S2EP5: Why Should We DeRisk Ourselves with Meredith McAllister

She had a solid product that solved a real problem, plus unshakeable conviction. And yet, before she could get down to business, Meredith McAllister still had to prove she belonged in the room. 

In this episode of The Capital Flex, I sit down with Meredith McAllister, two-time founder, advisor, and writer based in Kansas City. Meredith built and sold Compost Collective, then co-founded Marma Health, a mobile platform that supports nutrition for women through fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. She now works with early-stage founders navigating burnout, transition, and reinvention—and writes about it all on her Substack, Diary of an Ex-Founder.

We get into the investor meeting where two men, both fathers, told her maternal nutrition wasn’t a problem worth solving. We unpack the invisible de-risking tax female founders pay just to get to the pitch. And we talk about what it was like for Meredith to watch her husband move through the same rooms, at the same time, never once having to prove a thing.

Key Takeaways:

• The de-risking tax is real. Female founders often pre-justify childcare, commitment, and leadership before the business can even begin.
• Investor behavior is data. If they don’t understand the problem up front, they won’t advocate for you after you close.
• Watching a male founder move through the same system at the same time made the structural gap impossible to ignore. There were more yeses, fewer barriers, and doors that seemed to open on their own.
• Male founders get promotion questions. Female founders get prevention questions. Knowing the difference helps you read the room faster.
• Customer validation is your armor. Walk in with more proof than you think you need so your conviction is grounded in evidence, not just belief.
• The right investor is not the one you have to convince. It’s the one who already gets it.

My Reflection & Challenge:

I can’t stop thinking about how normalized it’s become to expect women founders to justify themselves before they’re allowed to showcase the business they’re building. Meredith didn’t have a traction problem or a product problem. She had a pattern recognition problem. Investors only back what—or who—they know, and too often that excludes female founders. That is not a Meredith problem. It’s a system problem.

This Week's Challenge:

Before your next investor conversation, get clear on three things:

• What questions do you tend to answer before they’re even asked? Those are your de-risking instincts. Know where they come from.
• Are you walking in to convince, or to evaluate? The energy should be mutual.
• Write down one concrete data point that reframes the market for someone who doesn’t live inside the problem.

Capital is not just money. It’s a long-term relationship. Choose wisely.

Links and Resources: 

https://diaryofanexfounder.substack.com/

https://linkedin.com/in/meredithmcallister 

If you enjoyed this conversation, follow The Capital Flex, leave a rating, and share this episode with a founder who needs it.

And if you’re looking for a more candid space to talk fundraising, power, and building inside systems not designed for you, stay close. The conversation continues.

Production and Administration work completed by Smart Podcast Solutions and Elevate Business Solutions. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

This is the Capital Flex. I'm Naseem Saini. This show codifies the Capital Playbook because no founder should have to learn the hard way. We talk about what really happens behind closed doors. The bias, the breakthroughs, and the things no one says out loud. If you've ever walked into a room and felt the system wasn't built for you, you're in the right place. Hello and welcome to the Capital Flex. My guest today is Meredith McAllister. She is a two-time founder, advisor, and writer who has built companies from bootstrapped growth to angel-backed fundraising. After founding and exiting one company, Compost Collective, and later co-founding a women's health startup called Marma Health, she experienced firsthand the identity shifts that come with growth, motherhood, and evolving leadership roles. Today, Meredids works with founders navigating burnout, transition, and reinvention, helping them find clarity and steadiness without abandoning themselves in the process. Meredids and I first met when she was building Marma Health and we became fast friends, which for anyone who's been listening to the podcast, that's a theme that comes up over and over again. And she was building something smart and savvy, and I was instantly intrigued. And so I am so excited to have you here with me today. Thank you for joining the pod. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I I distinctly remember running into meeting you at JPM and immediately thinking you are somebody I need to talk with more. And just those early conversations when I was working with Marma. So thrilled to be here in this context.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

