Balancing the Entrepreneur-Investor Power Dynamics with Keith Ippel of Spring

Keith Ippel is an ecosystem builder, keynote speaker, and advisor to incubators, accelerators, donors, and governments. With over 20 years of experience as a leader in technology and impact businesses, Keith has helped accelerate the growth of small and large companies alike and has raised over 30 million in angel investment and venture capital. Moreover, his background has given him an unparalleled ability to collaborate with entrepreneurs, employees, and investors to grow businesses and change the world. 

Keith now leads Spring, a global incubator and accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ecosystem organizations to build better businesses and change the world. To date, Spring has supported entrepreneurs in over 30 cities across five continents, while its impact programs have helped over 750 entrepreneurs launch more than 350 businesses and raised over 24 million in early-stage capital.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• Speed round with Keith Ippel of Spring
• Keith recalls his most significant asks
• How entrepreneurs are mismanaging relationships with investors 
• How to better understand how investors think 
• What It means to balance the power dynamic between entrepreneurs and investors
• Understanding the different aspects of an angel investor’s ‘no’
• How Keith decides which asks to accept or decline 

In this episode…

The single biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make when raising funds is to treat investors like a bank account that they need to access. According to Keith Ippel, this creates an unbalanced power dynamic which leaves the entrepreneur feeling vulnerable. As a result, entrepreneurs try and regain this balance by keeping investors at an arm's length the moment they get the check. Keith says that this is far from ideal because the reality is, the relationship between the entrepreneur and the investor being equal is a choice that they make from day one.

Find out more about balancing the entrepreneur-investor power dynamic in this episode of the What’s Your Ask with Stephanie Sims, as she discusses with Keith Ippel of Spring. They’ll be talking about how entrepreneurs are mismanaging relationships with investors, best tips on how to better understand how investors think, and more. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• Spring
• Keith Ippel on LinkedIn 
• Leart Zogjani on LinkedIn 
• Elizabeth Yin on LinkedIn 
• How I Built This with Guy Raz
• Great Big Story
• Finance-Ability
• Stephanie Sims
• 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.

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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.