EP1 Investor Circle - Greg Moran
Greg Moran of Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners joins host Stewart Noakes for the 1st episode of Investor Circle. Subscribe to stay up to date with future episodes
Investor Circle is our new podcast series brought to life to capture insights from investors across the globe. In each short interview we get under the skin of how the investors think and make decisions as well as what kind of people they are. Our goal is to build empathy within the community of the what, when, who, how and why behind raising funding for your startup.
This series is primarily for Founders of early stage startups who are looking to raise their first funding, but it’s also helpful for investors looking to raise their first funds and for anyone in the ecosystem who is interested in how this all work.
Summary of todays episode thanks to eightify
Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners is a fund that prioritizes founder determination and potential, investing in early-stage companies with a focus on the future of work.
00:00 📝 Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners is a new fund focused on the future of work, investing in early-stage companies with revenue and product-market fit, such as Spaceman, a workforce health and safety solution for manufacturing environments.
Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners is a relatively new fund that was started about a year and a half ago.
Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners is a fund focused on the future of work, specifically the changing dynamics of careers, work environments, job types, and global work due to factors such as automation, mobility, globalization, freelance and gig work, and AI.
Our investment thesis focuses on early-stage companies with some revenue and early indicators of product-market fit, and we are willing to lead or follow on investments within that core area, such as our investment in Spaceman, a workforce health and safety solution for large manufacturing environments; analyzing and making decisions on ideas from entrepreneurs can be challenging.
03:13 💼 Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners prioritizes founder determination and potential over the business itself, investing globally and emphasizing the importance of a great founder who can navigate the journey to success with support.
Investments by Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners are not limited to the United States, as they prioritize the determination and potential of the founder rather than the business itself.
The speaker, who is not a finance expert, shares that his successes in starting multiple businesses came after experiencing failure multiple times, and emphasizes the importance of having a great founder who can navigate the journey to success with support.
The idea for investment must align with the firm's thesis, be capital efficient, and have a path that may have unexpected twists and turns.
06:36 📊 The founding partners and GPS at Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners have a strong working relationship and make investment decisions together, with both partners needing to be in agreement and present their argument to the investment committee for approval.
The two founding partners and two other GPS at Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners make decisions together based on their long-standing working relationship.
The investment committee at Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners, led by Greg Moran and IRA, evaluates companies and makes investment decisions together, with both needing to be in agreement before proceeding, and they have never made an investment where one was supportive and the other was against it.
Both partners need to be in agreement and present their argument to the investment committee, and if anyone on the committee disagrees, the move will likely not be made.
09:08 📈 Founders and investors need outside perspectives to ensure a good return on investment, and Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners has attracted long-term investors despite being first-time fund managers due to their successful track record and reputation for being helpful and challenging.
Smart, experienced people with a lot of accomplishments are often admired and loved by the speaker, who finds a connection with them based on their energy and being a founder.
Founders and investors need outside perspectives to ensure the best possible return on investment, as personal biases can cloud judgment.
The speaker discusses their first fund, a small $10 million fund, and how their track record as successful operators has attracted long-term investors who trust them despite being first-time fund managers.
Investors like big family offices and institutional funds typically don't invest in first-time funds, so Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners relies on past investors and has a reputation for being helpful and challenging, and the speaker wonders about other companies they have invested in.
12:53 📈 Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners has made investments in Chatterworks, cpal, an ATS and workforce management system in India, and a suite of applications for small businesses in Latin and South America to streamline talent acquisition processes.
The speaker discusses their portfolio and mentions that they have made their first investment just over a year ago and are continuing to make investments.
Chatterworks is a company that is revolutionizing the staffing industry by using predictive analytics to connect recruiters with talent, while cpal is another interesting company.
Investment firm Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners has invested in an ATS and workforce management system based in India, as well as a suite of applications for small businesses in Latin and South America, aiming to help large enterprises and staffing firms manage vendor relationships and streamline talent acquisition processes.
16:01 🏔️ Founders created a supportive community, connected, and learned from each other in a fun summer camp experience in Colorado.
The speaker wanted to create a supportive community for founders to connect and share experiences, which was lacking in previous ventures, and this experience was incredibly positive.
Founders in a room together quickly connected and taught each other, resulting in an incredible experience.
The speaker describes a fun and unconventional summer camp experience in the mountains of Colorado, where they rented RVs and had the freedom to move around.
19:10 📞 Founders should approach Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners GP at any stage, focusing on understanding the person and idea, asking relevant questions, and having a product being bought by someone in their target market, knowing the capital needed and how it fits their thesis.
Founders should approach Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners GP at any stage, with a focus on understanding the person and the idea, and they should ask relevant questions.
We are always willing to spend time and provide guidance to people who understand us and our thesis area, even if we don't invest in their ideas.
To get in contact with Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners, you need to have a product that is being bought by someone in your target market, know how much capital you need and how long it will last, and explain how your idea fits their thesis.
22:24 📝 Narrowing down your market and building a product for a niche audience is crucial for early stage startups to attract customers and generate testimonials, rather than focusing on the size of the total addressable market.
Greg Moran from Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners shares his best tip for founders who are starting up and not quite ready for investment yet.
Narrowing down your market and building a product specifically for a niche audience is crucial for early stage startups to attract customers and generate testimonials.
Focus on acquiring your first five customers and demonstrating how you will reach them, rather than boasting about the size of your total addressable market.
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