I so appreciate it. So for everyone listening, if you could introduce yourself a little bit more and tell everyone just a little bit more about the companies you've built and maybe a little bit about what Marma was after.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Yeah, sure. So yeah, as you mentioned, I'm a two-time founder. My first company was a compost company. I'm actually based here in Kansas City. And that was my first foray into entrepreneurship and learned so much. It was a bootstrap company. We sold our Honda Fit at the time and bought buckets and really grew organically throughout the city. And what was interesting though, throughout that time period, in the four years that we had that business, I had my first kid. So I realized what I learned what it was like to own a business and navigate maternity leave or lack thereof. And then we had the pandemic and we were an essential business during that time. So it was a really intense period. I got pregnant with my youngest, and that's when I realized that I need this period to end. And so we sold compost. And I think maybe a couple of months later, I had my youngest, and I took a breath as much as I could and was enormously frustrated with the lack of nutrition resources that exist for pregnancy and postpartum specifically. And so that's when I started Marma. And Marma, we launched it as a mobile app, but a tech platform for fertility, pregnancy, postpartum nutrition, really guiding women along on what they should be eating during this time. And with Marma, because it was really in the tech space and women's health space, that's where we realized that we needed to raise money. And so we raised angel funding. We we spoke with many different VCs, but that was that was a much different game because we were, we are in women's health and you're growing this consumer-focused brand. And there's a lot, a lot of learnings with that as well.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Yeah, no, I can I can only imagine. And that's more of what we're going to hear about. So, and you know, the the mission of the podcast and the reason for it to exist was to get into the legendary fundraising stories that that women go through as they're building companies. And it's within women's health and and beyond. It's a cross-sector. And and a lot of the you know, Sunday night phone calls that I get and the text messages and emails that come my way are about the really hard stuff and the the painful experiences, the weird meetings, the you know, strange interactions. And and what I wanted to do was pull all of that up and just talk about it out loud and and hopefully give other founders a way to have a toolkit, take some notes, hear some insights, and and have a way to walk into rooms with more preparation and better, better insight into what happens and and how to walk in with a better way to be ready for for whatever could happen when they walk in. So to kick us off, if you could describe your fundraising experience in three words, what three words would you use?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

A roller coaster, resilience building, and a gut punch.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah, no, that's great. I I love it. Well, tell us, tell us a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

You know, I think that when you're building a company, in building a company, any startup, I feel like is a roller coaster. You know, there are moments where you're like, oh my gosh, I am solving so many problems. This is going so well. And then on the other side, it's like, ugh. And I think that fundraising is very similar. You're gonna have some conversations where investors are going to see it. They're gonna see you, they're gonna get it. And those are the moments where you feel on top of the world and you have that validation. And then there are other moments where you walk out like your shoulders hunched, like it is a gut punch, like this. What am I doing? And that's when it's just so unfortunate. I think, especially for women's health, because you begin to question what it is that you're building and question everything. And you know, all the validation I think that you would had previously, I think all it takes is one investor to say, that's why, you know, like I don't see it at all. And so this thing that you're so you're intimately working on, you're just you you lose so much faith. And and that's where it's just like but, but you work hopefully you can work through it. And that's I think where the resiliency comes in. You're like, okay, no, I got I have this is a good product, this is a good solution. I am gonna keep pushing through through. And hopefully the next meeting is is better. It's better, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Yeah, no, yeah. A lot of it, a lot of it takes a real grounding in in belief and vision and a commitment to what you're after, kind of regardless of what the naysayers are going to say. And and every every fundraising round takes what a hundred no's to get to the one yes, and not taking it personal along the way is is a skill in and of itself. And it's come up in a few conversations that getting used to that takes some reps. Uh, and that's the the resilience comes in in continuing to stand up right after after those really hard moments. So that's that's that's real. That's it's quite real. And it's true on the it's true on the fund manager side too, because we a lot of similar conversations happen where people I had many conversations when I was raising my last fund where they would say, Oh, women's health, oh, okay, oh, female founders, oh, okay, oh, so that's nice. And you go, yes, it's nice. It's also money making given the amount of data that exists, but let's not worry about the data. Let's just talk about the opportunity space. And I'm not, you know, I'm not here to really educate, but I'm here to inspire. And if this isn't going to inspire, then let's let's call it and I'll talk to the next person and it's okay, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:06

I think that grit is really important as a founder, you know. It's not, it's not all bad. I think that you have some really hard conversations. You like you said, you're gonna hear a lot of no's and it's tough, but being a founder as a whole is tough.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

And so there's just a lot of, you know, grit that's needed. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. So take us through one of your, I know you have a few good stories. Tell it, take us through one of your, take us through one of your your best ones.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

