Co-founders Lauren Humphrey and Melissa Miller closed not one but two rounds of equity funding, in 2021 and 2022, raising a total of $8.3 million.

At the time, their leadership development business The Mintable was growing, and building a software product, Tandem, focusing on feedback and helping employees and their managers be the best they could be.

To cut a long story short, there ultimately wasn’t a market for the Tandem product, but there was demand for their original offering. In October 2024, The Mintable discontinued the software product and doubled down on training, tools, and community for managers.

Throughout the highs and lows of the journey, Lauren says she always felt supported by investors. Sometimes, they had belief when hers wavered.

In part, that’s because she built strong relationships from the start.

Today, Lauren has some valuable lessons to share with other women founders. VC isn’t right for everyone, she says. But if it is right for your business, don’t shy away.

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Be true to your business

First, Lauren advises women not to fall into the trap she did, of feeling they need to build software to be considered a ‘proper’ business. Not every business has to be tech… or VC-backed.

“Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean being Mark Zuckerburg,” she says.

“At some point, we coined this term ‘lifestyle business’, and that’s been spun as a bad thing, or a less good thing. But wouldn’t it be awesome to put something into the world that other people love, and that makes you enough money to have a good lifestyle?

“I wish I had felt less ‘poo-poo’ about that as a concept. It’s a worthy and incredible path, and I feel it’s become gendered somehow.”

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Be true to yourself

With that said, if your business would benefit from VC investment, then Lauren urges women not to shy away from that.

“I’ve had an incredible experience with my VC investors,” she says.

She’s been lucky, she admits. But she and Melissa were always unapologetically themselves; unapologetically upfront.

“I was very clear that I had kids. I was clear that my co-founder was going to have a baby,” she says.

“Some people never responded and some didn’t invest — maybe because they didn’t like our business, and maybe for other reasons. But as a result of us being really honest in the relationship from the start, there were no surprises.

“I realise that can create a harder path. But as with any relationship, I think honesty and upfront communication are the way to go.”

This approach meant the founders knew investors were choosing to support the whole package, Lauren adds. It lays the groundwork for a relationship built on trust and openness, and it shows investors the kind of business person you are, too.

“Often, investors have very little time, and you have one chance in the room with them. They want to know we can get to the heart of stuff quickly, rather than dance around.”

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Create momentum

As with most things in business, when you’re raising capital, momentum is your friend, Lauren says.

“It can feel really hard to create momentum when you’re seeking investment, because you’re not the one making the first move. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.”

When Lauren and Melissa decided to raise funding, they sent communications to VCs sharing their plans, including all relevant information, data and materials. They laid out the dates they hoped to have first meetings, second meetings and negotiations underway, and the day they wanted cash in the bank (incidentally, Melissa’s due date).

“We might have lost some investors that way,” Lauren admits.

“But it created momentum and helped us feel like this wasn’t going to be a never-ending story.

“Plus, we knew if we didn’t get the investment we were looking for, we had enough time at the other end to figure out what else to do.”

Again, this makes things as clear and as easy as possible for investors, while also showcasing your ability to manage multiple moving parts. 

“It shows leadership and execution ability,” Lauren says. 

“It demonstrates that you’re able to take charge, manage many stakeholders and get something done by a certain date. You’re doing what you say you can do.”

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Manage expectations

In the later stages of a funding round, managing those moving parts becomes all the more important — specifically, negotiating dollar figures and equity shares without alienating investors or damaging relationships before they’ve begun.

“Before you get to negotiating, ask everyone what is ideal for them,” Lauren suggests.

“How much ideally would they invest? What percentage of the business do they want to end up with? What are the minimums and maximums?”

Once one investor comes in, Lauren explains, others often follow. However, this can create a scenario where things change in favour of one investor or another, or to include more investors in the round. 

“Surprises late in the round can create a sour taste in everyone’s mouth, and it’s counterproductive,” Lauren says.

“You might also end up, on the fly, diluting more of your own share than you wanted to, or raising on terms that aren’t productive for the business.

“Having those ideal scenarios mapped out lets you make decisions on the back end, knowing what success looks like for your stakeholders.”

For The Mintable, having these conversations early meant the negotiation stage was relatively quick and painless.

“It made it easier to talk about money. The negotiation becomes about how much you want to dilute; who else you want in the round; what kind of exposure you want to any given fund; what support they’re offering; how big you think the business could be,” Lauren explains.

“It becomes more about helping each other succeed.”