Author: MartinGTobias

Pre-Seed, before you have nailed product/market fit, is typically one of the most overwhelming times for Founders. Founders are grappling with wearing many hats and lots of new tactical challenges (fundraising, tools selection, hiring, legal, etc.). You are also typically very resource-constrained and face a ton of very consequential decisions with very little information. This … Continue reading Incisive Ventures Pre-Seed founder reading list →

⚡ TLDR: “Pre-Seed” can mean many different things. Here is how Incisive Ventures defines Pre-Seed. MVP in the market for > 3 months, initial customer traction. Way back in 2004 when I was at Ignition Partners, we led the$4.6M Series A for Docusign, the first institutional money into the pre-revenue company. Oh, how times have … Continue reading Fundraising stages defined (Angel/Pre-Seed/seed/Series A) →

My User Manual As the ways for us to engage have exploded (IG, DM, email, Whatsapp, text, etc.), finding the right way to engage with people has become more challenging. If you want to engage with me, I wrote a user manual (HT to Zach Coelius). I put it on my email, Twitter, and everywhere. … Continue reading Martin G. Tobias user manual 0.10 →

In the start-up world, Laziness is a dirty word. Work till you drop: Lazy = Bad. As an early-stage investor, I could not disagree more. At Incisive Ventures, we are investing in the Future of Laziness. We believe technology that significantly reduces friction in a very big market, enabling the users to be lazy, wins … Continue reading The Future of laziness →

I caught up with the guys over at Sterling Coaching to talk about investing. Listen here. show notes: Episode 148 – Martin Tobias – Pitching For Investment, It Should Be ‘More Important Than The Air You Breathe’ Venture Capital Investment Tips with Martin Tobias In order to start a business, you need money. While not … Continue reading Martin talks about early-stage investing on a podcast →

DayOne recently announced their $1M Pre-seed funding. I am pleased to participate. Here is the story of how I met the company and why I am VERY excited about what they are bringing to the world. Day One: Cohort-based education for the new entrepreneurial economy. The Story I was on a panel with other venture … Continue reading Investing in Day One →

One of the most powerful aspects of technology innovation built on inexpensive massive connectivity is its ability to democratize access to entire industries previously limited to the 1%. Private driver? Uber/Lyft. The best healthcare? Telemedicine. Personal shoppers + delivery? Amazon/eCommerce. Build your own data center? Buy what you need when you need it from a … Continue reading Investing in Tradewell.app →

Mango Sciences: Ensuring access to innovative, life-saving cancer care for everyone. The Story For a digital native like myself, contact with the Health Care system feels like going back in time (or sometimes getting shocked with a cattle prod). It is not just the ubiquitous circa 1980 user interface design, it is the stunning lack … Continue reading Investing in Mango Sciences →

Original Investment: April, 2021 If you asked me six months ago to invest in software for aviation, I would have said you are crazy. I would also have been wrong. Keith Rabois once tweeted: "Formula for startup success: Find large highly fragmented industry with low NPS; vertically integrate a solution to simplify value product." Portside … Continue reading Investing in Portside.aero →