So I think one of the one that stands out to me the most, I'll actually, it's it's a two, a layered story. So I had spent the weekend or a week in New York, and I had a really lovely breakfast with some angel investors, and it was all really positive. I I just remember walking away, I think like having really great conversations, feeling really good about things. And I went straight from that to taking a call with an investor, and he was uh it was two men, and I think they were both in their 30s. They both had kids. And I, so I'm pitching, you know, and this was kind of you're coming off of the high. Like, oh, I already had a really, I was already with these like really high-powered women who are so incredible. They love what I'm building, they see it, they get it straight to this meeting and my tiny little hotel room, and I'm pitching. And the questions that they were asking, like, I just they're like, I don't see that maternal health is a problem, that there's anything that you know, the nutrition is an issue. Like you go through all the emotions, well, yeah, but like 95% of pregnant women have a nutritional deficiency, and that's what that's what we're trying to solve. And they're like, I just don't see it. And they're like, maternal health, this is such a small time frame. Yes, it like in the grand scheme of things, sure. If you have one kid, you have the fertility pregnancy postpartum, it's a few years, but they're really impactful years. And also it's not, you know, just a tiny blip on the radar. It's a pretty, it is, it's it's long. And I think, and I walked away from that and I remember just feeling so disheartened on the plane ride home, thinking that this was like what again, like what am I doing here? And it's just wild having to explain like that that over and over again that this is a problem. This is there, there's data behind it, we are solving it, like this is something that we can help. And having somebody, this you know, guy who had seen his wife go through this whole process. I'm like, and he's like, I just don't, just completely discounting it.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

It's fascinating, right? Because it's sure, it's nine months, and but there's prep that goes into having a quality nine months. The human that comes from that nine months, their entire being relies on the quality of that nine months. So this investor's ability to think, his ability to walk, his ability to process information, his ability to make decisions is reliant on the quality of the nine months he spent in his mother's womb. And so to think that it's not a thing, it's it's it's it's it's baffling, right? And his children to think that that quality of nutrition during that nine months has no bearing on his own children's ability to have critical thinking skills, to grow well, to exceed the expectations of you how they develop, it's to be that dismissive is really fascinating.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Yeah, it's wild. And it yeah, it's surprising. It's always so surprising when you're talking with somebody who who has kids and they have seen this, and we all want the best for our kids. And so it that that doesn't start at birth, that's before.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Do you think there's a different way to have that conversation? Or is there's as you look back on it, is there a different stance to take or a learning out of that for you that is that were to happen again that you would approach it differently?

SPEAKER_00 10:50

You know, I think that's a great question. And I think even what we just right now talking about how the impact of of our entire being and of our kids, I think is probably what the focus would have been. Not necessarily, this is a terrible way to say, but probably with him focusing a little bit less on the woman and the mom, but maybe more on the kids and the kids' health. But again, in that situation, you're you're being a little dismissive of the woman carrying the child. So I'm not sure. I'm not sure if there is a better way. I'm sure I, you know, if there is, I'd love to know.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Yeah. Yeah. No, it's interesting because you almost have to, yeah, you have to tell the story differently, right? There has to be a a change in mental health issues or a change in birth defects, or there's some other data point that would have landed with him and made it relevant or resonant, but he wasn't getting there. And so it's it's an exploration question. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Both really fed off of each other. Like, yeah, no, this doesn't make this doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

And they so they're clearly not the investor for you, right? It's it's definitely not someone you want on your cap table if they don't understand the problem to begin with.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Exactly. And I think that that's something that was made pretty clear on is that it is a two-way street. And I think that as you know, peop as people are thinking, setting out on their fundraising journey, that it you want people who are going to be your advocate, who see and understand the problem. And if they don't right away, that they get it eventually, that you know, and that they're gonna support you because you that would have been horrible if they actually were like, well, you know, we don't get it, we don't see it, but we'll invest. That would have been a really terrible journey. And so I think that it's it's a good reminder that you want people who are gonna understand.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Right. Yeah, you would have been justifying the business every step of the way if they weren't bought in up front. Yep, exactly. What tell us another one?

