Welcome to The Vitalize Podcast by Vitalize Venture Capital

Deep Dive: How Gale Wilkinson Conducts Founder Calls

In this episode, Justin Gordon (@justingordon212) talks again with Gale Wilkinson (@galeforceVC), Founder and Managing Partner at VITALIZE, a seed-stage venture fund and angel community investing in The Work Revolution. In this round with Gale, we dig into how she conducts initial founder calls for VITALIZE.

Previously, Gale founded IrishAngels, one of the largest angel groups in the world. She has led $65M+ in early-stage deals across 80+ startups. Her experience prior to VC includes founding two failed startups, consulting for new product launches with Nielsen, and strategy with Orbitz. Gale received a BBA with honors from Notre Dame and an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She was a founding Board member of the C200 Scholars Network, and she is currently a founding Board member of Chicago Blend, an organization focused on increasing diversity in VC and startups.

Website: https://vitalize.vc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galevc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
VITALIZE Newsletter: https://vitalizevc.substack.com/
VITALIZE Angel Investing Community: https://vitalizeangels.com/

Show Notes:
0:00 What Gale looks to get out of initial founder calls
0:53 Gale’s secret to running founder calls
2:27 The general script Gale uses and how she tailors it contextually
4:14 What helps founders stand out
5:51 How Gale takes notes during the call
7:30 Gale’s mindset in initial evaluation of founders and the process for a founder to make it through to diligence
10:15 How these calls differ for Gale as a VC fund manager vs as an angel investor
12:05 Behavioral red flags from founders
14:31 How Gale has adjusted to remote founder calls
15:58 Process and company red flags to look out for
21:08 Factors to consider when determining ownership terms
23:18 How founders/investors should prepare for calls with investors/LPs
25:26 The importance of showing up authentically
26:47 Gale’s thoughts on giving feedback on calls
30:57 What founders should ask VCs

More about us:

VITALIZE Venture Capital was formed in 2017 as a $16M seed-stage venture fund and now includes both a fund as well as an angel investing community investing in the future of work. VITALIZE has offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

The VITALIZE Team:
Gale - https://twitter.com/galeforceVC
Caroline - https://twitter.com/carolinecasson_
Justin - https://twitter.com/justingordon212
Larissa - https://twitter.com/LarissaInsogna

VITALIZE Angels, our angel investing community open to everyone:
https://www.vitalize.vc/vitalize-angels/