Kimmy Paluch of Beta Boom: Reframing Your Mindset for an Effective Ask

Kimmy Paluch is the managing partner of Beta Boom, a pre-seed fund that invests in founders who've been overlooked due to gender, race, or background. Beta Boom uses an academy approach that provides an intense hands-on apprenticeship structure focused on developing the founders, not just the businesses. The majority of Beta Boom’s investments are in companies based in rising U.S tech hubs like Salt Lake City, Chicago, and the Midwest as they seek to change the patterns of old venture capital and close the access gaps that founders in those regions face. 

Before joining Beta Boom, Kimmy worked as a founder, product manager, and product experience designer for dozens of startups. She holds a BA in Computer Science from Dartmouth and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn

• Speed round with Kimmy Paluch
• Kimmy explains why her current process of raising funds is her biggest and scariest ask
• The mental shift you need to boost your confidence before approaching investors
• Telling signs that indicate interest from a potential investor
• How Kimmy distinguishes her asks and the importance of having a strong relationship with your investors
• Why you need to reframe your mindset prior to a pitch and how different advisors can help improve your ask
• Kimmy shares why she focuses her work with underrepresented founders 
• Why you need to put value on human capital if you want to be successful in business
• The benefits of employing the sports academy model in preparing your pitch
• Why Kimmy says yes to pitches that has value alignment

In this episode…

When founders want to meet with investors, they often come from the premise that they are meeting with them for an ask; but according to Kimmy Paluch, says that needs to change. Why? Because if you present an investment opportunity rather than a pitch, you’re not only going to feel more confident about yourself, the chances of piquing the interest of potential investors increases as well. Shifting the conversation from a one-sided ask to a mutually beneficial engagement makes all the difference for that particular meeting.

Kimmy Paluch says that how you frame your mind, whether you’re pitching for the first time or pitching for the hundredth time, will determine the outcome of your ask. But how can you shift your mindset into one that invites a positive outcome? How do you battle feelings of vulnerability in the process of making your ask?

Join Stephanie Sims in this episode of What’s Your Ask as she interviews Kimmy Paluch of Beta Boom about the best practices for fundraising and why you need to focus on shifting your mindset in order to have a confident and effective ask. They’ll be discussing the telltale signs of investor interest, why the sports academy approach is helpful when looking to improve your pitch, and the true value of human capital in a successful business. Stay tuned.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• Beta Boom
• Kimmy Paluch on LinkedIn 
• Email: [email protected]
• Kimmy Paluch on Twitter
• Finance-Ability
• Stephanie Sims
• Stephanie Sims LinkedIn

Sponsor for this episode...

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