Struggles Presented by NCBI

The Struggles of Finding Venture Capital with Quinn Orloff

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Podcast Description: Struggles: Navigating Challenges, Together

Welcome to "Struggles: Navigating Challenges, Together," the ultimate podcast for entrepreneurs seeking to overcome the common struggles of business life. Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale your enterprise, this podcast offers invaluable insights into the hurdles that entrepreneurs across all industries face. Each episode features real-world stories, expert insights, and practical solutions to help you navigate your entrepreneurial journey successfully.

Join host Chris Inman as he sits down with industry leaders, innovative startups, and business veterans to discuss the most pressing issues in entrepreneurship, from financial management and scaling challenges to leadership tips and navigating venture capital. Through candid conversations and actionable advice, we aim to equip you with the knowledge and tools to overcome any obstacle in your path.

Keywords:

  • Entrepreneurship
  • Business struggles
  • Leadership tips
  • Scaling challenges
  • Financial management

In this episode of Struggles Presented by NCBI host Chris Inman of I.D.E.A. Cleveland sits down with Quinn Orloff from OygL and Pit Crew Properties to discuss the remarkable journey of securing venture capital for startups. Quinn shares her experiences and challenges faced while trying to get funding for her real estate investing app. She elaborates on the critical feedback received from venture capitalists, the differences between acquiring venture capital and traditional bank loans, and the invaluable role of mentorship and networking in her entrepreneurial path. Emphasizing the significance of being fully committed and the necessity of crafting a compelling narrative, Quinn provides candid advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. The episode wraps up with Quinn's vision for fostering a supportive entrepreneurial community in Cleveland, aimed at connecting young innovators with seasoned mentors.

Episode Highlights and Timestamps:

  1. Introduction to Quinn's Journey [00:00:03]
    • Quinn Orloff introduces his background and the essence of Cleveland's vibrant entrepreneurial community.
  2. Struggles of Securing Venture Capital [00:01:13]
    • Quinn shares his initial challenges in obtaining venture capital for his real estate investing app and the critical feedback he received.
  3. Choosing Between Venture Capital and Loans [00:02:44]
    • Why Quinn opted for venture capital over traditional loans and his experience with Jumpstart's funding program.
  4. The VC Presentation Process [00:04:07]
    • Chris and Quinn discuss the dynamics of presenting to venture capitalists, including crafting a compelling pitch and building a solid MVP (Minimum Viable Product).
  5. The Importance of Betting on Yourself [00:05:11]
    • Insights on why investors prioritize the founder's commitment and how entrepreneurs can fully invest in their ventures.
  6. Persistence in Entrepreneurship [00:06:54]
    • Real-life examples of perseverance in the startup world, highlighting the importance of unwavering belief in your ideas.
  7. Finding and Utilizing Mentorship [00:09:26]
    • The role of mentors in Quinn's journey and advice on building a supportive network of experienced professionals.
  8. Building a Community for Young Entrepreneurs [00:10:26]
    • The necessity of creating networks for like-minded young entrepreneurs in Cleveland and potential initiatives to foster such communities.

