The Exchanges

Q And why do you think startups should then, uh, gain funding from the crowd rather than more traditional forms of investors? What are the benefits of having the crowd behind you?

A Sure. You know, I think, one, there are great moral and psychological benefits, which in a lot of cases, these businesses wouldn't exist if they hadn't had early adopters and customers who left an incumbent solution to take a chance on their business, and they've stuck with them, they've supported, they've introduced friends to the opportunity, so I think that's one great positive Reinforcing cycle. And then the other is, there was a study done a while back by Bain that shows customers who are owners of the business spend more, they refer more, they talk about the business more, and they're more loyal. So those are concrete, you know, reasons for why you'd want to invite your customers and community to invest in your company.

AI assessment note: “customers who are owners of the business spend more, they refer more”

Q you know, this revealed quite a lot about the different investor bases that exist, uh, and why people invest, but for you, and by the way, all the links for the study can be found in the show notes in the iTunes description. Ah, but for you then, looking at the study, what were the biggest surprises, and what do you think you'll take away most from seeing this results?

A You know, for me, really, our three key headline findings underscore it all, um, and the first is, You know, for your listeners who aren't familiar with Mattermark, Mattermark's CEO, Danielle, is also a woman. So you have two companies sponsoring the survey, both with female CEOs, and we probably have a disproportionately high percentage of women who are following what our companies are doing. And even with that high percentage, women still only made up 22% of our respondents. So it just goes to show how far we have to go in tech gender diversity. You know, and likewise, we had 24% of our respondents identify as minorities, which when you look at studies on VC decision makers, you know, only two points of decision makers at VC firms are Latino or African American.

AI assessment note: “our three key headline findings underscore it all, um, and the first is”

Q you know, this revealed quite a lot about the different investor bases that exist, uh, and why people invest, but for you, and by the way, all the links for the study can be found in the show notes in the iTunes description. Ah, but for you then, looking at the study, what were the biggest surprises, and what do you think you'll take away most from seeing this results?

A You know, for me, really, our three key headline findings underscore it all, um, and the first is, You know, for your listeners who aren't familiar with Mattermark, Mattermark's CEO, Danielle, is also a woman. So you have two companies sponsoring the survey, both with female CEOs, and we probably have a disproportionately high percentage of women who are following what our companies are doing. And even with that high percentage, women still only made up 22% of our respondents. So it just goes to show how far we have to go in tech gender diversity. You know, and likewise, we had 24% of our respondents identify as minorities, which when you look at studies on VC decision makers, you know, only two points of decision makers at VC firms are Latino or African American.

AI assessment note: “our three key headline findings underscore it all, um, and the first is”

Q And then, so for you then, what, what's the takeaway? How can we use this information to, to help Cora grow and progress?

A Yeah, two-fold, and thank you for that question. You know, one is obviously coming to the site and supporting the companies that are raising on the platform. Suggesting other companies for the platform also will be fantastic. And then when Title III rules are implemented, which we're highly optimistic that that's going to happen tomorrow, actively participating with us in equity raises for a whole range of companies. Like, we think Title III is transformative not just for tech startups, but also for the broader small and medium-sized businesses, you know, across the United States. This is a really powerful opportunity for them to connect with people locally in their community and also on a national basis who support and understand what they're doing to find the capital that they need to build and grow their business. So come on board and join us.

AI assessment note: “one is obviously coming to the site and supporting the companies that are raising”

Q And we did say about the massive increase in crowdfunding. What do you think has led to this, uh, increase in the participation of the crowd?

A You know, it's funny, I was talking with someone about this this morning, and, you know, there are so many undercurrents, both psychological and, you know, just real financial, but one is it's really difficult to use traditional forms of finance to find capital, and the crowd has provided a huge and deep pool of capital to help businesses grow, whether it's through peer-to-peer lending, Or it's through, you know, rewards-based funding. And I think that also points to this need in a highly technological world where technology is disintermediating relationships to find a connection and to support a cause or a person that you believe in and can help you find meaning to what you're doing. And crowdfunding is incredible at that.

