Investing in a startup is akin to a marriage. It's about investing in people and confidence in the entrepreneur's commitment and resilience is paramount. At the same time, we cannot downplay the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing among ourselves as angel investors.

Being part of a network allows investors to collaborate on due diligence, share expertise, and build a stronger portfolio more quickly. It also provides a support system and helps protect your rights.

To explore this topic further, today I’m joined by my friend and long-time investor, Pieter Dorsman. Pieter is a seasoned angel investor, advisor and mentor, who is President and CEO of Redpeaks Management Inc., a consulting firm focused on advising technology companies on capital raising and restructuring activities. Pieter is also a Director and CFO at eFund, a Vancouver-based seed stage investment fund which has invested in 42 tech companies to date. Since 2018, he has also been an owner and director of Vancouver's Angel Forum.

In this conversation, Pieter and I discuss the benefits and challenges of angel investing, advantages of joining an angel investor network, the importance of education and mentorship for new angel investors, how he addresses the challenges with finding quality deals, realistic time horizons of investments, and more. Enjoy the episode!

Highlights

Ready to learn more?

Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high-growth start-ups at ⁠⁠https://www.revupcaribbean.com/⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram @RevUPCaribbean ⁠https://www.instagram.com/revupcaribbean/⁠

Composer: Seretse Small, Founder, Avant Academy of Music

"We're not superwomen; we are people who have to make choices every day." - Sharon Roper

As female founders in the Caribbean, we face unique challenges that can be difficult to navigate. This is where your community comes in.

Having a supportive network of other female entrepreneurs can make all the difference. Today I’m joined by three members of the RevUp family, Sharon Roper, Founder and Managing Director of Sian Associates; Trudy-Ann Fung, Co-Founder of Electroville Limited; and Narda Ventura, CEO of SkyBlue Transaction Solutions. Our guests share their experiences as female founders, and we discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, and the challenges faced by startups.

In this conversation, we discuss common reasons startups fail to deliver positive value to their investors, balancing emotions and data in decision-making, and the challenges of managing a business while also being a mother and wife. The discussion offers insights and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on how to navigate the challenges of building a successful startup. Enjoy the episode!

Highlights

Ready to learn more?

Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high growth start-ups at ⁠https://www.revupcaribbean.com/⁠

Follow us on Instagram @RevUPCaribbean https://www.instagram.com/revupcaribbean/

Composer: Seretse Small, Founder, Avant Academy of Music

One of the most exciting aspects of angel investing is the opportunity for investors to work with young people and disruptive projects with the potential to make a difference in society.

For the final episode of the season, I had the pleasure of being joined by Wayne Sutherland, an angel investor who not only invests in projects with high earning potential but also guides founders to success.

Wayne takes a portfolio approach to investing, based on his experience that one good investment can make up for all the other failures.

As board members, investors provide guidance to founders on corporate governance, financial statements, and compliance with regulations. Regular reporting and meetings are expected to track the business's progress and identify potential problems or opportunities.

In this conversation, Wayne and I discuss the importance of financial information for businesses and the challenges of managing people, the critical role financial statements play in providing insights, the importance of having a solid plan to achieve financial projections, developing a realistic understanding of your business's potential, and more. Enjoy the episode!

About Wayne Sutherland

Mr. Sutherland is the Managing Director of Jamaica Venture Fund Limited, a company that makes venture capital investments. A former director of Jamaica's Securities Commission (now the Financial Services Commission), Wayne serves on several boards, and is currently chairman of Kencasa Construction & Project Management Limited and the St.Hugh's Preparatory School Board.

Ready to level up?

Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high-growth start-ups, at https://www.revupcaribbean.com/

Producer: Amazing Gains Limited https://listenerstoclients.com

Composer: Seretse Small, Founder, Avant Academy of Music

Early-stage traction is no guarantee of long-term success.

There’s a common misconception that you don't need marketing if you have a good product. That’s not true. To make it in the long run, you need the ability to honestly assess your company’s needs and deep knowledge of your product and consumer. That’s where real marketing comes in: market research, data gathering, and studying user behaviour.

Today I’m excited to share my conversation with marketing expert Gary Briggs, the first CMO of Facebook and an experienced senior executive and board member at multiple companies leading the tech space.

In this episode, Gary and I talk about the elements of a promising idea, why passion is essential, how to sustain early success, what founders need to understand about marketing, challenges faced by Caribbean founders, the best way to manage your time as a founder, and so much more.

Enjoy the episode!

About Gary Briggs

Many marketing leaders would be thrilled to rise to the top of one heralded brand - today's guest Gary Briggs has done so at over six companies. In his early days, he directed brand strategy at PepsiCo and IBM. Later, he led the marketing charge at eBay, PayPal, Google, Motorola Mobility, and Facebook, where he was the first Chief Marketing Officer. These days, Gary sits on the boards of Etsy and Petco while serving as a Senior Advisor at McKinsey and Company.

