Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support. If you want to support the show you can give a 5 stars review ✨ on Spotify/Apple podcast.
This is the final episode of Explore Season 2 - thank you for your support! Together, we've grown the podcast and had the opportunity to speak with incredible guests. I’ll share a dedicated post reflecting on the last six months soon, but don’t worry Season 3 will bring even more learnings, there's plenty more to learn!
This week, I sit down with Ethan Austin, former entrepreneur and founding partner at Outside VC. Ethan spent 7-years building GiveForward, a crowdfunding platform he sold to Gofundme. 2-years ago, he launched Outside VC with the goal of building a more equitable and just financial system through pre-seed investments ($100K-$250K first checks). In our conversation, Ethan talked about:
Founding a crowdfunding platform
Navigating early days as a non-technical founder
Securing investment by creating FOMO
Loosing everything after Facebook turned off traffic
Lessons learned from being part of Techstars
Tactical strategies for getting into accelerators
The importance of transparency and relationships with founders
Outside VC's investment philosophy
Understanding the economics of venture capital.
Listen now on 🟢Spotify or 🟣Apple Podcast.
Where to find Ethan:
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fintech-investor/
🔗 Outside VC: https://outside-vc.com/
Where to find me:
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/
🔗 Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Meet Ethan Austin: From Founder to VC
01:25 The Birth of a Fundraising Platform
02:35 Challenges and Early Struggles
03:28 Pivoting to Medical Crowdfunding
04:45 Lessons in Startup Focus and Adaptation
06:09 Emotional Challenges of Pivoting
07:49 Building the First Product Without Technical Skills
09:07 The Motivation Behind Starting the Company
12:48 Early Traction and Accelerator Experience
16:34 Moments of Validation and Growth
21:10 Fundraising Journey and Strategies
27:28 The Importance of Personalization in Crowdfunding
28:20 Challenges and Strategies in Crowdfunding
29:47 The Acquisition by YouCaring and Its Impact
31:29 Joining Techstars: A Life-Changing Experience
36:12 Investing in Outsiders: A Unique Venture Capital Approach
41:31 The Investment Process and Building Trust with Founders
49:11 Understanding Venture Capital Economics
51:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Creating the VC firm he needed as a startup founder - Ethan Austin