How My Venture Capital Partners Made Me a Better Entrepreneur

Often when entrepreneurs speak of the fundraising process, they share insights about the journey to a round or strategic tips for how to best pitch during a roadshow. But what happens after the funding comes through and you’ve read about it in the tech trades? I know I enjoy hearing about the additional value that venture partners can bring to the table, beyond a capital infusion.

I’ve been fortunate enough along the way to have good investors become partners. They’re not only there to give strategic advice, but also to hold me and my management team accountable for the direction of the company. Granted, access to these kinds of people and their expertise is something many early startup founders don’t have the luxury to afford, but when the opportunity arises, it’s important to understand how investors can contribute in this capacity.

I dove deeper into this topic when I spoke with Marilyn Gorman, Faculty Lead at Lean Startup Co., on a recent podcast. Marilyn is a learning professional, facilitator, and executive coach who helps business leaders around the world build credibility and implement new practices. With Marilyn, I also got the chance to ruminate on the evolution of my company from Funding Universe to Lendio, the UI that works best for Lendio users, and the launch of Lendio’s new small business bookkeeping software, Sunrise.

Venture capitalists are not all about money and ROI, which is something I learned over the years working with Lendio’s investors. Marilyn and I chatted in detail about investors who’ve become board members, and not only helped me solve business problems as they come, but also helped me become a better entrepreneur.

To catch my full conversation with Marilyn at Lean Startup Co., watch here or listen here.

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