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Volume 1 | Episode 1

Finding the Right Investors

We welcome Laurel Hess, the CEO and Founder of Hampr. Hampr is an on-demand laundry service that will pick up your laundry and return it fresh and folded, right to your front door, within 24 hours.

Laurel Hess - Info Block Image

Finding the Right Investors

Episode Description

On the first episode of the Thrive Through Connection Podcast, we welcome Laurel Hess, the CEO and Founder of Hampr. Hampr is an on-demand laundry service that will pick up your laundry and return it fresh and folded, right to your front door, within 24 hours. Laurel has raised over $10M for Hampr across multiple rounds. She joins us to share her journey and the importance of building genuine relationships with investors.

Before founding Hampr, Laurel built a career in marketing, where she launched and ran a profitable marketing agency. Since starting Hampr in 2019, she has experienced the ebbs and flows of venture capital, from COVID-19 to low interest rates to the SVB crash. Laurel has had a front-row seat to how the market evolves and why building strong relationships is key to weathering turbulent times.

What You'll Learn

What You Can Expect to Learn from Laurel

  • Why having the right people on your cap table matters
  • Tactics for backchanneling and finding warm investor intros
  • The key questions she asks during investor conversations
  • How she nurtures investors who initially say “no”
  • Her approach to managing and interpreting investor feedback

Volume 1 | Episode 2

Going From Operator to Funder

Leo from Humba Ventures shares his journey from software engineer to VC, highlighting the parallels between building and backing startups—and the invaluable lessons gained from meeting countless experts along the way.

Volume 1 | Episode 3

Navigating Investor Relationships

Brett Brohl of Bread & Butter Ventures shares insights on fostering strong relationships between founders and investors, focusing on alignment, communication, and effective fundraising strategies. Practical advice is given on pitching, maintaining updates, and handling feedback.