The Bible Is the Most Underrated Business Book of All Time

Insights from our May 16th 'Good News' Sessions

AuthorAuthor

Darrel Frater & Precious Xpert
May 19, 2025

In partnership with

Welcome to the 9th edition of The Good News Newsletter—proudly serving over 2,995 founders! Here, we break down the latest insights from our weekly Investor Office Hours sessions and equip you with tools to help you secure capital, customers, and talent for your business.

Missed the live session? Listen to the recording here.
Want to join the next session? Check out the full list of investors here.
Help us build Plaza 210! Learn more about this exciting project here.

Support this newsletter by learning about how StartEngine can help you raise capital for your business. Click below ↓

StartEngine’s $30M Surge — Own a Piece Before June 26

Private markets are having a moment, thanks to companies like StartEngine.

The leading alternative investing platform is helping everyday investors like you access deals once reserved for VCs and insiders, including exposure to private market titans like OpenAI, Databricks, and Perplexity.¹

How’s it going? In Q1 2025, StartEngine pulled off $30M in revenue, its biggest quarter ever (based on unaudited financials).²

But StartEngine isn’t just a middleman. The company earns 20% carried interest on select pre-IPO offerings, unlocking value for shareholders when these deals succeed.³

How can you tap into this diversification play? By investing in StartEngine.

StartEngine has crowdfunded $85M+ to date, and you can join 45K+ shareholders before the company’s current round closes on June 26.

Reg A+ via StartEngine Crowdfunding, Inc. No BD/intermediary involved. Investment is speculative, illiquid & high risk. See OC and Risks on page.

  1. Overview:

This week, we hosted two insightful sessions with our fantastic guest investors, including our open format third session:

Session #1: Jigney Pathak, Principal at BBQ Capital

​Popular for their Founder Barbeques, BBQ Capital is a venture capital firm committed to investing in companies at the earliest stages.

Session #2: Carter Bourassa, Associate at Moneta Ventures

​Moneta Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early stage technology companies across the West Coast and Texas.

Session #3: Founder Debrief & Open Discussion

A new open-format session where founders reflect on lessons from the investor conversations, share wins and testimonies, and ask for support.

Plaza 210 Update: We did it—our first milestone has been exceeded! 🎉

When Roselly and I began dreaming about what our foundation would build, we didn’t have all the answers. But we were clear on two things:
1. We will serve people.
2. We will honor God.

That conviction led us to launch Plaza 210 and The Center for Faith & Business—and thanks to your generosity and the grace of God, we have exceeded our initial goal of $1,500 to take the first big step forward.

To our early backers: Todd Baldwin, Brianca Hurley, LaShoun Sanders, Renard Smoots, Iyke Iwotor, Mike Smith, Brandon Mitchell, Travell Williams, Chaste Christopher Inegbedion, Le Juane Johnson, and several of you who chose to give anonymously—thank you.

This is just the beginning. With this initial funding, we’ll now be able to invest in professional branding and marketing to set the foundation for our larger raise.

We’re building something special—for Tulsa and beyond.

Let’s keep going.

  1. Office Hours Recap:

Session #1 - Jigney Pathak, Principal at BBQ Capital

Stage: Pre-Seed to Seed

Industry: Sector-agnostic, but excludes DTC/CPG; has invested in deep tech, manufacturing, aerospace, and even asteroid mining

Check Size: $25K–$200K initial checks; follow-on via SPVs at Series A and beyond

How to Apply: Founders can learn more about BBQ Capital on their website and contact Jigney or other members of the team on Linkedin.

Key Takeaways from Session:

  1. Founder-First Philosophy & Unique Origin: BBQ Capital emerged from real community—hosting barbecues around Demo Day events, where connections organically led to angel checks and eventually fund formation. This community-first mindset is still baked into how they support founders today, with portfolio support including hiring (they’ve placed 40+ engineers), follow-on capital through LP syndicates, and warm intros to larger lead investors.

  2. Traction Helps—But Team Reigns Supreme: BBQ Capital evaluates startups holistically, but places heavy weight on founder-market fit, storytelling, and execution ability. While traction and valuation matter (they generally prefer sub-$10M caps for pre-seed and sub-$25M for seed), they will lean into teams who demonstrate insight, grit, and velocity—even without revenue.