AI assessment note: “one is it's really difficult to use traditional forms of finance to find capital”

Q But, um, so what do you think you as a startup then, kind of moving away from the crowdfunding side, have just gained from being in the kind of accelerator studio that is Betaworks?

A You know, it's, one, it's a blast, and it's fun to be in an environment where there are so many other creative and technical problem solvers. You know, that ability to just sit down, shoot the breeze, um, try to solve a problem, see how they're tackling, like, customer acquisition. Um, and then, this is a really visual place, too. I find New York to be highly visual, and Betaworks is no exception. We're very design-oriented, so it's fun getting that type of feedback, and then frankly, like, we have an incredible base of people here at Betaworks to test new ideas on, and new products, and, you know, new interpretations, and just get their feedback before we throw it into the larger universe.

AI assessment note: “we have an incredible base of people here at Betaworks to test new ideas on”

Q And then, so for you then, what, what's the takeaway? How can we use this information to, to help Cora grow and progress?

A Yeah, two-fold, and thank you for that question. You know, one is obviously coming to the site and supporting the companies that are raising on the platform. Suggesting other companies for the platform also will be fantastic. And then when Title III rules are implemented, which we're highly optimistic that that's going to happen tomorrow, actively participating with us in equity raises for a whole range of companies. Like, we think Title III is transformative not just for tech startups, but also for the broader small and medium-sized businesses, you know, across the United States. This is a really powerful opportunity for them to connect with people locally in their community and also on a national basis who support and understand what they're doing to find the capital that they need to build and grow their business. So come on board and join us.

AI assessment note: “one is obviously coming to the site and supporting the companies that are raising”

Q And we did say about the massive increase in crowdfunding. What do you think has led to this, uh, increase in the participation of the crowd?

A You know, it's funny, I was talking with someone about this this morning, and, you know, there are so many undercurrents, both psychological and, you know, just real financial, but one is it's really difficult to use traditional forms of finance to find capital, and the crowd has provided a huge and deep pool of capital to help businesses grow, whether it's through peer-to-peer lending, Or it's through, you know, rewards-based funding. And I think that also points to this need in a highly technological world where technology is disintermediating relationships to find a connection and to support a cause or a person that you believe in and can help you find meaning to what you're doing. And crowdfunding is incredible at that.

AI assessment note: “there are so many undercurrents, both psychological and, you know, just real financial”

Q And why do you think startups should then, uh, gain funding from the crowd rather than more traditional forms of investors? What are the benefits of having the crowd behind you?

A Sure. You know, I think, one, there are great moral and psychological benefits, which in a lot of cases, these businesses wouldn't exist if they hadn't had early adopters and customers who left an incumbent solution to take a chance on their business, and they've stuck with them, they've supported, they've introduced friends to the opportunity, so I think that's one great positive Reinforcing cycle. And then the other is, there was a study done a while back by Bain that shows customers who are owners of the business spend more, they refer more, they talk about the business more, and they're more loyal. So those are concrete, you know, reasons for why you'd want to invite your customers and community to invest in your company.

AI assessment note: “customers who are owners of the business spend more, they refer more”

Q But, um, so what do you think you as a startup then, kind of moving away from the crowdfunding side, have just gained from being in the kind of accelerator studio that is Betaworks?

A You know, it's, one, it's a blast, and it's fun to be in an environment where there are so many other creative and technical problem solvers. You know, that ability to just sit down, shoot the breeze, um, try to solve a problem, see how they're tackling, like, customer acquisition. Um, and then, this is a really visual place, too. I find New York to be highly visual, and Betaworks is no exception. We're very design-oriented, so it's fun getting that type of feedback, and then frankly, like, we have an incredible base of people here at Betaworks to test new ideas on, and new products, and, you know, new interpretations, and just get their feedback before we throw it into the larger universe.

AI assessment note: “we have an incredible base of people here at Betaworks to test new ideas on”