Welcome to this new episode of Explore and thank you for your continuous support. If you want to support the show you can give a 5 stars review ✨ on Spotify/Apple podcast. This is the final episode of Explore Season 2 - thank you for your support! Together, we've grown the podcast and had the opportunity to speak with incredible guests. I’ll share a dedicated post reflecting on the last six months soon, but don’t worry Season 3 will bring even more learnings, there's plenty more to learn! This week, I sit down with Ethan Austin, former entrepreneur and founding partner at Outside VC. Ethan spent 7-years building GiveForward, a crowdfunding platform he sold to Gofundme. 2-years ago, he launched Outside VC with the goal of building a more equitable and just financial system through pre-seed investments ($100K-$250K first checks). In our conversation, Ethan talked about: * Founding a crowdfunding platform * Navigating early days as a non-technical founder * Securing investment by creating FOMO * Loosing everything after Facebook turned off traffic * Lessons learned from being part of Techstars * Tactical strategies for getting into accelerators * The importance of transparency and relationships with founders * Outside VC's investment philosophy * Understanding the economics of venture capital. Listen now on 🟢Spotify or 🟣Apple Podcast. Where to find Ethan: 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fintech-investor/ 🔗 Outside VC: https://outside-vc.com/ Where to find me: 🔗 LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugorauch/ 🔗 Newsletter: https://explorepodcast.substack.com/ Timestamps:  00:00 Meet Ethan Austin: From Founder to VC 01:25 The Birth of a Fundraising Platform 02:35 Challenges and Early Struggles 03:28 Pivoting to Medical Crowdfunding 04:45 Lessons in Startup Focus and Adaptation 06:09 Emotional Challenges of Pivoting 07:49 Building the First Product Without Technical Skills 09:07 The Motivation Behind Starting the Company 12:48 Early Traction and Accelerator Experience 16:34 Moments of Validation and Growth 21:10 Fundraising Journey and Strategies 27:28 The Importance of Personalization in Crowdfunding 28:20 Challenges and Strategies in Crowdfunding 29:47 The Acquisition by YouCaring and Its Impact 31:29 Joining Techstars: A Life-Changing Experience 36:12 Investing in Outsiders: A Unique Venture Capital Approach 41:31 The Investment Process and Building Trust with Founders 49:11 Understanding Venture Capital Economics 51:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit explorepodcast.substack.com