  3. Advice for Today’s Tough Fundraising Climate: Jigney emphasized scrappy customer acquisition and product iteration over chasing capital. Use modern AI tools to build faster, find early customers, and prove demand. The more traction you can show—even if it’s lightweight validation—the more power you have in investor conversations. And in crowded markets, defensibility matters: hardware, deep tech, and regulated industries were highlighted as ripe for innovation.

Session #2 - Carter Bourassa, Associate at Moneta Ventures

Stage: Seed to Series A

Industry: B2B Software (Vertical-Agnostic, but avoids Cybersecurity and Payments)

Check Size: $1M–$5M initial investment; up to $30M in follow-ons

How to Apply: Connect directly with the Moneta Ventures team. Ideal companies are U.S.-based with $500K–$5M in ARR, and founders should be prepared for a rigorous 6–8 week diligence process with a democratic investment committee structure.

Key Takeaways from Session:

  1. Software Plus Thesis: Moneta backs “Software++” startups—those that pair traditional SaaS models with additional monetization strategies (e.g., services revenue, transaction fees, proprietary data). This approach increases defensibility and revenue scalability.

  2. Operational Support and Long-Term Commitment: With a team of seven GPs from operating backgrounds and deep involvement post-investment, Moneta aims to be the most active and supportive investor on a founder’s cap table. Founders can expect hands-on help with sales, finance, operations, and growth planning.

  3. Underserved Geographies Create Advantage: Moneta strategically invests outside of traditional VC hubs like SF and NYC to uncover overlooked opportunities. This regional arbitrage often yields stronger valuations and startups that can do more with less—particularly in areas like Texas and the Midwest.

Session #3 - Founder Debrief & Open Discussion

In this week’s open founder session, the community came alive. Founders stepped up to share job needs, spiritual encouragement, startup updates, and honest reflections on fundraising struggles. The space created room for both vulnerability and hope—from job-seeking creatives to early traction wins and patenting challenges in hard-hit industries. A highlight was the spiritual grounding: a timely reminder from Scripture to remain joyful and patient in seasons of waiting, and a closing prayer that wrapped the session in unity. This session reinforced what makes these Fridays special—real support, real faith, and real founders showing up for one another.

  1. Funding Resources:

💰 Resources of the Week:

A 12-week program by Visible Hands and Build in Tulsa for early-stage, Tulsa and Southern-based founders. The program will support 20 idea-stage founders who are working on launching tech-enabled solutions and/or venture-backed ideas.

$10K | Deadline: 5/19/2025

Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity Grants provide up to $150,000 to start or expand a clean energy equity workforce program.

Up to $150K | Deadline: 5/19/2025

The Backing Small Businesses grant program, supported by American Express, supports locally significant small businesses facing economic hardship.

$10K | Deadline: 5/21/2025

As part of the Good Soil Forum presented by Wells Fargo, this competition offers significant funding and expert mentorship to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit.

Up to $200K | Deadline: 5/23/2025

Amazon Business is celebrating small businesses by empowering their growth through the Small Business Grants.

Up to $25K | Deadline: 5/23/2025

GENIUS NY, operated by CenterState is a startup accelerator sponsored by Empire State Development that invests $3M annually into seed-stage startups focused on uncrewed aerial systems, automation and advanced air mobility.

Up to $1M | Deadline: 5/28/2025

The Dream Makers Founder Grant aims to provide underrepresented entrepreneurs with the opportunity to scale their businesses and continue our mission of fostering an ecosystem where more founders can thrive.

$25K | Deadline: 5/30/2025

The Fund Her Future Grant, powered by Block Advisors by H&R Block and Hello Alice, is awarding $100,000 in total funding to up to six outstanding small businesses.

Up to $50K | Deadline: 5/30/2025

A live, in-person pitch competition for climatetech founders on July 10th.

Up to $100K | Deadline: 5/30/2025

Each year Women Founders Network creates a unique opportunity for Female Founders to pitch and receive valuable mentoring, coaching and in-kind sponsorships.

$25K | Deadline: 5/31/2025

As part of the Good Soil Forum presented by Wells Fargo, this competition offers significant funding and expert mentorship to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit.

Up to $200K | Deadline: 6/1/2025

Over 20 weeks you’ll validate your idea, build your MVP and gain real traction with hands‑on workshops, user testing, mentorship, funding, coworking and network access.

$20K | Deadline: 6/8/2025

Pathway to Opportunity is a competition designed to connect small businesses with corporations seeking to expand their supply chain with innovative products and services; providing a $5K cash prize to three winners.

