Nicola Telford runs Tabu Ventures, an angel community backing health businesses most investors find too awkward to look at: sexual wellness, women's health, addiction and recovery, and death.
We talk about why culture accepts these markets before capital does, what the founders who break through have in common, and what she learned about taking money. That includes why there's never free money, how to fit-check an investor before you take their cheque, and the problems Tabu wants founders to work on next.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold open
01:11 Welcome to Healthier
01:47 What Tabu Ventures is
02:57 The four taboo categories
05:05 Why these categories suit angel investors
06:18 Culture accepts it before capital does
08:45 Early signs capital is catching up
12:19 Healthier Note
13:08 What breakthrough founders have in common
15:30 Why a personal connection keeps founders going
18:54 Rebuilding your motivation after a company closes
22:35 There is never free money
24:50 Bad money and how to fit-check investors
26:32 How syndicates work with founders
29:10 Who invests with Tabu
30:40 How to be a useful angel investor
32:38 Tabu's request for startups
34:40 Addiction businesses with many front doors
35:56 Screen time, NoFap apps and the hype curve
39:13 Who Tabu wants to hear from
Tabu Ventures: https://tabu.ventures/
Taboo + The Hype Cycle: https://tabu.ventures/insights/taboo-and-the-hype-cycle/
Pitch Tabu: https://tabu.ventures/pitch/
Healthier Notes, a founder's playbook every Friday: https://healthierco.com
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