Highlights

The critical elements to coming up with a great idea

What Petco, eBay, and Etsy showed Gary about the value of passion

CEOs need to understand the nuances of the business and its customers deeply

How to sustain early success

“When things get hard, we work harder through them.” - Mark Zuckerberg

Every single company needs marketing

What founders need to understand about marketing

Why you need a data scientist more than a CMO

Few zip codes are benefiting from the wealth and opportunities created by technology

Challenges faced by Caribbean founders around access to talent and capital

Tapping into a community of people outside your company

Figuring out compensation structures for yourself and your team

Communication is at the core of building a great company culture

Your role as a founder and how to create a healthy dynamic with the board

Managing your time as a founder

Lessons from Larry Page of Google and Reed Hastings of Netflix

The best companies make decisions faster and learn faster

Your job as a marketer is to manage the conversations about your brand

Why it’s still worth it to utilise non-digital platforms

Don’t chase the tactic; chase the conversation

Surrounding yourself with the right people

The importance of having a supportive life partner

Mentioned in this episode

Gary Briggs on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/garysbriggs/

Gary Briggs on Twitter https://twitter.com/gbriggs

Gary Briggs’ Commencement Speech King School 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKORKtdmzo

Ready to level up?

Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high-growth start-ups, at https://www.revupcaribbean.com/

Composer: Seretse Small, Founder, Avant Academy of Music

“I’m a lot more responsible with investors’ money than with my own money.”

My great friend, the entrepreneur and billionaire Michael Lee-Chin joined us for our first podcast episode to give as much value as possible and dare I say, he over-delivered.

He went in-depth, providing specific context into most of the business frameworks he’s known for, then ended with a new gem that’s both easy to implement and immensely transformative.

So you’ll be hearing new approaches to strategies he’s shared before, plus nuggets that he has not shared before that young entrepreneurs can directly benefit from.

In this episode, we’ll talk about the laws of wealth creation and the characteristics of profitable businesses, how to gain access to and build rapport with successful people - even if you’re unknown, how to identify business opportunities worth your time and effort, and so much more!

About Michael Lee-Chin

Michael Lee-Chin, President and Chairman of Portland Holdings, is widely regarded as a visionary entrepreneur whose philosophy of “doing well and doing good” has resulted in extraordinary business success and inspiring philanthropic initiatives. It all started in 1978, when, as a young investment advisor seeking to deliver the highest value add to his clients by making them wealthy, he developed a framework that would guide his principles for life, business, and investing, which became known as the 5 Laws of Wealth Creation and is complemented by the 10 traits he seeks out in successful businesses.

Highlights

Mike’s biggest motivation for becoming an entrepreneur

Putting rejection into perspective

How Mike delivers maximum value

The five laws of wealth creation

Ten characteristics of wealth-creating businesses

Signs that your business is on the right track

The three key elements for customer happiness and referrals

Understanding that life is not linear

The antidote to giving up and how to hold on through the inevitable dips in life

How to build relationships and rapport with successful people

Audience Q&A - What's the best way to vet your team as you expand? How should you think about building out your board? Why is autocratic leadership essential?

Founder Q&A - Narda Ventura https://eZeepayments.com: What are some of the key pillars we should be focusing on as an early-stage FinTech market entrant?

Founder Q&A - Ferone Bryan https://MinuteCarRentals.com: How do you find balance as a young business owner between growing your business and dedicating time to your family?

Founder Q&A - Cordell Williams https://TransformationalLifeSolutions.com: How can entrepreneurs continue to create value and grow with clarity and confidence in an ever-changing environment?

Founder Q&A - Arnaldo Brown, Honey You: Are you staying the course in the Agricultural Sector?

Resources & Recommendations

Michael Lee-Chin | Life Is Not Linear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YDOtZjkjM4

Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high-growth start-ups at https://www.revupcaribbean.com/

Join the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica where you can access opportunities to take your business to the next level at https://www.yeajamaica.com/

Composer: Seretse Small, Founder, Avant Academy of Music

As angel investors, we've seen firsthand the issues that can arise when people have great ideas but no idea what it takes to run a successful business.

This podcast, in partnership between RevUP Caribbean and the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica, was created to support entrepreneurs in the early stages of their business and to help them to understand what entrepreneurship is, how to navigate all the hurdles that founders inevitably face and to learn from the experiences of people who have gone on this journey, and who have come out on the other side, being very successful.

Join us on your journey from startUP to scaleUP.

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Apply to be a member of the next cohort of RevUP Caribbean, the Caribbean’s first virtual business incubator for high growth start-ups at https://www.revupcaribbean.com/

Join the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Jamaica where you can become part of a family of like-minded people who understand your journey and who will help you to access opportunities to take your business to the next level at https://www.yeajamaica.com/