Kate Beardsley of Upslope Ventures - Asking for References is Always a Good Idea!

Kate Beardsley is a venture capitalist, angel investor, and business strategist. She is Managing Partner at Upslope Ventures (Galvanize Ventures), she also serves on the Board Vice-Chair of Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association and is a board member at the Rockies Venture Club.

Kate is also an active member of the Colorado Technology Community, and prior to joining Upslope, she started funds for Lerer Hippeau and did business strategy for Martha Stewart. Kate serves as a mentor for both TechStars and Galvanize; she has appeared on CNBC and Fox News, and she has been featured on CNN and in the Denver Business Journal.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn

• Speed round with Kate Beardsley
• Kate talks about working for Martha Stewart and why she can’t refuse it
• How to get decision makers on board with your idea
• Kate shares her opinion on the best way to communicate your ask in uncertain situations 
• Kate talks about becoming a venture capitalist and how her previous experience shaped her communication skills 
• The importance of asking for references in filtering advice and how founders can ask for them
• Is raising funds an achievement founders should brag about? 
• Why even founders with marketing and sales knowledge struggle with fundraising 
• The value of building relationships for references and the benefits you get from them
• Kate discusses why it’s important for her to set her schedule and priorities before replying to an ask

In this episode…

One big mistake founders often make is not investing time and energy in researching about their investors before making an ask. They don’t take the time to find out what their potential investors want and need and as a result, they often make asks that get turned down by investors because it leaves them feeling lackluster about the opportunity. But Kate Beardsley says that doesn’t have to be the end of the founder-investor relationship. 

Kate says that building genuine relationships post-ask is a crucial part of maintaining ties and connections in the business industry. Not only that, it’s an opportunity for continued growth, learning, and can be a great resource for references that can help with future asks.

In this episode of What’s Your Ask, Stephanie Sims talks to Kate Beardsley, Managing Partner at Upslope Ventures, about the importance of relationship building even when you get turned down after a pitch. She also explains the importance of references when filtering out advice and the best ways to get these, the different approaches in getting funding from VCs, and find out why it’s imperative for her to set her priorities before replying to an ask. Stay tuned. 

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• Upslope Ventures 
• Kate Beardsley’s email: [email protected]
• Kate Beardsley on LinkedIn 
• Martha Stewart on LinkedIn
• Ben Lerer on LinkedIn 
• Trello
• Asana
• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• Gettings Things Done by David Allen on Audible
• Finance-Ability
• Stephanie Sims LinkedIn

Sponsor for this episode...

Finance-Ability is a boutique consulting firm dedicated to helping business owners and startups find their best options for growth funding. Founded by financial strategist and transaction expert Stephanie Sims, Finance-Ability can help any business owner identify the right funding partners and get through fundraising as painlessly as possible.

Visit their website to take their online assessment test to help you find out which kind of funding is the best fit for your business right now. They also have a ton of resources to help you understand business processes and financial decision-making that can help you start and build your own empire so be sure to check them out.

Stephanie has over 20 years of experience having worked with companies like Goldman Sachs and CSFB. If there’s anyone with their heart in the right place when it comes to championing the dreams of small business owners and startup companies, Stephanie is that person. Let Finance-Ability help you get the funding you need and deserve to get your dreams soaring high towards your own brand of success.

Most households have an unsolved Rubiks Cube but you can easily solve it learning a few algorithms.