Precursa: The Startup Journey with Host Cynthia Del'Aria

Figuring out all of the startup investment options can be a game of alphabet soup, and understanding when one option is available to you and right for you can be daunting. In this episode, we break down what types of investments exist out there, common vehicles for those investments, and when you can consider availing yourself of each type. And then we talk about the often overlooked option, and the one that doesn't impact your cap table or cost you interest: grants!

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As a startup founder, at least for a while, you're "The One". You'll be keeping your finger on the pulse of everything related to your company, and likely also DOING the actual stuff that needs to get done. In this episode, we talk about what that really means to you and look at strategies for keeping everything going. We also talk through the importance of building your pitch deck and pro forma with real data behind it and how important objection handling is in the pitch. Let's get pitch perfect, y'all.

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The terms "friends and family investors" and "friends and family round" get thrown around a LOT when you're an early stage startup. Which may leave you wondering if you're disadvantaged in raising money because Scrooge McDuck isn't your uncle. In this episode, we talk about what "friends and family" really means, the opportunity of using the network you already have (and what you may not know about the value in that network), and what else besides money is valuable that you can also seek to raise from people around you. And if you ARE the rich uncle, we'd like to talk.

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Pitching tends to be labeled "difficult", and we as founders usually even lament doing it at all. But what if our frame for what it means is wrong? What if what we call "pitching" isn't actually pitching at all? In this episode, we explore a reframe for pitching that will restore your power when fundraising, and it leads us to a conversation about the importance of celebration and how the entrepreneurial journey is actually about the journey.

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In this episode, we get real, raw, and revealing about the emotional journey of the startup entrepreneur. As we've been on this ride, so much has shifted, sometimes in a very short period of time, and the emotional and mental impacts of those (very normal) shifts can't be underestimated. If you're wondering if you have what it takes to go the distance, dive in with us and find out.

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It's another founders session episode where all three of us get together to talk about what it's like building a startup real time. We've hit some snags with our fundraising, and in this episode we're talking about all the options, how we're approaching them, and providing our best wisdom on bootstrap versus raise and everything in between. (PS - If you're a banker, we have good advice for you!)

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Branding, naming, content strategy, marketing, advertising... What's a startupper to do? In this episode, we discuss how Precursa got it's (rather wonderful) name, how the brand was designed, and how we are building a plan to get that name and brand out to the masses.

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Why should you even worry about removing your bias when talking to target end users as part of customer validation? And how do you do that effectively and still get the answers you need? We talk about bias, talking to people, and analysis of the resulting data in this episode, as well as touch on the death knell of a lot of startups: the founder's ego.

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In this episode, we talk about the launch of our website, how we figured out an ad strategy to get traction pre-launch, and what it really looks like trying to raise money for a new startup.

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This episode brings together all three Precursa founders to talk about who we are, how everyone got on board, what our vision is, and how we work together. We also wax soporific on "unicorns" and women in tech and entrepreneurship.

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