and more. This series is produced by Foundersuite, makers of software to raise capital and manage investor relations. Learn more at www.foundersuite.com.

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Cody Candee of Bounce (www.usebounce.com), makers of an on-demand short term storage app. Bounce raised $1.1 million of seed funding from Seabed VC / Vijay Ullal, Jillian Manus, Michael Hyatt, Rob Chesnut, Timo Soininen and Thorney Investments. In this episode, Cody talks about pitching on Gimlet Media's podcast "The Pitch", what to do when a competitor tries to acquire you, how to screen investors prior to setting up a meeting, and more. PS listeners can can a 30% discount by using code "HOWIRAISEDIT" at www.usebounce.com or find the app in the Apple App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bounce-bag-storage-everywhere/id1444570755?mt=8 PPS: if you'd like to listen to Cody on The PITCH check out https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-pitch/how-much-do-you-trust-your-barista-42-bounce

Produced by Foundersuite.com, "How I Raised It" goes behind the scenes with startup founders who have raised capital. This episode is with Jack Beuttell, CEO of the Kunoa Cattle Company (https://kunoacattle.com/). Kunoa is a Hawaii-based meat company that runs 2000 head of cattle on Kauai, along with a slaughterhouse on Oahu. The Company has raised over $5 million from HNW individuals as well as the Elemental Excelerator. In this episode, Jack talks about his process for finding and targeting high net worth (HNW) investors, the challenges of raising capital for a vertically integrated food company, the emerging investment opportunities in "impact assets" and donor-advised funds, and much more.