March 7, 2024

195. Not ABF. Instead, Always Be Cheerleading feat. Liz Giorgi, CEO & Co-Founder of Soona

195. Not ABF. Instead, Always Be Cheerleading feat. Liz Giorgi, CEO & Co-Founder of Soona
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Season 4

Text your thoughts directly to Rich.

Last episode on ABF. I promise. Maybe. But we're definitely missing the founder perspective on this one, which is why I was glad to have Liz Giorgi's input.

About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach affordably with AVL, supporting companies coast to coast - get to know AVL Growth Partners at avlgrowth.com. (Sponsored)

About SpringTime Ventures
SpringTime Ventures seeds high-growth startups in healthcare, fintech & insurtech, and logistics & supply chain. We look for founders with domain expertise, forging a path with a truly transformative technology. We only invest in software-based businesses in the USA. We bring a people-focused approach, work quickly, and reach conviction independently. Our initial check size is $600k. You can learn more about us and our approach.     

WEBVTT

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I don't want to dwell too much on ABF.

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But then again, this is a podcast about fundraising by a VC, so maybe it makes sense to just add one more piece of the puzzle here.

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And that piece of the puzzle is the founder perspective.

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I'm pleased to introduce Liz Giorgi co-founder and CEO of Soona.

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We're going to hear more from Liz later on, but this was a great clip where she shares her perspective on ABF.

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Take it away, Liz.

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ABF, or Always Be Fundraising, is a funny maxim.

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It's one that is true and isn't true in a funny sort of way.

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So the ways in which it's true is, you never know where your next check is going to come from, and you never know where your next introduction is going to come from.

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There have been times that I've written something on Twitter, And I've gotten an introduction to a fund or someone's reached out to me.

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There've been times when I've been at a event locally, or I've been at a virtual panel.

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And I've said something and I got an introduction to someone who's interested in our business.

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You don't want to meet an investor for the very first time when you're fundraising.

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It's just not the best time to get people into the headspace of liking you, liking your business.

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And so Always Be Fundraising really should just be always be building relationships in my mind.

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You're always talking about the business.

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You're always talking about the opportunity of the business.

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I often think of my job as.

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How can I, in any room I enter, leave people with the impression that Soona is a great business that they want to be involved in, in some way?

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Sometimes that means fundraising, but sometimes that just means inspiring someone to share your business with a customer, inspiring someone to apply for a job at your company, or inspiring a partner to reach out and strike a deal.

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You're always promoting the business.

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And I would rebrand Always Be Fundraising to Always Be Cheerleading.

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Always be cheerleading the mission, the vision, the opportunity and your business and how you're solving that.