016. VC Treadmill

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.

Raising venture capital is a treadmill. One that only gets faster and only gets steeper.

About SpringTime Ventures
SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and marketplace businesses. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based businesses in the USA. We bring a people-focused approach, work quickly, and reach conviction independently. Our initial check size is $400k to $600k. You can learn more about us and our approach.   

About Rich Maloy
Rich's mission is to rebuild the American dream through entrepreneurship. He works with early stage startups transforming the world, giving all people the opportunity to grow, learn and earn. With prior careers in finance and sales, he's now focused on startups investing through SpringTime Ventures where he is a Managing Partner. He's a father of two young children and loves sci-fi, skiing, and video games.  

Episode Transcript

Rich (00:01):
This is Rich Maloy with SpringTime Ventures, bringing
you the VC Minute, quick adviceto help startup founders
fundraise better.
Let's talk about the VCTreadmill.
One of the frameworks I have forthinking about venture capital I
call the VC Treadmill, becauseraising venture capital is a
treadmill.
One that only gets faster andonly gets steeper.

(00:23):
If you choose to step on thetreadmill, know that the
expectation is that you will goon to raise increasingly larger
rounds at successively highervaluations.
You use the money that you raiseat each round to hit growth
milestones to show the nextlevel of investors that you're a
great investment for them.
And then you raise more money,spend more money, hit, higher
milestones and so on, and so on.

(00:45):
It's a treadmill.
I'm going to be coming back tothis analogy quite a bit in
coming episodes, but it'simportant to remember that
venture capital is focused onone thing and one thing only:
growth.
The path of a successful venturebacked startup is one of
constant growth fueled bycapital.
I'm not disparaging it.
In fact, this is not a valuejudgment.

(01:05):
I'm just making sure you know,what you're getting into before
you step onto the treadmill.
Raise spend grow, raise, spend,grow.
It's the VC Treadmill.