SPEAKER_00 12:46

What what else is in the bag from your you know, I think the like the general the general theme that that I encountered when speaking with investors was really learning how to de-risk myself and understand like when I go into a room, I first have to, I I am a mom. I as I said, I have two young kids. And so I say I, you know, I have two kids. But the first point of de-risking there is, but I have child care. And so like, let's just, you know, I we childcare is not gonna be a problem. I have full-time care. So I can I will show up. We don't have to worry about that. And then the second is that it's a women's health company and that, you know, can raise flags. And so to then say, I guess, but this is half the population, this is a real problem. And then I can get into the business. And I think that that's something that you learn as a female founder that in women's health that our male counterparts don't necessarily have to do. And I was talking with my husband about that. Like, yeah, he's like, I've never had to say anything about having childcare, you know, there's just an assumption that he does. But I as a mother have to clarify, no, no, I am all in on this company. I'm not, you know, I'm not gonna show up halfway. I will be there. My kids are not gonna distract me. And that's I think a really terrible thing that we have to do. And that was just a really frustrating thing. Like multiple times, I think that's really how I would come how you would lead in. Like, well, I'm here, but let me tell you all the reasons why, you know, I can remove those those risks for you.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

It's really insane to have to de-risk your existence before you can talk about the company that you're building and it and to have to qualify so much about still your ability to lead when our male counterparts don't have to do any of those things. There's never a question about children. There's never a question about their their family planning, their life, or because the assumption is that, oh, well, they must, they must have a wife, food handles all those things. Whereas there's never that assumption about what what support. Well, there is the question about what support women have or whether they don't have it, or how will they handle running a business whilst also handling a family. And the the burden is so high and when it shouldn't be. And there's also the phrase out there, right? And I've said this to people that if you're gonna get anything done, you have to ask a mom to do it because she's getting everything else done and she will get this done also. You want it done, you ask a mom, she'll get it done because everything else is getting done also, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Yes, it's it is it's such a disservice to women that that that de-risking has to happen. But I will say on the flip side, thinking of the investors and some of our angel investors who were women and who were moms and who got it and who were so supportive, that doesn't exist. They, you know, they see the having kids and everything as a really great thing and that they're adding, you know, to your life and to your business. And so I, you know, you just lean into those relationships. But yeah, it's terrible. I mean, yeah, my husband and I were just talking. It's like I've just never had to. It's I think it's even a good thing, like, oh, you have kids, you're a family guy. But we also know, you know, that yeah, somebody else is gonna handle every all the other little details of childcare.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Yeah, when I was in, I grew up in consulting, I'm a recovering consultant, and it would come up there also. And the assumption, right, was that well, all the male partners had wives at home who took care of their lives. And I found myself when I got senior enough, saying often, like, I don't, I don't have a wife at home, and and neither does my husband, to be clear. And so, like, we I have to take care of those things, and so I'm going to have to leave at six o'clock, right? I just, I'm not, I can't just stay till nine because we're all staying till nine. But it was a funny thing to say out loud because when you say it out loud, all of a sudden the other partners in the room go, Oh no, right, because they haven't actually thought about it out loud. And then you say it out loud and they the realization is like quite it like hits them on the forehead. Uh, it's a really funny, it's a funny, it's a funny experience to say it out loud in those rooms.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Yeah, yeah, I was on a text chain the other day and somebody who said, Oh, her wife takes care takes care of everything. Like, I need a wife.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

That sounds great. They on yeah, the everything gets done. Gosh, I could use one of those. Oh my gosh. So your husband is also a founder, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Yes, early stage. He actually started his company um a year after I started Marma. So we were really in the churches together.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

How was it watching him build a business and and also fundraise in in parallel? Well, you know, after you, but in parallel to you. I have to assume you were sharing notes on things as you went. And and to some extent, maybe he was taking notes from you early on. So take take us through that that experience. It was wild.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

And I yeah, so our offices, we both were from home. Our offices are right across the hall from each other. So so many times we'll just pop over and be like, oh my gosh, I just spoke with this person or I just got this partnership. And as he began his raise, that's when it really became clear like, oh, this is a different system, or the system is not built for both of us. And, you know, obviously, like 95% of the time, it's so great because we could share those notes. And and that because I started early, and this was like building a company, a tech company, you know, the learning curve was so early on in those days, in the early days. And there were a lot of times where yeah, I could say, like, hey, this is why you want to be a C Corp. This is why you want to go this path versus this. It was, it was clear as we went on and he started raising money. Like, this is he'd come out of some meetings and it would just be, I think the boys club became a little bit more evident. Okay, like, oh, you know, like well, uh yeah, you know, we worked at this company, like, oh, let me connect you to this person. And there were so many more yeses, especially at that early in those early meetings. And I wrote distinctly remember too when he got his first no in his first race, and it was devastating. And I was like, This is like I've only been getting those. Like, welcome to the club, friend. How does it feel? Yeah, it's not fun, is it? But uh yeah, so there's you know, deep admiration for what he's building, and and I think it's real his company because he's also in health tech and his company, it's in the clinical trial space, so there are aspects of it for that improve women's health. And so you fully support that that part of it and what he's doing, but I think hearing some of the some of those conversations were hard.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

What was his reaction to your experience after going through his own fundraise?

