Painkiller or Vitamin? Advice on Navigating to a Successful Series B Round

Alek Koenig shares how he developed Settle, the critical need it solves for startups, and how he navigated a successful Series B round.

Before Alek Koenig launched Settle, he wanted to be sure of two things: Was he solving an actual problem and was he the right person to solve it?

Those two questions were key to ensuring product-market fit and founder-market fit, and ultimately, key to finding investors.

It turns out Settle is solving a major pain point for startups in desperate need of working capital, and with his extensive background in credit risk and lending, he was the right man for the job.

In this episode, he shares how he developed the product, how it solves a critical need for most startups, and how he navigated a successful Series B funding round.

We discuss:

  • The importance of interviewing customers to uncover pain points
  • Why you should look at your company and yourself through the lens of an investor
  • How Settle attracted the first 30 customers
  • Advice for hiring and choosing the right investor

Find Alek on LinkedIn and visit settle.com.

This discussion with Alek Koenig comes from our show Startup Success. Browse all Burkland podcasts and subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts.