EP94: Funding Your Business Beyond the Launch Phase – An interview with Leah Madden

Lean the F*ck Out | Fempreneurs | Women Entrepreneurs | Female Business Owners

In this episode of Lean the F*ck Out, we talk with Leah Madden, founder and managing director of Greenprint Growth Partners, about how she helps companies maximize value beyond the launch phase and find the right funding strategies to match with their growth plans.

Funding Your Business Beyond the Launch Phase Episode Highlights:

• All companies should have some sort of a plan for capital building (funding), no matter the size.
• To create a strong investor pipeline, target: investors that work with companies at your stage and focus on the industry or sector your company is in.
• Companies with investors as their main funding source, should have 20-30 investors in their circle of trust.
• Relationship management is critical to all funding.
• Companies should have three main focus areas: 1. Customers 2. Operations 3. Investors.
• As early as possible have a cash flow statement for your company. This will create a runway (number of months your company will be able to exist based on the capital you have) for you to understand your funding needs.
• A company in growth mode is likely managing more for cash flow than profitability.
• There are many ways to fund a business, including: bank loans, grants, crowdfunding, self-funding, raising capital from investors.
• Trying to think of self as your most important employee. How would you treat her? What environment would she be the most effective and productive in?

Leah Madden

Leah is the founder and managing director of Greenprint Growth Partners, where she helps companies maximize value beyond the launch phase, with a focus on startup and growth strategy, exit and M&A scenario analysis, capital markets research, and capital raising.

Before starting Greenprint, Leah's career was in the consumer sector, primarily focused on food and beverage products and services. She oversaw corporate strategy and asset management for a San Francisco private portfolio, and held general management and operations roles for Marriott International and Two Roads Hospitality. She started her career managing small businesses, and considers that experience to be a cornerstone of her business philosophy and investment thesis.

Leah holds an MBA from USC Marshall’s global business program (IBEAR), and a Bachelor’s in psychology from UC Berkeley.

You can find Leah online at:

Website: www.greenprintgrowth.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/leahmadden Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GPGrowth/ Free pitch deck review: https://www.greenprintgrowth.com/pitchdeckreview

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Music: Sunshine by The Icicles