- The Good News Newsletter
- Posts
- The Truth About Finding Angel Investors (It’s Not What You Think)
The Truth About Finding Angel Investors (It’s Not What You Think)
Insights from our April 18th 'Good News' Sessions
Precious Xpert & Darrel Frater
April 21, 2025
Welcome to the 6th edition of The Good News Newsletter—proudly serving over 2,937 founders! Here, we break down the latest insights from our weekly Family Office Hours sessions and equip you with tools to help you secure the capital and spread ‘The Good News’.
Missed the live session? Listen to the recording here.
Want to join the next session? Check out the full list of investors here.
Note: I have family in town so there will be no Office Hours this Friday. We will resume on Friday, May 2nd.
Overview:
This week, we hosted two insightful sessions with our fantastic guest investors, including a new third session:
Session #1: Brett Perlmutter, Founder of Bulletpitch
Bulletpitch is media company and venture ecosystem with a mission to add value to founders through their events, publication, and more.
Session #2: Haley Medved Kendrick, PhD, Senior Managing Director of Investment Accelerators at gener8tor
gener8tor runs accelerators to catalyze community, mentorship, network, conviction and capital to bridge a community’s genius with opportunity.
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.
4/24 Event (Tulsa): Accelerate North Tulsa Pitch Night – Cohort 5
Roselly and I will be presenting our first project under the banner of The Frater Family Foundation at Central Library, Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma on Thursday, April 24 at 6pm as participants in the Accelerate North Tulsa Accelerator. Join us!
RSVP: https://lu.ma/aozxy5ox
Office Hours Recap:
Session #1 - Brett Perlmutter, Founder of Bulletpitch
Stage: Pre-Seed to Seed
Industry: Sector-agnostic, but favors founder-market fit and strong distribution strategy
Check Size: $250K to $1M+ (via syndicate)
How to Apply: Engage via Bulletpitch media platform, events, or reach out directly through the community; building a relationship organically often leads to investment conversations.
Key Takeaways from Session:
Founders Are the Story: Brett prioritizes founder-market fit and mission alignment above pedigree or credentials. He looks for builders with lived experience in the problem they’re solving and a strong personal conviction that fuels their mission.
Distribution is a Competitive Advantage: In today’s world, distribution trumps product defensibility. Brett looks for startups that understand how to get their product in front of users fast—whether through community, virality, content, or social leverage.
Build Relationships, Not Transactions: When fundraising, avoid jumping straight to the ask. Instead, invite investors into your story early, show progress over time, and let them experience your conviction and traction first-hand. Investors fund momentum, not just ideas.
Session #2 - Haley Medved Kendrick, PhD, Senior Managing Director of Investment Accelerators at gener8tor
Stage: Pre-Seed to Seed
Industry: Broad; healthtech, insuretech, fintech, sustainability, energy, consumer, and industry-agnostic depending on program
Check Size: $100K on a SAFE for 7.5% equity (varies by program)
How to Apply: Visit gener8tor.com to browse current programs by region or sector. Apply directly through the site. Founders are encouraged to apply to multiple programs to maximize optionality. Deadlines vary per program.
Key Takeaways from Session:
Focused on Under-Capitalized Regions: gener8tor intentionally prioritizes underserved and overlooked markets—especially across the Midwest and Southeast—to unlock overlooked founder talent and deliver high-value investments with strong ROI potential.
Highly Personalized Support: Unlike larger accelerators, gener8tor cohorts are intentionally small (5–10 startups per cohort) to offer deep 1:1 coaching. Managing Directors dedicate hours weekly with each founder to refine strategy, messaging, and traction milestones.
Long-Term Commitment & Alumni Support: gener8tor doesn’t just invest and disappear. The firm aims to be the most valuable investor on a founder’s cap table and the first call in good times or bad. Through post-program alumni support, regional follow-on funds, and growing international expansion, gener8tor seeks to build enduring founder relationships rooted in proximity, trust, and long-term success.
Session #3 - Founder Debrief & Open Discussion
This week’s Founder Debrief was a powerful reminder of why we created this third session: to create a safe space for vulnerability, encouragement, and spiritual support. Founders showed up with honesty—sharing moments of discouragement, mental fatigue, and the grind of entrepreneurship. But what followed was deeply moving: words of affirmation, scriptures of hope, peer-to-peer coaching, marketing advice, volunteer building strategies, and prayer. One founder reminded us, “You haven’t come this far to just come this far.” Another offered practical sales tactics. A new founder even shared the launch of a parenting app co-founded with his wife, highlighting how mission-driven work intersects with everyday life. It was a beautiful display of what happens when faith meets community and when business leaders uplift each other with wisdom and grace. This is what The Good News is all about.
