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Feel the Boot
Home
Blog
About
Services
Resources
Merch
Contact
Site Search
Get my Fundraising Toolkit
Home
Blog
About
Services
Resources
Merch
Contact
Site Search
Get my Fundraising Toolkit
How to Build a Go-to-Market Engine That Makes Investors Pay Attention — with Javier Lozano Jr.
Episode, Interview, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 4/14/26 Episode, Interview, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 4/14/26

How to Build a Go-to-Market Engine That Makes Investors Pay Attention — with Javier Lozano Jr.

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The 4 Filters: Why You Aren’t Fundable... Yet
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 2/10/26 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 2/10/26

The 4 Filters: Why You Aren’t Fundable... Yet

Fundraising is Physics, Not Art: Pitching is just a signal; the real work is the structural integrity of your business.

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The Investor Warm-Up Protocol: How to Turn Cold Investors into Warm Leads
Fundraising, Episode Lance Cottrell 1/23/26 Fundraising, Episode Lance Cottrell 1/23/26

The Investor Warm-Up Protocol: How to Turn Cold Investors into Warm Leads

The Hard Truth: If your first interaction with an investor is putting your hand out for cash, you have already lost.

Most founders aren’t lucky enough to have a deep Rolodex of VCs. That means you have to do cold outreach.

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123. Founder/Market Fit: Your Startup’s Early-Stage Advantage
Getting Started, Episode Lance Cottrell 7/11/25 Getting Started, Episode Lance Cottrell 7/11/25

123. Founder/Market Fit: Your Startup’s Early-Stage Advantage

Roughly 25 percent of startups fail because they lack founder–market fit.

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120. Unlocking Startup Growth: Fundraising Strategies and Resilience Tips with Paulo Andrez
Episode, Interview, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 5/1/25 Episode, Interview, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 5/1/25

120. Unlocking Startup Growth: Fundraising Strategies and Resilience Tips with Paulo Andrez

Paulo Andrez, angel investor and author of "Zero Risk Startup," joined me to unpack how founders can create clarity, reduce risk, and massively increase their odds of success.

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118. Avoid These Startup Finance Mistakes — Insights from a Fractional CFO
Interview, Episode, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 3/27/25 Interview, Episode, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 3/27/25

118. Avoid These Startup Finance Mistakes — Insights from a Fractional CFO

Most early-stage founders know that building a product and finding customers are top priorities. But what about finance?

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117. Cold Start Your Startup Pitch: Hook Investors from the First Second
Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 2/10/25 Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 2/10/25

117. Cold Start Your Startup Pitch: Hook Investors from the First Second

Most founders waste the most important part of their pitch. It’s such a simple mistake—and so easy to fix.

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108. The Waiting Game: Why Pre-Seed Investors Delay and How to Speed Up Commitment
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/11/24 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/11/24

108. The Waiting Game: Why Pre-Seed Investors Delay and How to Speed Up Commitment

Why do investors play the waiting game, and how can you get them off the fence and committed earlier?

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107. Startup Failure Analysis 🔎 Key Lessons from Abby Sugar
Episode, Interview, Insight Lance Cottrell 6/28/24 Episode, Interview, Insight Lance Cottrell 6/28/24

107. Startup Failure Analysis 🔎 Key Lessons from Abby Sugar

In the world of startups, success stories often steal the spotlight. Yet, failure is a far more common companion on the entrepreneurial journey.

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98. Startup Fundraising Facilitators 🐍 Surviving the Pit of Serpents!
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 11/16/23 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 11/16/23

98. Startup Fundraising Facilitators 🐍 Surviving the Pit of Serpents!

Raising money from investors is a long, arduous process, so many founders seek help.

In response, a whole cadre of people specializing in that sprang up, often called fundraising facilitators. The problem is that most of them appear to be ineffective at best and harmful at worst.

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97. Exposing the top reasons for angel investment pre-screen rejections
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 10/25/23 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 10/25/23

97. Exposing the top reasons for angel investment pre-screen rejections

How demoralizing is spending hours on a pitch deck and associated materials only to get ghosted by the investor or receive an automated form rejection?

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94. Escape the Startup Paradox 😬 Strategies for Funding Product Development
Episode, Fundraising, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 8/23/23 Episode, Fundraising, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 8/23/23

94. Escape the Startup Paradox 😬 Strategies for Funding Product Development

There's a paradox that impacts most startups early in their journeys. You can't make your product without money, and you can't get money without a product.

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88. Talking to friends and family about investing in your startup.
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 3/22/23 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 3/22/23

88. Talking to friends and family about investing in your startup.

The first money you raise for your startup will probably be from people who already care about you and your success, your friends and family.

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85. How venture capital kills startups ☠️
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 1/5/23 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 1/5/23

85. How venture capital kills startups ☠️

VC investment is a double-edged sword. It can launch your startup like a rocket, but it can also cause it to explode on the launch pad.

Learn how taking venture capital investments can destroy your company.

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82. 📉Startup Fundraising in a Bear Market
Fundraising, Episode Lance Cottrell 11/5/22 Fundraising, Episode Lance Cottrell 11/5/22

82. 📉Startup Fundraising in a Bear Market

When the economy gets rocky, raising funds for your startup is more challenging.

In this article, I show how to adapt your fundraising strategy and position your company for maximum success.

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78. Investment Term Sheets: Explanations, Red Flags, and where to push back
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/21/22 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/21/22

78. Investment Term Sheets: Explanations, Red Flags, and where to push back

Money from investors should fuel your startup's exponential growth. But a lousy term sheet can leave the company spluttering on the launch pad with nothing to show for all your hard work.