SPEAKER_00 19:33

I think when we were, I was raising, so we did our initial raise long before he started his first company. And then we started speaking with BCs around the time that he was starting his company. And so he was watching me, I think, probably thinking raising was like really, really hard. It was looking back, and then I will also say then he started his pre-seed round and it was, you know, it was pretty easy. It was good. It went really well for him, which is, you know, great. Uh I was kind of gritting my teeth a little bit. But I think looking back, that's when you now a couple of years out from from both of us being in it or being in it at the same time. I think we you can just see how things are just set up differently and how the reception to him walking into the room and having those initial meetings is just different, kind of to what we spoke about of the de-risking. He doesn't have to do that. He had meetings with people with that he had maybe worked at the same corporation. It's just like an instant connection, and women don't have that as much. You know, it's that kind of that boys' club that goes a lot deeper than just that, like that first meeting, if that makes sense. There's it's just more connections and a bigger network.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

The network is greased, it's greased differently, right? That's where a lot of the the roadblocks hit, and you just realize that this like it's just it's a lot harder.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

We we talk a lot about prevention versus promotion questions, also between male founders and female founders, and how women get de-risking questions. And so, you know, why is CAC so high? Or you know, tell us about that COGS line, etc. Whereas male founders will get, oh gosh, you know, that that growth rate looks amazing. How much higher could that go? Or that revenue looks great. How much more revenue could there be? Did you both ever compare notes on the kinds of questions you got and see that kind of difference tangibly?

SPEAKER_00 21:26

We did not. And a lot of it was because we were, while we were both building health tech companies, there were different buyers. His was a little bit more enterprise, mine was a little more consumer. So it was, it was different in that. But there were, I mean, there were a couple, especially in the earlier, early, early days. We would both speak with some have had conversations with the same investors. And I think the outcomes were just different.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

I would grip my teeth also. It would drive me nuts to have to listen to fundraising conversations across the hall and be looking over there, going, Are you serious right now? That is not how it went for me.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

It was that that is not at all how it went down for me. And I mean, I think I have to give credit where credit's due. He's like one of the first people, if he's met with somebody whose thesis was around women's health, was like making that introduction and trying, you know, to open those doors, which was really obviously really helpful. But yeah, it was there were times like this is it's just it's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 22:23

Yeah. What are what are your three or four maybe big must-nos for for female founders who may be kicking off their fundraise soon or thinking about fundraising soon? What do you, what do you want them to know?

SPEAKER_00 22:37

It's interesting because I now work with so many early founders. And I think the biggest thing that I say is is customer validation. Do more than you think. Women, female founders are really good at finding a solution to a problem, a very real problem. That's amazing and wonderful. I think that there's still not quite enough early customer validation. So do more so that when you walk into that room, when you start to raise, that you can so confidently and solidly say, this is needed. It's not just me, it's not just a couple of other people. Like we have talked, we have done, we have done our work so that you're coming in really prepared and can confidently say, like, this is it's this problem. We are solving this problem. Kind of like what we spoke about in the beginning of that grit and resiliency, know that there are going to be conversations that are going to really feel like they're throwing you off track. And and you can't let that derail, derail your fundraise, derail where you're headed. You have to have the ability to know in those hard conversations, is there truth in what they're saying? You know, is there something that I can learn? Something, you know, because it's not, it might not all be wrong, but like, are there any nuggets that you can pull and then just move on? Let them go and move on. And then I think again, as we spoke about, it's a two-way street. So when you're as you're starting out and you're building your CRM with all the investors you're going to talk to and you're having those conversations, and there are going to be people who are going to light you up and you're going to think, I want this person, I want this person on my team. Those are the ones you lean into. And if you're having to really pull them along and really educate them on everything and they're getting everything, move on.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

Right. Yeah, no, absolutely. It's good advice because sometimes we can we can get spun up in trying to convince rather than truly understanding when they're not going to get there. Uh and just find you have to find the investors that want you. And like that, and knowing what the what the touch points are for that, or it's you learn it as you meet people and you go double date, they're going to get it. And if they get it, then you lean in. And if not, then let them be. And it's okay, right? There's other people. Do you have thoughts for investors? Like, are there other things that investors could be doing differently to make this work better for women?

