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Demystifying Fundraising for Your Dream Business with Annie Evans of Dream Ventures

September 23, 2021

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:09 — 72.3MB)

Annie Evans is the founder and CEO of Dream Ventures, a boutique fund that invests in the most promising founders striving to positively impact the world. Dream Ventures’s portfolio includes theSkoop, House of Wise, DORE, MOONS, and many others. Before founding Dream Ventures, Annie co-founded Beautified, a geo-located app that finds and books on-demand beauty and fitness services. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Corporate Communications from Elon University, Annie understands consumer behavior and the essential role of B2B partnerships in turning great ideas into thriving companies.

Annie joins us today to share her journey from sleeping on her friends’ couches while bootstrapping her first business to helping the most promising founders through her boutique investment fund platform. She describes how she once converted her first customers into early investors and explains what makes a great investment pitch. She also shares her three essential tips on creating an operating agreement with business partners and explains how to make the fundraising process approachable for every Entreprenista.

“Fundraising is sales: The first step is research, followed by good, old fashioned organization.” – Annie Evans

This week on the Entreprenista Podcast:

  • Annie’s first venture and how it led her to found Dream Ventures
  • Her experience getting an investor and raising money for the first time
  • How the early customers of her first business turned into angel investors
  • Why her first company went out of business and the lessons she learned from the experience
  • What founders need to think about when finding business partners
  • The importance of having a great business attorney and how they can help you with creating operating agreements
  • Why Annie decided to move forward and start another business after the failure of her first
  • What Dream Ventures is and how it can help Entreprenistas raise funds for their dream businesses
  • How Annie raised $50,000 in over a month on IFundWomen
  • Selling your vision, creating an experience for investors, and Annie’s advice on delivering the best business pitches on Zoom
  • How Dream Ventures can help every Entreprenista through their fundraising process
  • The most challenging part about founding a business without a business partner
  • Finding angels for IFundWomen and how Annie raised $2 million in 60 days for the platform

Resources Mentioned:

Our Favorite Quotes:

  • “Determine how much equity you need to set you up for success. Negotiate the right equity to give yourself voting rights.” – Annie Evans
  • “Always do a reference check on anybody you’re going to business with. Look at where they worked and how they handle tough situations.” – Annie Evans
  • “When you’re doing the operating agreement, outline how you make decisions; it’s inevitable that not everybody’s going to agree on decisions.” – Annie Evans

Connect with Annie Evans:

Join the Entreprenista League!

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Whether you’re looking to scale your existing business and want to make the right connections, or you’re thinking about finally taking the leap to launch your business, we’re here to give you access to a community of women who will celebrate your every step, and with whom you can share the candid reality of building a business from scratch.

Join the Entreprenista league today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!

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To grab your deck of DigiCards and bring fun, engagement, and collaboration back into your team meetings, visit www.hellodigicards.com. Use the coupon code: Entreprenista10 to receive 10% off your first order.

Become An Entreprenista!

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