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There's definitely. There's such good ideas in Cleveland. People are so incredibly smart here and, like, you go other places and you, like, definitely can tell and, like, you just can have really good conversations and deep conversations with people here. So it's like, okay, how can we open up those doors to, like, oh, you don't need to go. Like, I never had a normal job. I went straight through. I went to John Carroll, got my MBA at John Carroll, literally started doing, like, my own. I worked like a job for half the summer. And then I was like, mom, dad, like, I'll figure this out. Like, let me figure this out. I need to figure this out. Like, I'm. I can't. I can't. I can't work at a normal place. Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by ncbi, the podcast where we navigate challenges together. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Struggles presented by ncbi. I'm Chris Inman with Idea Cleveland. Hey, I'm Quinn. I'm with Oigle and Pit Crew Properties. Awesome. So today we're going to talk about the struggles you're starting off. You're trying to get some venture capitalist money and all that, and your companies, the struggles of finding startup cash. You have a great idea, but how do you get it off the ground? For sure. I've gone through one basically trial of trying to get venture money that was last, maybe basically the big thing we heard. So we had an idea. Our idea is a real estate investing app, also some property tech. Basically, we had a slight mvp, made nothing too drastic, but we didn't have any users. And so basically had this idea, went through the process. And so the big feedback that we got from most of the people was, hey, you need users or some revenue. And that was kind of the feedback we got in Cleveland. You out to the coast a little bit. It's a little bit different. And like, talking to people who've gotten funded from the coast with some bigger exits, that's been interesting. But I think there's capital in Cleveland. I think there are people with either private capital or venture capital in Cleveland, and I think there's more and more. And people are seeing the opportunity and the ideas in Cleveland, and more people are either staying here or coming back. So I think it's just going to keep building. So it's a good place to be. Yeah. Let's talk about the first thing that maybe someone's thinking about right now. Like, the idea of, like, oh, I'm not a venture capitalist to invest, instead of just going to A bank with a business plan and taking out a loan. So did you ever think about just taking out a loan? And if not, why? And why did you think about like, hey, there's these people that want to invest in these corporations and what led you to knowing that and understanding how to get in their world? For sure the only idea of getting a loan would be for an SBA loan. So for buying a small business was. Which was actually a idea that I had after we didn't get venture capital because I was like, oh my God, I need to make money in some capacity. So I wanted to get an SBA loan which have pretty good terms and go buy a boomer cash flowing business and then make it more cash flow positive based on some of my experience and some of the things that I learned in the MBA to basically work in the advertising space. And so the whole reason that we went the venture capital route is the first time that we went through it. So we jumpstart, didn't have. It wasn't any equity in the company. So it was 50,000 and this is what their new one is in November also. So it's $50,000 cash and $135,000 of services. So and no equity. And then basically it's a showcase for like they had the VC fest. All of the people who got into the program last time were added and then they basically presented to try and get VC money from like accredited VC investors who were there. So that was our process of going through it the first time. So what is the process of like presenting to these people? Like do you have to like, is it, you go to the bank, you got to have a business plan and all that. How is it different or is it the same? Definitely different. So we had a, we have a slot, we had a slide deck and we had our like clickable link for the MVP and so we got an interview for mvp. Minimal viable product. There you go. So we had a clickable minimal viable product. And so we basically were lucky enough to get an interview with Jumpstart because of the slide deck was good enough and we based that just off other people who had gotten funding. So we basically just looked up venture capital backed companies and then we just did research and like they all follow very similar pattern of like problem. Why you should choose us? Here's like kind of where we're at with it. Do you have revenue or not? And then like here's kind of like why you should invest in us as people because that's really what you're pitching at the end of the day, it's like yourself, not the business. And I think people get that confused when they get denied from any place for either venture capital or private equity. It's not your idea. It's usually you and how you present it, because everyone has good ideas, but people are betting on the jockeys. And, like, people will forever bet on the jockeys. So you have to figure out how to get people to bet on you. And so, like, that's also the start of the game of, like, you have to bet on yourself and go fully in. And I think a lot of people also don't realize that you have to do it full time to get venture capital, like, no venture capitalist. Like, you have to ask yourself, if you're investing, like, if it was your money and you were going to invest in your company, would you invest in someone who's working 40 hours and doing it as a side gig? No, it's not happening. There's no accredited venture capitalist who will give you their money. If you're just starting off, you're not two feet in, because most VC people are all two feet in. That's how they make their money, all those things. So just do it. My buddy Luke, he showed me this image. It was 90% of the people. They can't pull the trigger. It's like a bow and arrow. And they're just so terrified, they let go and shoot that arrow towards the target. Then there's other people. They shoot one, and then they're like, oh, I'm done. Then there's 1% of the population, they're just shooting away, and finally they hit a