Before any sponsor pitch, the private company's existing investors (angels, family, founders, venture funds) have to agree that going public is the right path. If they vote no, everything downstream gets harder. Host Joshua Wilson frames the first stage of SPAC investor relations in his conversation with Vik Mittal. Guest:…
During the target search, a SPAC sponsor works behind a confidentiality wall. Vik Mittal explains how institutional investors are wall-crossed to preview a deal and give valuation feedback under strict compliance, and why that window stays narrow until announcement. Guest: Vik Mittal, Managing Member and CIO, Meteora Capital https://www.linkedin.com/in/vik-mittal-539903132/ Host:…
Before FedMart, Price Club and, eventually, Costco, Sol Price was a lawyer. Eric Ries on how Price took the duty to put a client's interests first and applied it to retail — and decided the customer was his client. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/id1791628629?i=1000769626531&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7MJT2ENfy2Sty9ErekQeJA Guest: Eric Ries, author…
LPs see so many decks a week that a strong track record only gets you in the door. Deborah Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of The CenterCap Group, on why managers have to decide who they are, and what they are selling, independent of past performance. Guest: Deborah Smith, Co-Founder and…
When raising SPAC sponsor capital felt effortless, discipline disappeared. Vik Mittal, who has invested in SPAC sponsor risk capital since 2015, looks back at how the 2020–2021 cycle was funded and why it proved a poor period for many of the investors who backed it. Guest: Vik Mittal, Managing Member…
Novo Nordisk's board had a merger agreed and the bankers in the room. The nonprofit foundation that governs the company asked one question: what problem does this solve? Eric Ries on why that "no" kept the R&D intact that went on to produce its GLP-1 breakthrough. Historical example only; not…
Before a SPAC ever goes public, the first investors you have to win are the ones already on the cap table. Serial SPAC sponsor Vik Mittal explains why investor relations starts long before the merger announcement. ------------------------------------------------------------ In this episode of The Investor Relations Podcast, host Joshua Wilson sits down…
Sol Price felt public-market investors didn't understand FedMart, so he took it private — with new investors holding a majority. Eric Ries on why changing the owners didn't change the pressure. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/id1791628629?i=1000769626531&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7MJT2ENfy2Sty9ErekQeJA Guest: Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and Incorruptible, founder of…
Eric Ries cites a Harvard Law School study of venture-backed companies that followed standard governance best practices. Every founder assumes they'll be the exception. Statistically, most aren't. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/id1791628629?i=1000769626531&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7MJT2ENfy2Sty9ErekQeJA Guest: Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and Incorruptible, founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange…
When activists and investors push Costco to become a different company, the pressure bounces off. Eric Ries on why: a board that sees its job not as an agent of shareholders but as a bulwark for the mission. Ethos alone is not enough — it takes structure. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/…
Eric Ries calls it the spiritual holding company — a separate entity whose job is to protect a company's mission. It sounds exotic. Zeiss has used a version of it since the 19th century, and it sits behind brands most people buy from every week. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/id1791628629?i=1000769626531&uo=4…
No matter how much you raise, you have 18 months of runway left — so goes the Silicon Valley joke. Eric Ries on why cash in the bank removes a founder's easiest "no," and why wasting money is often easier than an honest conversation. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/id1791628629?i=1000769626531&uo=4 Spotify:…
An investment committee that doesn't clap for presenters started clapping — then asked Oren Klaff to run it again, longer, with more of their people in the room. Short, fun, insightful, worth seeing again: that is his bar for a capital presentation. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7krh2heMdURDs98bnO8XNy Guest:…
Oren Klaff won't raise for a deal unless it passes three questions. FTX is his example of what happens when the middle one fails: a compelling product inside a company whose leadership, controls and governance couldn't carry it. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7krh2heMdURDs98bnO8XNy Guest: Oren Klaff, Managing Director…
Founders are told to get to product-market fit and grow, and then they'll have power and freedom. Eric Ries on what nobody mentions: success makes a company a more valuable target, and the pressure to conform usually follows. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learn-to-become-incorruptible-with-eric-ries/id1791628629?i=1000769626531&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7MJT2ENfy2Sty9ErekQeJA Guest: Eric Ries, author of…
"Nobody can ever trust this company again." That's what Eric Ries told a young founder on the way to what looked like a celebration — but was actually a wake for a company's soul. In this special-release episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with Eric Ries — author of the New…
Management teams fetishize cold leads. Oren Klaff on why raising from people with no relationship is the hardest assignment in capital raising — and the room that decided to do a deal outside its own mandate. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7krh2heMdURDs98bnO8XNy Guest: Oren Klaff, Managing Director of Intersection…
Story and frame don't only work at the seed stage. Oren Klaff on how Theranos raised from the institutions best equipped to underwrite it — by faking the trust signals those rooms rely on. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7krh2heMdURDs98bnO8XNy Guest: Oren Klaff, Managing Director of Intersection Capital and…
Oren Klaff on what the American system of finance actually pays for: innovate on the product and the value proposition — and keep the org chart, the CFO, the board and the growth story looking like what the market already knows how to price. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify:…
Third call on a financing. A new partner joins and spends it on his phone. Oren Klaff stops the call: people are on their best behavior at the beginning, so what you see on the intro call is the best it gets. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7krh2heMdURDs98bnO8XNy Guest:…
Capital raisers run to the front. Oren Klaff on why raises stall in the boardroom — and the tools you need before you go into direct contact with the capital markets. Full episode: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor-conversation-with-oren-klaff/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frame-control-the-psychology-behind-every-investor/id1791628629?i=1000791447104&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7krh2heMdURDs98bnO8XNy Guest: Oren Klaff, Managing Director of Intersection Capital and author of Pitch…
Every investor conversation gets decided in the first five minutes, before the deck, before the numbers, before you have said a word about the deal. Oren Klaff, bestselling author of Pitch Anything and Flip the Script, breaks down exactly what is being judged in that opening window, and why most…
Sequoya Borgman on why running a business might be the toughest job there is. To listen in on the full episode, click here: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/lower-middle-market-buyouts/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lower-middle-market-buyouts-and-the-art/id1791628629?i=1000776888969&uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4JEYfXGaKMX44k7gJ6XZDm Website: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/ #InvestorRelations #ownership #entrepreneurship #lowermiddlemarket #business
Kevin Pavnica of Blackrock Strategy on why reading the primary source — the DoDI 5000 acquisition manuals, however dry — hands you an edge most people never bother to get, plus why Normal Accidents belongs on every allocator's shelf. To listen in on the full episode, click here: https://www.theinvestorrelationspodcast.com/allocators-and-warfighters-from-the-cap-table-to-the-battlefield-with-kevin-pavnica/ Apple:…