Creating the VC firm he needed as a startup founder - Ethan Austin

Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support. If you want to support the show you can give a 5 stars review ✨ on Spotify/Apple podcast.This is the final episode of Explore Season 2 - thank you for your support! Together, we've grown the podcast and had the opportunity to speak with incredible guests. I’ll share a dedicated post reflecting on the last six months soon, but don’t worry Season 3 will bring even more learnings, there's plenty more to learn!This week, I sit down with Ethan Austin, former entrepreneur and founding partner at Outside VC. Ethan spent 7-years building GiveForward, a crowdfunding platform he sold to Gofundme. 2-years ago, he launched Outside VC with the goal of building a more equitable and just financial system through pre-seed investments ($100K-$250K first checks). In our conversation, Ethan talked about:* Founding a crowdfunding platform* Navigating early days as a non-technical founder * Securing investment by creating FOMO* Loosing everything after Facebook turned off traffic* Lessons learned from being part of Techstars* Tactical strategies for getting into accelerators* The importance of transparency and relationships with founders* Outside VC's investment philosophy * Understanding the economics of venture capital.Listen now on 🟢Spotify or 🟣Apple Podcast.Where to find Ethan:🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fintech-investor/🔗 Outside VC: https://outside-vc.com/Where to find me:🔗 LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/🔗 Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/Timestamps: 00:00 Meet Ethan Austin: From Founder to VC01:25 The Birth of a Fundraising Platform02:35 Challenges and Early Struggles03:28 Pivoting to Medical Crowdfunding04:45 Lessons in Startup Focus and Adaptation06:09 Emotional Challenges of Pivoting07:49 Building the First Product Without Technical Skills09:07 The Motivation Behind Starting the Company12:48 Early Traction and Accelerator Experience16:34 Moments of Validation and Growth21:10 Fundraising Journey and Strategies27:28 The Importance of Personalization in Crowdfunding28:20 Challenges and Strategies in Crowdfunding29:47 The Acquisition by YouCaring and Its Impact31:29 Joining Techstars: A Life-Changing Experience36:12 Investing in Outsiders: A Unique Venture Capital Approach41:31 The Investment Process and Building Trust with Founders49:11 Understanding Venture Capital Economics51:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit climateventuresvco2.substack.com