What's Your Ask? with Stephanie Sims

Mike Jones is the CEO and Managing Partner of Resound, a creative agency that helps companies develop their own compelling story. MIke is a professional brand junkie who excels at strategic thinking and execution to help his clients' brands become remarkable hence his twitter handle, @remarkamike. He was named one of Arizona's top 35 entrepreneurs under the age of 35 by the Arizona Republic and he's a member of the AIGA, Founder Society, Conscious Capitalism Arizona, Local First Arizona. He just got back to Arizona as co-lead of StartUp Phoenix.

How ready do you think you are in making your ask for your business? According to Mike Jones, co-lead of PHX StartUp Week and CEO of Resound, there are somethings that you need to consider before making your ask because if you're not careful, you may be leading your investors and potential clients into a promise that you may not be able to keep.

On this week's episode of What's Your Ask, Stephanie Sims is joined by Mike Jones where they talk about the importance of having brand credibility and the value of sharing just enough vision of where your company or brand is headed to get people excited about what you have to offer. It's a great episode filled with insights and wisdom based on personal experiences so make sure to tune in!

Diana Vowels is the current Vice President of Community at Galvanize Inc., a technology ecosystem for learners entrepreneurs, startups, and established companies. Diana is a strategic sales and operations leader with experience spanning various roles in tech, healthcare and media sectors. She is currently leading Galvanized community teams across dynamic campuses in the US, and she brings together industry leaders, ambitious students, and world-class education.

What's your ask? It's the beginning of your relationship with a person that could possibly make or break any deals that you have in mind. It is the opening that everyone needs to get done but it requires sincerity, passion, and openness to get the commitment you need to receive. The question is, how do you do it right?

Diana Vowels is the current VP of community for Galvanize Inc., a technology ecosystem for learners, entrepreneurs, startups and established companies that meets the needs of the rapidly changing digital world. She is an expert in navigating corporate cultures and grid strategy and execution, and you can learn how to do those things and more through Galvanize courses.

And in today's episode, Diana shares the story of her first ask and how her learnings from that have helped her get to where she is today. She also discusses if you're the right fit for Galvanize, the growth mindset within the Phoenix entrepreneurial community, and how you can shoot your shot the right way to get positive results.

Loretta McCarthy is a managing partner at Golden Seeds LLC, an investment consortium that invests in early-stage women-led businesses. Currently, Golden Seeds is one of the biggest and most active angel investment networks in the US. Loretta Managed the National Golden Seeds Network. She has also previously worked with companies on Wall Street such as American Express and OppenheimerFunds, and has served as a board member of many nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

Are you thinking of reaching out to an angel investor? Do you know what you need to present and how you're supposed to present it in a pitch? Are you even asking the right things to get the right results for your business?

Loretta McCarthy is a managing partner at Golden Seeds LLC, an investment consortium that invests in early-stage women-led businesses. She matches founders with potential angel investors and helps them navigate through the tedious process of presenting their work to the right people under the right category.

On this episode where Stephanie Sims is joined by Loretta McCarthy in discussing the importance of asking compelling questions that can lead to positive results for your business and, right ways to present your pitch and making follow-ups. It's an incredibly informative discussion on making your asks and getting results so tune in.

Edward Cruz is the founder of Go For Vertical, Arizona's new catalyst for founders and startups. Edward is a successful enterprise software consultant based in San Francisco and Austin, with a long career helping both startups and Fortune 500 corporations deliver critical software solutions. Edward is a native Tucsonan who is happy to bring his skills and experiences back to Arizona to help the next generation of entrepreneurs and businesses develop their technology and go to market.

Are you a startup company preparing for a pitch? If so, do you think you have everything in your folder to prepare you for what happens during and after you make your initial ask? These are just some of the things founders often find themselves in when they're about to meet someone who can potentially become an investor or a part of their company.

Edward Cruz, founder of Go For Vertical, a company that helps ambitious early-stage entrepreneurs turn their ideas into market-driven, venture-funded companies with rapid growth and traction, says that your initial ask shouldn't just be about what you want to get out of the conversation. It should also involve what you are excited about in seeing your ideas come to fruition.

Tune in on this episode of What's Your Ask as Stephanie and Edward talk about the importance of planning and mapping out your goals and visions for the project you have in mind. They also talk about the importance of staying involved even after you've outsourced some of the tasks and why questions are vital to getting your point across to the person you're talking to.

Amit Bhatti is a principal at 500 StartUps. He is part of its global portfolio management team where he helps select new investments for their flagship accelerator, as well as advise and manage their 500 portfolio. A lawyer by training, he previously served as the firm's US corporate counsel where he oversaw investments from 500 global funds. Prior to being with 500 StartUps, Amit worked with technology companies on legal and financing issues across all stages of their lifecycle from startup to IPO or M and A (merger and acquisition).

Are you a founder who's preparing thinking of submitting an investment proposal and get funding for your business? Are you considering the possibilities of growing your company through a merger and acquisition but aren't quite sure of how to move forward? Are you even asking the right questions that will help you build a strong portfolio? These are just some of the major considerations that you need to think about before coming to an investor, says Amit Bhatti of 500 StartUps.

In this episode of What's Your Ask, Stephanie Sims talks to Amit Bhatti about the impact of giving an honest picture of your company when faced with an investor versus sugar-coating your facts and why fostering a good relationship between a founder and an investor is crucial to the success of the investment. It's a packed episode of learnings for both founders and investors so make sure to tune in.

Stephanie Sims is a second-generation business owner who knows the ins and outs of determining the value of your business. She has more than 20 years of experience handling business and financial transactions making her a veritable force when it comes to making financial decisions that matter. With her boutique consultancy firm, Finance-Ability, she is able to help entrepreneurs and start-ups get the funding they need to take things off the ground.