What early-stage VCs are looking for

As far as strategic investors goes, having a direct line into tech giants Microsoft and four-time Superbowl winners the Green Bay Packers is a pretty good starting point! In our latest issue of the Sports Loft podcast, Cordero Barkley, Partner at TitleTown Tech, shares his story from college athlete to early stage VC, and how as a firm TitleTown Tech are supporting the growth of their portfolio companies, including our very own Slate. Cordero also gives us a sneak peek to where their focus will lie for their second fund, including which aspects of NFTs and the metaverse look post appealing for investment. Our favourite quotes: “Leveraging the connectivity that we have in marketplace…, that's one of the perks of having the Packers and Microsoft, you can really get connected to anyone in the world and pick up the phone to call someone to say hey, we have a company that fits your thesis would love for you to take a look at it.”   “The founders are taking all this risk, they’ve been told no 300 times, and here they are still fired up, talking to me. That’s so fun to me to watch - I always say the founders are some of the most courageous people we ever deal with.”   “As a former athlete myself, the competitive nature of identifying talent, finding the right deals to get into, being able to carve out a niche that fits your thesis - it's something that makes the job very fun and it gives you kind of that feel of being in the game again”