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77. Pitching when tech’s glitching. Handle PowerPoint failure with style!
Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 6/28/22 Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 6/28/22

77. Pitching when tech’s glitching. Handle PowerPoint failure with style!

Sometimes when you pitch, the technology won’t cooperate. Learn to handle it so you look as good or better than you would have if everything had gone perfectly.

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70. High valuations can demotivate employees and derail investment
Fundraising, Episode Lance Cottrell 3/4/22 Fundraising, Episode Lance Cottrell 3/4/22

70. High valuations can demotivate employees and derail investment

Founders constantly strive to grow their companies and maximize their valuation. Unfortunately, sometimes a high valuation can hurt your company.

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61. Understand founder equity dilution and how your decisions impact what you keep.
Fundraising Lance Cottrell 10/29/21 Fundraising Lance Cottrell 10/29/21

61. Understand founder equity dilution and how your decisions impact what you keep.

Learn about dilution and how your ownership shrinks as you bring in investment. The decisions you make, and the terms you negotiate, can drastically alter your payout at exit.

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56. Bootstrapping vs. VC funding: which is right for your startup?
Episode, Fundraising, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 6/7/21 Episode, Fundraising, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 6/7/21

56. Bootstrapping vs. VC funding: which is right for your startup?

Should you bootstrap your startup to greatness or take outside investment to accelerate your growth?

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55. Create a pitch deck that investors can read in seconds, because that may be all you get
Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 5/3/21 Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 5/3/21

55. Create a pitch deck that investors can read in seconds, because that may be all you get

Most investors just skim pitch decks in a few seconds. This technique ensures they still get the key information about your startup.

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53. Virtual Pitching and Fundraising Over Zoom, What Founders Need to Know
Episode, Fundraising, Pitching Lance Cottrell 4/9/21 Episode, Fundraising, Pitching Lance Cottrell 4/9/21

53. Virtual Pitching and Fundraising Over Zoom, What Founders Need to Know

Most investment pitching now happens over video conferences, so mastering remote fundraising is critical.

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47. Ten Common Startup Fundraising Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Episode, Pitching, Understanding Investors, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 1/15/21 Episode, Pitching, Understanding Investors, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 1/15/21

47. Ten Common Startup Fundraising Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

I see a ton of bad pitches. I want to share the top ten fundraising mistakes and how you can avoid them.

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42. Johann Moonesinghe - Feel the Boot Interview
Interview, Episode Lance Cottrell 10/16/20 Interview, Episode Lance Cottrell 10/16/20

42. Johann Moonesinghe - Feel the Boot Interview

Johann Moonesinghe, founder of InKind, pioneer in crowd funding, active angel investor, and startup advisor through TechStars, talked about how the COVID crisis impacted restaurants, some survival strategies, and his experience as a gay minority founder.

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38. Identify the one strength you must emphasize in your fundraising pitch with four startup case studies
Episode, Pitching, Knowledge Lance Cottrell 8/21/20 Episode, Pitching, Knowledge Lance Cottrell 8/21/20

38. Identify the one strength you must emphasize in your fundraising pitch with four startup case studies

When you pitch to investors, your audience will only remember a couple of ideas. Learn what about your company will wow investors.

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37. Lisa Tamayo - Feel the Boot Interview
Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 8/7/20 Episode, Interview Lance Cottrell 8/7/20

37. Lisa Tamayo - Feel the Boot Interview

Lisa Tamayo, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, CEO/Co-founder of Scollar, talked about their pivot from product to platform, and shared her hard-won experience about the startup process.

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33.  Five step process to create a killer pitch deck for your startup
Episode, Pitching, Knowledge Lance Cottrell 6/18/20 Episode, Pitching, Knowledge Lance Cottrell 6/18/20

33. Five step process to create a killer pitch deck for your startup

I will share my proven five-step process for building a killer pitch.

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31. Nine things angel investors look for in startup fundraising pitches
Episode, Pitching, Understanding Investors, Knowledge Lance Cottrell 6/1/20 Episode, Pitching, Understanding Investors, Knowledge Lance Cottrell 6/1/20

31. Nine things angel investors look for in startup fundraising pitches

I interviewed numerous angel investors to create this list of nine things angels want to learn in your pitch.

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27. How To Launch A Startup With Zero Capital
Episode, Knowledge, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 4/19/20 Episode, Knowledge, Getting Started Lance Cottrell 4/19/20

27. How To Launch A Startup With Zero Capital

Learn how to launch a company without savings or investment.

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26. Five critical steps to save your startup during a catastrophe like COVID-19
Episode, Knowledge, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 4/5/20 Episode, Knowledge, Running Your Business Lance Cottrell 4/5/20

26. Five critical steps to save your startup during a catastrophe like COVID-19

During an economic crisis, companies need to take immediate and radical action to stay alive. These five moves can save your startup.

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23. Why are even successful startups and entrepreneurs having trouble raising their Series-A rounds?
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 2/23/20 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 2/23/20

23. Why are even successful startups and entrepreneurs having trouble raising their Series-A rounds?

Why are so many strong startups failing to raise their A-Rounds?

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17. Nail the start of your investment pitch
Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 12/2/19 Episode, Pitching Lance Cottrell 12/2/19

17. Nail the start of your investment pitch

I lose interest in most of the pitches I see within the first thirty seconds. Here I share with you how to nail the opening of your pitch.

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6. How to get funding for your startup company - answering a viewer question
Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/1/19 Episode, Fundraising Lance Cottrell 7/1/19

6. How to get funding for your startup company - answering a viewer question

How to break through the logjam of startup fundraising.

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