$5K | Deadline: 6/9/2025

This program is for talented entrepreneurs designing innovative solutions that generate greater economic mobility for low- and moderate-income Americans, i.e., the 60%+ of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.

$220K | Deadline: 6/11/2025

The Prize seeks exceptional solutions that strengthen disaster resilience in the United States.

$250K | Deadline: 6/12/2025

The Cartier Women's Initiative is an annual international entrepreneurship program that aims to drive change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs. Founded in 2006, the program is open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aim to have a strong and sustainable social and/or environmental impact.

Up to $100K | Deadline: 6/24/2025

Santander’s Cultivate Small Business helps early-stage entrepreneurs build and sustain businesses in the food industry providing a 12 week food-focused curriculum, mentorship, and up to $20K in capital grants.

Up to $20K | Deadline: 7/8/2025

Pinnacle Atlanta Innovation Accelerator, powered by gener8tor and sponsored by Pinnacle Financial Partners, invests in up to five companies per year focused on fintech or related industry. Each startup selected for the 12-week program receives a $100,000 investment and a high-touch, concierge accelerator experience.

$100K | Deadline: 7/22/2025

🎙️ Podcast of the Week:

In this episode of Uncapped with Jack Altman, legendary investor Keith Rabois shares his philosophy on early-stage investing, why he prefers backing founders at the “Keynote deck” stage, and how identifying rare founder superpowers is the cornerstone of his approach. Keith breaks down what separates great from good founders, why venture is all about decision-making, and how being a founder whisperer—not a control freak—makes a VC truly valuable. He also explores why moments of consensus in venture are dangerous, how large funds can support bold ideas through inflection points, and the pitfalls of over-capitalizing application-layer AI startups. The conversation covers everything from deal sourcing to deep reflections on political engagement, decision paralysis, and the emotional role of being a great board member.

Why I recommend it: This episode is a masterclass in high-conviction investing. Keith doesn’t hold back—he offers brutally honest advice about picking exceptional founders, why venture returns are driven by outliers, and how to avoid the common traps of hype-driven investing. Founders will walk away understanding what top VCs actually look for, how to present themselves as a “good deal,” and why great VCs are less about control and more about being trusted strategic mirrors. If you want to think like a top-tier investor—or raise money from one—this is essential listening. You can listen here.

💸 Alternative Funding Sources:

Access up to $2M in non-dilutive debt financing. Request information here.

Raise up to $5M in equity capital through a Community Round. Request information here.

Need 1 on 1 support in securing capital? I will be working 1 on 1 with select founders to help. Interested founders can learn more and consider submitting their company here.

  1. Inspiration

    💬 Tweet of the Week

🙏🏽 Scripture of the Week

That’s all for this week’s edition of The Good News Newsletter. We hope you found these insights valuable as you continue your journey to securing funding.

What’s next?

Heads Up: My 2nd child is due the first week of June so we will have 1 more session before I take a 6 week leave. Office Hours will resume on July 11th.

Join us the next Friday for two more amazing guests joining us for Office Hours.

​​For session #1 we have Tristan Schaeffer, Founder & Managing Partner at Worldview Capital.

​Worldview Capital is a leading Heartland venture firm, focused on backing generational founders by making concentrated investments into the companies shaping our most vital industries.

For session #2 we have James Oliver, Jr., Managing Partner at Kabila Ventures.

​Kabila Ventures is an emerging venture capital firm committed to investing in and inspiring overlooked founder teams.

If interested in joining and/or pitching, please register here.

You can see the full list of past and future VCs on this Calendar.

Be on the look out for our newsletter next week where we’ll bring you more actionable advice, resources, and success stories.

Let’s All, spread ‘The Good News’

Best,
Darrel Frater
Co-Founder
The Frater Family Foundation
Linkedin | Twitter/X | 609-804-5999

P.S. - If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a founder you know who could benefit from these insights!

P.S.S. - Got ideas or suggestions for The Good News? Shoot me an email at [email protected] for us to discuss!

About TFFF: The Frater Family Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the family office of Darrel and Roselly Frater, dedicated to promoting human prosperity through entrepreneurship. To learn more, reach out to Darrel Frater directly.

Ask: I am exploring new roles in venture where I can support in fundraising efforts for a current or future funds and be involved on the investment side. If you know any funds or accelerators that I should be speaking with, please let me know.

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