Sheel Mohnot's Advice to Founders from 3 Exits and Fundraising $450M
Sheel Mohnot, Co-Founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, shares lessons from building and selling startups to raising a $450M fintech fund, revealing how he evaluates founders, runs focused fundraising rounds, and sees today’s pre-seed to Series A landscape evolving.
What you’ll learn:
How to make the leap from consultant to founder
How to run a focused fundraising process
Milestones that actually matter to investors
What VCs expect at Series A — ARR, valuation, and traction
The founder traits that win
When you should raise
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smohnot/
Twitter: https://x.com/pitdesi
Better Tomorrow Ventures: https://www.btv.vc/
Chapters
02:15 - Leaving Consulting to Start FeeFighters
06:45 - Selling to Groupon & The Groupon Mafia
12:40 - Founding Innovative Auctions & Building Again
14:00 - Creating (and Exiting) The Pitch Podcast
20:45 - How Sheel Started Angel Investing
22:50 - Founding Better Tomorrow Ventures with Jake Gibson
27:30 - Lessons from Raising Fund I & Building LP Relationships
34:40 - The 2025 Pre-Seed & Seed Market: What Founders Should Know
40:00 - Seed-Strapping, Runway & Raising to Series A
46:20 - Series A Reality Check: Higher Revenue Expectations
48:20 - What Makes Founders Stand Out to BTV
49:55 - Being Truly “Founder-Friendly”
53:25 - Where the Next Big Fintech Ideas Might Emerge
56:15 - Parting Advice for Founders Fundraising in 2025
28 Jul 2025
Seed to Series A: Fundraising in 2025 (Peter Walker, Head of Insights @ Carta)
Seed & Series A fundraising in 2025 is a different game. Carta’s Head of Insights, Peter Walker, unpacks valuations, revenue expectations, dilution math, and why an AI-native story is now table-stakes for early-stage founders.
What you’ll learn:
Why it's harder than ever to raise at Seed.
How much ARR you actually need before Series A.
Why AI-native positioning is non-negotiable for 2025 fundraising.
Solo-founder vs. co-founder data, and what VCs really think
How to manage your runway
Where to build your startup
Peter’s content strategy and GTM engine.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker
Twitter: x.com/PeterJ_Walker
Carta: carta.com
00:00 - Intro & Career Path
03:24 - Data-Driven Brand Building
10:40 - LinkedIn Growth Playbook
12:29 - Seed Valuation Trends
18:48 - Series A Revenue Expectations
32:29 - Dilution & Funding Choices
46:47 - Solo Founders & Bootstrapping
54:33 - Where To Build Your Startup
1:05:45 - Final Takeaways for Founders
15 Jul 2025
$9M at 17: Why He Quit College for Y Combinator!
Discover startup founder tips from Calvin Chen, founder of Fetchr (Y Combinator startup), on Unfair Edge! Learn how to start a company with practical entrepreneurship advice from a founder who sold his first startup for $9M in high school and dropped out of USC to join Y Combinator. In this episode, Calvin shares founder stories, including his journey from Rent-a-Fit to Kopia to Fetchr, revealing startup growth strategies, how to raise venture capital, and how to find a co-founder, among other things! Key Takeaways from this Episode:1. How Calvin pivoted multiple startups to find the right idea2. Strategies for acquiring early users through non-scalable tactics3. The importance of ruthless focus and user-centric decisions4. Tips for applying to Y Combinator and navigating co-founder dynamicsSubscribe for weekly startup founder stories and entrepreneurship advice!Calvin Chen: https://x.com/CalvinnChennFetchr: https://www.fetchr.so/Chapters:00:00 - Welcome & Calvin Chen intro00:45 - Building & exiting a business for $9M (in high school)04:32 - Launching Rent-a-Fit while at USC06:40 - How to recognize if your company has long-term potential or just short-term success08:44 - Pre-seed hustle: Raising from friends & family and running a startup from your dorm12:33 - Why less capital can be an advantage14:42 - How to balance starting a company while also in college; knowing when to shut it down or go all in18:34 - How Calvin pivoted from investment banking to join Y-Combinator, and how he got selected22:39 - Tips for applying to YC23:53 - Peeling back the “orange” curtain; an inside-look at YC30:43 - Pivoting to Kopia36:56 - Learnings from pivoting; how continuous action produces compounding effects42:00 - How to find the right co-founder (or whether you need a co-founder at all)44:59 - Practical strategies for acquiring users; “do things that don’t scale”50:50 - Why ruthless focus separates the winners and losers; prioritizing the right marketing channels56:06 - Deep user obsession: personal calls, delivery runs & feedback loops59:17 - Parting advice for early founders
7 Jul 2025
How Agree.com Landed 30,000 Users in 6 Months, Marty Ringlein (Co-founder, Agree.com & Co-founder/GP, Adventure Fund)
Marty Ringlein, co-founder of Agree.com, discusses how his company acquired 30,000 users in six months through product-led growth and strategic design, in an interview with Chase McCaskill.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
4,288
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
67
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
0
Contact Unfair Edge with Chase McCaskill
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Unfair Edge with Chase McCaskill?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
