Dave Romenesko spent 31 years at Dow Corning as an intrapreneur, accumulating 46 U.S. patents (34 of which actually went to market) and inventing the soft-touch silicone material you've probably felt on your Apple Watch band. Today, he runs Tempo SPE Group, manages 10 active startup investments, sits on 8 boards, and has helped deploy nearly $24 million on behalf of more than 100 investors.

In this episode, Dave and I talk about why the market always beats the material, what most first-time founders get wrong when they pitch for capital, and the difference between inventing something cool and building a business someone will actually pay for.

Dave shares the five questions every founder has to answer before he'll write a check (features, benefit, value, volume, time to market), why he left a comfortable angel group to start his own SPE so investors would actually get the information they deserved, how he chooses which boards to join and why being on them is the only real way to protect capital, and the patterns he's seen across 36 startup bets — including the ones that failed.

He also gets into the personal side of investing: why Peptanova's chemotherapy delivery system matters more to him than any return (he's a cancer survivor, his mom died of cancer at 57), why Advanced Battery Concepts is solving a problem the lithium-ion industry can't, and what "all startups are broke until they're not" really means for founders trying to raise their next round.

If you're a founder thinking about raising capital, or an investor trying to figure out how to evaluate one, this conversation is a masterclass in what actually separates the companies that scale from the ones that stall.

Connect with Dave: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveromenesko/

Hierographx is a Saginaw-based digital agency specializing in website design, app development, and AI solutions. Built for businesses that want to grow with purpose, Hierographx turns big ideas into tools that actually work. Learn more at hieroart.com.

Connect with Hierographx:

https://www.hieroart.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hierographx.agency/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hierographx.agency

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Lisa Tarkington is a Business & Leadership Coach, Associate Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, keynote speaker, and the founder of the nonprofit Lead. She has spent over a decade coaching visionary founders, implementers, and executives, helping them turn chaos into clarity and self-doubt into confident leadership.

In this episode, Lisa and I talk about what's actually happening inside the mind of a visionary, why so many founders feel misunderstood by the people around them, and how to build a team that can actually carry your vision forward instead of slowing it down.

Lisa shares why most visionaries have "more than 47 tabs open" in their brain at all times, the three inhibitors that quietly sabotage high-performing leaders (restlessness, hyper-achiever, and controller), why 90% of people believe they're self-aware while only 10-15% actually are, and the difference between building an Olympic team versus a Stanley Cup team.

She also gets into the loneliness no one warns you about as a founder, the unspoken weight of being responsible for someone else's mortgage, why your gut is usually right even when you can't explain it, the counterintuitive mindset shift to make when you're overwhelmed, and what separates the founders who build something meaningful from the ones who never quite get there.

If you've ever felt like your brain works differently from everyone else's, or struggled to bring people along on a vision they can't yet see, this conversation will leave you feeling less alone and a lot more equipped.

Connect with Lisa: 

www.lisatarkington.com 

The Confident Podcast: Available on Apple Podcasts & Spotify 

Lead Nonprofit: leadconfidently.org 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisatarkington/

Hierographx is a Saginaw-based digital agency specializing in website design, app development, and AI solutions. Built for businesses that want to grow with purpose, Hierographx turns big ideas into tools that actually work. Learn more at hieroart.com.

Connect with Hierographx:

https://www.hieroart.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hierographx.agency/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hierographx.agency

Twitter: https://x.com/Hierographx_

Terry Duperon is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Duperon Corporation, a global leader in water and wastewater technology, and the creator of GLiMPSES,  an entrepreneurial program built on the belief that your greatest gifts are already inside you.

In this episode, Terry and I talk about what it actually feels like to see the world differently, why dyslexia became his greatest entrepreneurial advantage, and how losing everything at 53 led to the philosophy that rebuilt his life.

Terry shares what he learned from failing in front of his classmates as a kid, why 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic, how he went from a million dollars in debt to financial recovery by only focusing on the next clear step, and why most people stop right at the edge of where success actually begins.

He also gets into what it means to lead leaders, why understanding beats anger every time, and the one decision he made in his marriage that quietly shaped everything else.

Terry is a Saginaw original,  and this conversation is proof that everything you've been through is preparing you for exactly where you're going.

Connect with Terry: 

www.duperoneducation.com | www.duperon.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/duperoneducation 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DuperonCorporation 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/duperon-corporation/

Hierographx is a Saginaw-based digital agency specializing in website design, app development, and AI solutions. Built for businesses that want to grow with purpose, Hierographx turns big ideas into tools that actually work. Learn more at hieroart.com.

Connect with Hierographx:

https://www.hieroart.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hierographx.agency/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hierographx.agency

Twitter: https://x.com/Hierographx_

Erin Strang is the Executive Director of Blue Water Angels and President & CEO of CMURC, one of the driving forces behind startup growth in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

In this episode, Erin and I talk about what actually makes a founder fundable, why investors bet on people over ideas, the misconceptions around raising capital, and what Michigan's startup scene offers that most founders overlook.

Erin shares the patterns she sees in founders who scale versus those who stall, how her own leadership has evolved over 17 years of working with entrepreneurs, and why being honest with yourself about your role in your own company can be the thing that moves you forward.

CMURC is where Hierographx got its start, so having Erin as my first guest on Hiero Exclusive felt right.

Connect with Erin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinstrang6/
CMURC: https://www.cmurc.com
BlueWater Angels: https://michigancapitalnetwork.com/bluewater-angels/

Hierographx is a Saginaw-based digital agency specializing in website design, app development, and AI solutions. Built for businesses that want to grow with purpose, Hierographx turns big ideas into tools that actually work. Learn more at hieroart.com.

Connect with Hierographx:

https://www.hieroart.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hierographx.agency/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hierographx.agency

Twitter: https://x.com/Hierographx_