160: Googling Her Way to a Shift | Investing in Entrepreneurship with Minnie Ingersoll

If the world of venture capitalism and investment seems foreign to you, you’re going to love this episode! I’m joined by Minni Ingersoll, Partner at venture capitalist firm TenOneTen, to talk about what VCs are currently looking for.

Minnie has been in the business of scaling since she started in Silicon Valley - at Google, no less - back when it had only 500 employees! She used her 11 years experience at Google to build and scale her own start-up company, Shift.  Then she followed her higher vision to transition into venture capitalism.

In this episode, Minnie gives us some useful insight into investment. If this is something completely new to you, you’re going to learn a lot! First, she explains what the different levels of investment are - trust me when I say there are so many!

Minnie explains what type of companies venture capitalists are currently investing in. They’re not only looking at the type of start-up, but who’s running in, what team is in place, and what the future projections are. 

As someone who “learned on the go” how to raise money for her start-up, Minnie is perfectly equipped to explain this process. She details the difference between the seed and pre-seed rounds of pitching for investment. Minnie also explains the three biggest things VCs are looking out for in a pitch.

We talk about communication style and why it’s important to understand what type of communicator you are. When you’re more confident in how you communicate, you’ll have more effective conversations. 

Finally, Minnie shares some insight into how she manages to be the most productive version of herself. Minnie creates an “Enough List” where she lists out a handful of tasks per day that she has to get done; anything else is a bonus! She also believes in the value of knowing exactly what you want for your life and business because this lets you know what type of help to ask for.

Have you thought about seeking investment for your start-up? Do you know your communication style? Let me know in the comments on the episode page!

 

In This Episode:

What the different levels of investment are Who VCs are investing in right now How to raise money for your start-up company What the difference between seed and pre-seed rounds are What the three things that Venture Capitalists are looking for in a pitch How to be more in line with your communication style What an “Enough List” is and how you can implement it to be more productive in your business Why knowing what you want out of your business and your life will help you clarify where you need assistance

 

Quotes:

“Getting our top-line revenue numbers to a few hundred thousand a month, maybe even half a million, we were able to build that pretty quickly so that we had a couple hundred $K in revenue monthly. That opened the conversation. People became more eager to talk to us once we had something that we could show was working… or at least happening” (14:05)

“It’s not just about getting customers, it’s about building something that people love.” (16:20)

“Maybe what surprised me about growing my own company was the communication, but it was that the job was less about the business and more about people.” (26:06)

 

Links

Listen to the LA Venture Podcast

Find Minnie Ingersoll and TenOneTen Online

Find Minni Ingersoll on Twitter | LinkedIn

Find Dr. Cortney Baker Online

Follow Dr. Cortney Baker on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn

Join From Side Hustle to CEO on Facebook

Subscribe to Women in Business on Apple Podcasts

 

Are you a female millennial entrepreneur who wants to start or scale your service-based business but not sure where to start? Go to https://www.drcortneybaker.com/roadmap to get a copy of my business roadmap. Stop duct-taping ideas together for starting your business. Snag my FREE roadmap to get starting on building a real business today.

About Dr. Cortney Baker... She is an award-winning entrepreneur, researcher, author, speaker, and advocate for gender equality. As a leadership expert and mother of three, she is passionate about inspiring and empowering women to lead with greatness.

Dr. Baker is the author of the best-selling books: The Ten Do's and Don'ts for Business Leadership: Lessons to Lead Effectively and Unlimited: Conquering the Myth of the Glass Ceiling. She is passionate about helping ambitious female entrepreneurs go from side-hustle to CEOs!

Feedback? Questions? Comments? For more information or to reserve Dr. Cortney Baker to speak at an upcoming event, please contact her at [email protected] or 1-469-708-8840.