What Are Seed VCs Looking For With Cindy Padnos, Illuminate Ventures

We’re doing a deep dive into the current seed investment eco-system and talking to our investor friends about what they’re looking for. The Seed eco-system is now a 5-stage process, spanning pre-seed, seed, post-seed, pre-Series A, small Series A, big Series A.

Here, you can hear the perspective of Cindy Padnos of Illuminate Ventures on Startups on all that and more:

Come talk to me to brainstorm, strategize, weigh your funding options.

Featured Videos

#MeToo: I Come From a LONG Heritage of Chauvinism

Today, the #MeToo thread has started to spread all over social media. I want to point you to an article I wrote for women entrepreneurs on how to deal with sexual advances from VCs some time back.

As an attractive woman in the male dominated technology industry, I have dealt with my share of sexual advances. I have never named names in public. I am still not naming names or recounting anecdotes.

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370th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast With Padmaja Ruparel, Indian Angel Network

Padmaja Ruparel is Co-founder, Indian Angel Network (IAN), and Founding Partner, IAN Fund. She has been a key player in shaping India’s still somewhat nascent startup eco-system. Those interested in Indian startups and the funding trends must listen to this interview.

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370th Roundtable Recording On October 5, 2017: With Padmaja Ruparel, Indian Angel Network

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording here:

Roundtable Recap: October 5 – Padmaja Ruparel on Indian Funding Eco-system and Trends

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Padmaja Ruparel, Co-founder, Indian Angel Network (IAN), and Founding Partner, IAN Fund. Padmaja has been a key player in shaping India’s still somewhat nascent startup eco-system. Must listen interview for those interested in Indian startups and the funding trends.

LoanGini
As for the pitches, Kanchan Dwivedi from Bangalore, India, pitched LoanGini, a peer-to-peer lending platform for India. The concept has been tried elsewhere with success, so I see no reason why it cannot be implemented in India. We discussed details of strategy and execution.

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332nd 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast With Victoria Pettibone, Astia Angels

Victoria Pettibone, Managing Director of Astia Angels, a group focused on funding women entrepreneurs. She discusses what they like to invest in, as well as the trends she sees in the deal flow and the portfolio.

If you are enjoying our 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast, please publish a Review on iTunes, click Apple Podcasts below, thank you!

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Roundtable Recap: September 28 – AI Startup CEO Jana Eggers Says There IS Bias Against Women Entrepreneurs

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Jana Eggers, CEO of Nara Logics, Inc., an AI startup that has successfully pivoted from B-to-C to B-to-B under her leadership. We discussed financing, go-to-market strategy, and bias against women entrepreneurs.

Nakshi
Ankit Raj from Bangalore, India, pitched Nakshi, an online art marketplace. We discussed his strategy on how to differentiate and build a scalable business using proven models that have been tried elsewhere.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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368th 1Mby1M Entrepreneurship Podcast With Cindy Padnos, Illuminate Ventures

Cindy Padnos, Founder and Managing Partner at Illuminate Ventures, discusses a topic that we’ve been highlighting recently: the need for multiple seed rounds as a way to bridge the Series A gap.

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368th Roundtable Recording On September 21, 2017: With Cindy Padnos, Illuminate Ventures

In case you missed it, you can listen to the recording here:

Roundtable Recap: September 21 – Cindy Padnos of Illuminate Ventures on Multi-phase Seed Funding

During this week’s roundtable, we had as our guest Cindy Padnos, Founder and Managing Partner at Illuminate Ventures. Cindy spoke on a topic that we’ve been highlighting recently: the need for multiple seed rounds as a way to bridge the Series A gap.

OLB Tech
As for the pitches, first up, we had Miguel Ortiz and
Amarilis Ortiz from Atlanta, Georgia, pitching OLB Tech. This team has a nailpolish dispenser that applies and dries polish rapidly. Looks to me like a perfect Kickstarter campaign!

iCustomMadeIt
Next, 1Mby1M premium member Raj Iyer pitched iCustomMadeIt, a 2-sided marketplace for custom merchandise. We went over Raj’s investor pitch, and how to revise it. The company already has revenue and a significant channel partner through 1Mby1M.

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