Funding Resources:
💰 Resources of the Week:
The Coramino Fund is a nationwide small business grant program to support entrepreneurs in under-resourced communities.
$10K | Deadline: 4/23/2025
IFS creates pathways for early-stage Black business owners to thrive by providing $150,000 in capital awards, mentorship, networking, and educational resources.
$150K | Deadline: 4/23/2025
Sloss.Tech/Ideas is a platform for early-stage companies in the Southeast U.S. with a $50,000 Grand Prize to present their groundbreaking solutions in agtech and foodtech; healthtech and biotech; mobility and transportation technology; and emerging tech to investors and industry experts.
$50K | Deadline: 4/25/2025
The MSP Equity Accelerator sponsored by Allianz invests $100K each into five high-growth startups founded by undervalued entrepreneurs.
$100K | Deadline: 4/25/2025
ERA invests $150,000 on a post-money SAFE in return for 6% of each company.
$150K | Deadline: 4/28/2025
Urban Future Lab identifies and supports top climatetech startups; providing two $50K cash prizes.
$50K | Deadline: 4/28/2025
The Enthuse Foundation offers a series of financial grants, up to $10K, to assist entrepreneurs with critical business needs.
Up to $10K | Deadline: 4/28/2025
Spend 4-weeks pressure-testing your idea with real customers, unlocking early demand signals, and tapping into Forum’s AI-powered startup stack.
Up to $200K | Deadline: 5/2/2025
The Black Ambition Prize competition provides a platform for underrepresented founders across the nation to access $15K - $1M in growth capital, coaching, and a curated community of innovators and mentors.
Up to $1M | Deadline: 5/2/2025
The Creative Business Boost Initiative, presented by Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), with support from Etsy’s Uplift Fund! 100 creative entrepreneurs will be selected from eligible entrants to receive a $5,000 grant and access to an exclusive Boost Camp coaching program, helping them access capital and resources they need to foster growth and success.
$5K | Deadline: 5/9/2025
A 12 week global startup program where founders receive up to $1M in funding and additional resources.
Up to $1M | Deadline: 5/11/2025
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
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
The Prize seeks exceptional solutions that strengthen disaster resilience in the United States.
$250K | Deadline: 6/12/2025
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
🎙️ Podcast of the Week:
In this episode, Noah Greenberg walks through how he bootstrapped Stacker to $4M ARR by obsessively talking to customers, refining his go-to-market, and leveraging LinkedIn to generate pipeline. He shares a step-by-step strategy—from identifying your best-fit customers to warming them up with strategic posts and landing high-ticket sales—all without relying on ads or a traditional sales team.
Why I recommend it: This is a tactical masterclass for any founder struggling to generate sales, find product-market fit, or grow with limited resources. Noah doesn’t just preach “build in public”—he shows you how to turn that visibility into real revenue. His LinkedIn approach is one of the clearest, most practical frameworks I’ve seen, especially for B2B founders. 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 additional support in your fundraising journey? I will be working 1 on 1 with select founders to help. Founders interested in 1 on 1 support from me can learn more and consider submitting their company here.
Inspiration
💬 Tweet of the Week
Founder Question:
“What are the best platforms to find Angel Investors?”My response:
Honestly… there aren’t really any.
The thing about angel investors is that most of them aren’t actively looking for deals. That’s why cold outreach often doesn’t work.
They’re not
— Darrel Frater ✝️ (@DarrelFrater)
1:00 PM • Apr 5, 2025
🙏🏽 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?
I have family in town so there will be no Office Hours this Friday. We will resume on Friday, May 2nd.
Join us the following Friday for two more amazing guests joining us for Office Hours.
For session #1 we have Daniel Paredes, Investor at Sierra Ventures
SIERRA Ventures is an early-stage venture firm investing in the future of Enterprise and Emerging Technologies.
For session #2 we have Eon Mattis, Investor at Innospark Ventures
Innospark is an early-stage venture capital firm supporting founders who leverage AI to impact life sciences, healthcare, and business services.
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 giving. To learn more, reach out to Darrel Frater directly.
Reply