target and it blows up. And it's great, but you gotta shoot many arrows to actually succeed in this world. You can't just think, this is that one idea. This is it. This is gonna be the thing that makes me rich. Oh, it didn't make me rich. All right, I'm done. You went through the process. What's one thing that you learned in it? That for advice for somebody else? Like, hey, this is something that when we started off, oh, man, I really wish I knew this sooner because, you know, it could have accelerated us a few months. But it took me some time to really realize, oh, my. This is a hurdle for us to communicate and get those venture capitalists on board with us. So I'm very blunt. That is what either just what you see is what you get. And my brother's not like that. He's my business partner. He's the sweetest person ever. Even if the Venture capitalist doesn't give you the money for whatever the idea is. It's like you have to think like, okay, who are they to not. Maybe they don't understand, maybe you didn't do a good enough job explaining it. But like my favorite example of people who have succeeded in VC is like the Canvas story. She's Australian, went through like over 100 VC people and she just kept, like, she was like, no, no, like this is the idea. This is. She got to a point where she could get like arrows, right? And she probably pivoted and it changed and it kept changing, right? And just like she knew, she knew in her soul. And like, I think, like, I don't know if I, I like have a feeling in my stomach like, I just know and like there's no other. There's no plan B. So like, if you think there's a plan B, probably not the right thing to do, at least at the moment. And like, figure out how you don't need a plan B. And like get yourself to that place. So that would be the advice. If you're going to do this, you need to be all in. Yeah, it's. I mean, this is my passion and I know people do it for various reasons, money, like retiring their parents, all those things. But you need to find like the problem you're passionate about and then go talk to people who need the problem solved and then get them to sign something that pays them. No, like non binding Lois, and solve the problem. All right. You got to be passionate about it. Then you got to go out and actually question the people that have the problem you want to solve. Yep. All right, what was the thing that you had to create or you know, whatever to get to that point to open the doors for VCs to actually say, take your idea and your passion seriously? One, I think it's time and crafting the story and just getting undeniable proof that like, it's a good idea. I know I showed you the clickable prototype before and a lot of it is how can you get someone. How can you create the relationships with people to one, not only get to believe in you, but how can you get someone who has a proven track record, who knows you want to learn, showcase that they have interest in supporting you and what you do? And so that's. Mentorship's a big thing. My, my dad actually is. He was the one who opened up his Rolodex of people. He is, he's a guy, he's an operator in operations and he was in the event space. And like I went to events with him as a kid during the NBA. We didn't have classes on Friday. He was like, let me just introduce you to people. And so really just like asking those people for help. And it's like, I know I want to be an entrepreneur. I don't know what that looks like or how that looks, but like, how can you, how can we help each other? And like, I'm passionate about this, you're passionate about it. And like, let's figure out some way to like get coached or mentored because you need someone like that also who's pushing you because like there are some things that you have no idea until you experience them. Right? Or it's like, oh, that's not a great path. Or like you need to focus on this thing. And like that's how we've kind of gone back to the real estate stuff is from. One of our mentors was like, focus on this. All right, so where do you think you had your dad open up doors for you? Everything. Is there a community in this greater Cleveland area that like people that have these type of passions should be a part of and gravitate towards to try to find those like minded people and kind of grow off of each other. So that's one of the things I'm actually very interested in creating because I don't think we do a good enough job of it in the city, quite honestly, going all in and finding the people in those spaces who are like me who, you know, just got right into it because like there have to be. I'm 24. There have to be other 23 year olds, right? 22 year olds who are like that from Ohio State case, John Carroll and sick. Okay, how can you create a community then where you have coaches or mentors who are like, no, no, like I want to work with that kid because I'm 65 or whatever and like I want to work for 10 more years and then they can buy my company and like we can work together or whatever and you can like figure that out with people and like the personalities and build. I think that would be really cool. Well, this has been awesome, Quinn, thanks for joining me here in the NCBI studios to talk about this. I think that in networking and everything, we all meet business owners and everything. Some people, they inherit a company, some people just start off grinding away. And it's very interesting to hear your whole venture capitalist and getting a business. It's totally a different thing that I don't think that a lot of people even comprehend. They think it's some west coast thing that these crazy people are just investing money in your company and you know, some hit, some don't and they think it's crazy. Like, let's be honest, it's a weird thing to think about. Yeah, it's totally a different route. You're young and you're building something new and that's also weird for a lot of people, let's be honest. So it's been awesome to sit with you and, and share your story. Thank you. Well, thank you for having me. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Struggles presented by NCBI where we navigate challenges together. Don't forget to subscribe, listen and share this podcast with others who might benefit. We'd love to hear about the struggles you're facing or have overcome and we'd be thrilled to have you as a guest on a future episode. Let's continue this journey together.