Episode 44: What Nobody Tells You About Pre-seed Funding with Stephanie Nightingale, the Founder of Stimmie

Sep 15

This week’s episode is a dream for me. It’s exactly the kind of content I set out to make when I started this podcast. Stephanie Nightingale, the founder of Stimmie, the first reusable toothpick, is breaking down everything you need to know about going from pre-concept to being in the proof of concept stage.

It’s very rare to hear people in the pre-seed, or proof of concept stage, talk deeply and frankly about the funding process and how they got their first investors. But Steph is getting real about her personal experience and passing her wisdom along to you guys. This is really the shit that no one talks about or wants you to know. She’s leaving you with great tips on how to talk to investors, and how she achieved her goal of having 300 conversations.

When I heard that 300 number I was astounded. I never knew how founders spent their days in the early stages of getting a business off the ground, but Steph demonstrates that entrepreneurship is all about connectivity. There’s no blueprint for any of this, so it’s about learning from others’ experiences and getting feedback on what you’re doing. Whether that’s product specific, business advice, or even testing brand messaging.

I had to ask her about her pitch. As someone in the early stages of a startup, the pitch is everything. It’s my bible. But in those 300 calls she wasn’t just doing her pitch over and over again. She said that she was just telling her story, and that’s what people really want to know. Steph and I are also diving deep on simplifying brand messaging.

As founders, we’re so deep in the weeds of what our products are and what their value is. But as Steph says, we really need to dumb it down for people. Distillation can be so challenging, but Steph is walking through how she got there with her product, so hopefully you can apply the same process to your businesses.

This episode is great for all my super early stage founders. You guys are going to learn the process of building a business plan, seeking funding, and refining the product through multiple iterations. This is a super tactical episode, but one that’s also filled with honesty and vulnerability. I am so grateful to Steph for sharing her expertise and experience with all of you.

Here are the key takeaways from the episode: