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20VC: Why Most Founders Do Not Structure Their Fundraise Correctly, The Pros Of Having An MBA As A Startup Founder & How To Manage The Psychology Of Being CEO and Overcome Self Doubt with Iman Abuzeid, Founder & CEO @ Incredible Health

Mar 6, 2020

Iman Abuzeid, the Founder and CEO of Incredible Health, shares her journey from a medical doctor to a startup leader. She discusses the challenges female minority founders face in fundraising and emphasizes the importance of structuring meetings with VCs. Iman reveals why having an MBA can be a unique advantage for founders and offers insights on managing the psychological hurdles of being a CEO, including dealing with self-doubt and imposter syndrome. Her experience highlights the value of diversity and inclusivity in building successful teams.

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ADVICE

VC Value Add

VCs can add value by closing candidates, making introductions, and advising on strategy.
Iman values investors with operational experience who offer tangible help.

ADVICE

Empathy for Founders

VCs should show more empathy for the challenges faced by startup founders.
The intense pressure and decision-making in entrepreneurship demand understanding.

INSIGHT

VC Twitter and Online Resources

VC Twitter, blogs, and online content can be valuable resources for founders.
They offer insights into building companies, but excessive negativity should be toned down.

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Iman Abuzeid is the Founder & CEO @ Incredible Health, the startup that connects hospitals with nurses and other high shortage healthcare professionals to dramatically speed up the hiring process. To date, Iman has raised over $17M with Incredible Health from some dear friends of the show including NFX, a16z, Charles Hudson @ Precursor and Obvious Ventures to name a few. As for Iman, prior to Incredible, she was a medical doctor, a McKinsey alumnus and led product management at AliveCor, a Khosla-backed health tech startup.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Iman made her way into the world of startups from a family of surgeons and then through being a medical doctor herself?

2.) How was the fundraising process for Iman as a female minority founder? What advice would Iman give to other women and/ or minority when it comes to getting the very best investors? Where does Iman see so many founders make mistakes raising? How should founders structure their meetings with VCs?

3.) Where does Iman believe VCs can be most helpful? Where do many think VCs are helpful but they are actually not? What does Iman think of the "VC Twitter" ecosystem at play today? What investors said no along the way but Iman really liked? Why? Why does Iman believe MBA's provide such an advantage to startup founders today?

4.) How does Iman manage the psychology of being a CEO? How does Iman deal with moments of self-doubt and imposter syndrome? How has Iman seen herself evolve and change as a leader over the last 3 years? What elements have been the most challenging to come to grips with?

5.) Why does Iman still believe if you are not building your startup in the bay, you are missing out? What is so special about Silicon Valley? What advice does Iman give to founders looking to build a diverse team from day 1? How does Iman think about inevitable hiring mistakes? When is the right time to pull the plug?

Items Mentioned In Today's Show:

Iman's Fave Book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

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