Should Investors Befriend Founders and Solo GP Life with Ethan Austin
- Joe Magyer
- 14 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Ethan Austin is the Founder and General Partner of Outside VC. Outside is a Boulder-based firm with a focus on pre-seed startups, outsider founders, and financial inclusion. We talked about why Ethan whether investors should be friends with founders, fintech, what it was like running Techstars Boulder during Covid, and life as a solo GP.
The episode is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube Music.
Chapters
01:09 The Importance of Founders' Origin Stories
03:12 Understanding Outsider Founders
05:44 Navigating Tough Conversations with Founders
07:00 Ownership Percentages and Investor Relationships
09:29 Passion for Financial Inclusion
11:45 Current Trends in FinTech
14:54 Running Techstars Boulder During COVID
16:39 The Transition from Founder to Investor
19:07 Advice for Aspiring Venture Firm Founders
21:07 The State of Pre-Seed Investing
22:21 Common Mistakes of First-Time Founders
26:32 Evolving Perspectives on Founders and Partnerships
28:11 Evaluating Founders, Markets, and Products
29:19 Optimizing Deal Flow and Building Relationships
32:07 Identifying Excellence in Founders
34:08 Closing Remarks and Future Outlook
Takeaways on Solo GP Life and Whether Investors Should Befriend Founders
Origin Story is Everything: Grit and personal motivation trump polish.
Friendship = Honest Feedback: Real relationships demand tough truths.
Running a Good Fundraising Process Matters: Smart process beats a perfect pitch.
Pre-Seed Valuations Remain High: Founders must focus on momentum, not benchmarks.
Solo Doesn't Mean Slower: Solo founders and GPs can move faster without decision bottlenecks.
Financial Inclusion as a Driving Mission: Real impact over surface-level fintech hype.
Consumer Startups Reawakening: Thanks to AI, the consumer space is interesting again.
The content here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal or tax advice. The opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect the views of Seaplane Ventures. Our host, guests and clients may hold investments discussed in this podcast. Please invest responsibly.