SPEAKER_00 24:56

That's a good question. And I'm not sure I have a great answer. I think it's I there is a a layer that it's on the investor to help, as I was talking about with de-risking myself. How can the investor eliminate that? That's a hard thing. And I think for for some people, that's just how they how they are. They see, they see the mom, they see, oh, this is gonna be a problem. But I think I'm trying to think of the investors who are in my mind like they're doing it right. And I think it's the ones who are just who are they're willing to listen. They do their work on understanding the problem. And also I think they give really good feedback. I think some of the best feedback we got for our company was during our races. And some of it was really hard to hear, but some of it was really true and valid. And so I think as an investor, you know, as you can give feedback that's really productive to the founder, more of that.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Yeah, yeah. No, that's great. It's true because the the investor's ability to understand the problem and to meet the founder where they are and to understand the founder's superpowers, I like to say, and their ability to lead and to grow and to build and to reflect on their own bias, also, right? We have to take stock of our own biases when when we're in this business. That takes but it takes awareness and it takes an ability for me to sit down and go, where does Nassim have limitations and to be quite aware of that too? And and we all do that.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

And I think it, I mean, also some of the best connections and ways that we built our network were also during our raise. And that was immensely helpful. So we might not be the right ones to invest. However, let me introduce you to this person. And those those connections, especially as a female founder, were invaluable.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely that makes sense. As you've been in the system now for a while, right? And having raised a few times and and been in the fundraising cycles a few times, are there have you seen points of light or things that are getting better overall in the system that are making you feel good about how the ecosystem is moving or shifting in good ways?

SPEAKER_00 27:03

I would like to say yes, but I'm not sure if I can like really fully confidently do that.

SPEAKER_01 27:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:10

I think there are certainly funds that stick out as like they are doing it right. Those are the ones I think that give you hope. And hopefully other investors follow suit. But I think it I think it is, I wouldn't say sol like a solidly like yes, but I think there are the ones that are doing, you know, that are are good, really stand out and and are opening doors where they can.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Yeah, yeah, and absolutely makes sense. I I've heard that answer a few times. So you're not the only one.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

I also, I mean, the last time that I was on the fundraising trail was over like a year and a half ago. So maybe things are better.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

It's okay. It is all good, all fair answers. So two quick fire questions, and then I have one that'll wrap us up. So, what is the what's the fastest check that you got when you were fundraising?

SPEAKER_00 28:02

The fastest, I mean, the fastest guess was our first meeting.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

It was one of those like really great investors that, and it was an angel and she was a mom. She, I think, was even early in her pregnancy. So she was like, Yes, I get it 100%. This makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

Good. What was the most unlikely check that you got?

SPEAKER_00 28:21

The most unlikely check was also an angel uh man in his like mid-60s. Oh, that's great. Good. Yeah. Yeah. Who didn't who didn't really understand he understood, you know, he like tried. I think he had was maybe had a grandchild, but was not who we were thinking our like target investor would be.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

Oh, that's great. I love when that happens. Everybody he got on board. That's awesome. So what can everyone listening do to help you and help what you're building now?

SPEAKER_00 28:56

That's a great question, too. So I'm working with early stage founders, and I think as I it's a which is a learning curve, you know, in this new season of life, being on the other side of being a founder. I guess I, yeah, on the other side of being a founder. And and so I am just in this phase of learning. I have a Substack called Diary of an Ex-Founder. And yeah, I'm working consulting with these curly founders. So that's kind of the the project I'm working on. And anyone wants to follow along, they're welcome to send people there.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

That's great. Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Meredith, for joining me and for sharing so much insight and so much of your experience. I do think everyone listening will learn just so much from the experiences that you had, and I really, really appreciate you being here. Oh, thank you so much. This was so fun. Thanks for listening to the Capital Flex. If today's episode hit home, share it with the founder you love and follow me on LinkedIn for more.