In this kickoff episode of a 3-part Pitch Deck Tear Down series, host Jayla Siciliano coaches first-time founder Shane Pope through the question that keeps early-stage entrepreneurs up at night: Do you chase angels/VCs/accelerators—or keep bootstrapping and stay in control?

Jayla and Shane walk through his pitch deck (watch here on YouTube) as Shane preps for pitching live in the next episodes to VC Brian Bell from Ignite Ventures and Angel Investor Jason Butcher.

Shane shares what he's building with Remy (an AI-powered mental wellness tool designed to ask better questions, not spit out more answers), why fundraising can become its own distracting "second business," and how to think about capital as fuel without letting it hijack the mission. And, stay tuned for the next episode where VC Brian Bell tears down Shane's pitch deck.

Catch the whole series:

Part 1: Pitch Deck Tear Down, Featuring Founder Shane Pope: Shane and Jayla talk different paths of funding

Part 2: Pitch Deck Tear Down, Featuring VC Brian Bell from Ignite Ventures and Founder Shane Pope (get the inside scoop on what VC's say and think about during a pitch)

Part 3: Pitch Deck Tear Down, Featuring Tech Angel Jason Butcher and Founder Shane Pope (get the inside scoop on how an Angel reacts to Shane's pitch compared to a VC)

The Follow Up: Where did Shane Land? (hear what path Shane decided to take)

Guest Bio:

Shane Pope is the Founder and CEO of Reflect Technologies, a new mental wellness app that uses AI to ask you questions.

• Download Shane's App Remy (mentioned in the episode): meet-remi.com

• Connect with Shane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-pope-72b972a5/

• Send feedback inside the app: Use the in-app message icon

About Your Host

Jayla Siciliano is an entrepreneur with 25+ years in consumer brands, product, and marketing. After raising her first angel round against all odds and later appearing on Shark Tank, where she closed a deal with Mark Cuban, she now helps founders become fundable, confident, and ready to attract the right investors. Entrepreneurship changed her life, and she's on a mission to help first-time founders raise their first round of angel funding and change theirs too.

Links:

Website: https://seedmoneypodcast.com/

Disclaimer

The information in this podcast is educational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener's personal circumstances. Therefore, it is not intended to be a substitute for specific, individualized financial, legal, or tax advice.