How to Talk to Investors When Fundraising, Online and In-Person

Léonie Weerakoon is a multi-lingual speaker (French, German, Luxembourgish, English), but her true language is unity and impact. A multi-hyphenate thought leader and system architect, she captivates audiences with her vision of solving global challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Through Kinetik Ventures, she empowers islands with bio-cultural blueprints and investments, fostering a dialogue with nature and sparking interdisciplinary innovation. This inspires audiences to join the force, addressing the root of divides and co-creating a thriving future.

Jonny is a Principal Investor at Athenian VC and a co-founder of Literally Helping Startups, which is an organization that helps founders for free. He is a startup operator and advisor and has held roles across a range of different arenas including accelerator program manager, founder, sales and marketing, and more. He prides himself in running efficient, high growth organizations and innovating on go-to market strategy and execution. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from Northeastern and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Eva Dobrzanska is an early stage capital raising expert who has been working with founders to help them raise capital better, faster, and more efficiently. With insight into both non-dilutive and dilutive funding options, vast investor network, and experience working with a world-renowned accelerator (Techstars) and a tech-intensive incubator (Block Dojo), Eva continues to support founders to help them become more investible.

Robert McIntosh, one of the Co-Founders of Literally Helping Startups, an organization dedicated to reshaping the startup and investor landscape by providing free support and a wide array of comprehensive resources. He brings both past and ongoing entrepreneurial experience, having achieved a successful exit in one venture. His professional journey spans over 13 years, encompassing diverse roles in sectors such as venture capital, startup accelerators, and blockchain. He earned his MBA from the University of Denver, with a primary focus on Entrepreneurship. His true passion lies in assisting fellow entrepreneurs and startups in realizing their full potential and achieving success.

Dan leads HubSpot for Startups’ GTM and Partnerships in the Southeast. In his current role, he works with hundreds of VC’s, accelerators, incubators, and other startup organizations in order to provide entrepreneurs with coaching, guidance, and access to tools that help founders scale and grow their businesses. Dan previously led the Community Partnerships team for Capital Factory, a large venture group and accelerator in Texas. He has also served as the founding member of a startup where he was responsible for leading business development and sales efforts. Prior to that, Dan was an institutional fundraiser for a variety of institutional investment managers, where his teams were cumulatively responsible for fundraising over $450 million for equity strategies and over $500 million for fixed income strategies.