Originally published on InvestorConnect.org

On this episode, Hall is joined by Dan Conner of St. Louis-based Ascend Venture Capital. Before coming into investing, Dan worked as an engineer, primarily in the oil, biofuel, and wind energy industries. After getting his MBA, Dan ended up in the VC world, in the enterprise sector. According to Dan, he owes his success to ‘putting in the legwork’, researching thousands of companies to find the select few he likes.

Dan talks about how the enterprise industry is evolving, how traction metrics are being looked at in earlier stages, and how corporate and strategic buyers are becoming more and more selective. Dan also explains his investment thesis, focusing on companies that are unique or approaching their space in a unique way, and provides some examples of the companies he’s worked with. In addition, he discusses some of the challenges in the enterprise space, and some of the applications and sectors he thinks are particularly ripe with opportunity.

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NOTE: Investor Connect is a program under the Texas Open Angel Network which is a 501(c3) non-profit dedicated to the education around startup funding. Hall Martin is the principal contact, and may be reached at https://investorconnect.org/contact-us.

Music: https://www.bensound.com

Disclaimer:
Hall T. Martin is the Director of Investor Connect which is 501c3 non-profit dedicated to the education of investors for early stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.