Vadim Gordin has looked at more early cap tables than most of us have had coffees.
He built a data set most founders never see: hundreds of first-person fundraising accounts, cross-referenced against years running accelerators at NYU. His numbers say the friends and family round is not a formality. It is where the mistakes that surface at Series A actually start.
We walk through what a healthy angel funnel looks like stage by stage, why the shape of your earliest round predicts problems two years out, and what a messy F&F cap table costs you later. The goal is not just closing the round, it is closing it in a way that does not quietly sabotage you down the line. F
or anyone staring down their first raise, this is the funnel math nobody hands you.
Visit Healing Healthtech - Vadim's Substack.
Episode outline:
- Why the F&F round gets treated as an afterthought, and why that is a mistake
- Inside the data: what a healthy angel funnel looks like stage by stage
- The Mighty Middle thesis, and why $50M to $150M exits change the fundraising math
- Cap table mistakes that do not hurt until Series A
- Reducing human suffering as an investment filter
- What to build before you are ready to raise from anyone
Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube
Vadim Gordin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vadimgordin/
Vadim ran a venture studio inside NYU Tandon that turned under $500K in deployed capital into hundreds of millions in enterprise value, working with teams like Ataraxis, Vital Audio, and CaroRhythm. He now runs Mighty Middle Ventures, a fund and studio backing healthtech founders building toward the $50M to $150M exits traditional VC ignores.
Andy Walsh
2× exited founder and host of Startups Decoded (750,000 downloads + Top 2% globally).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anwalsh/
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Music Credit.
“Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) https://phondupe.bandcamp.com/album/air-conditioning-vol-2
Disclaimer.
The views and opinions shared on Startups Decoded are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making any financial or legal decisions.
