How Alisha Golden Is Redefining Startup Success

Alisha Golden, Investment Manager at Techstars, is dedicated to leveraging capital deployment for underserved founders in emerging regions. 

With a background in consulting and scaling startups, Alisha brings a global perspective to her investment role. Her unique approach combines rigorous evaluation criteria, hands-on support, and a focus on building strong founder-investor partnerships. She believes in investing at an early stage and actively working with portfolio companies to catalyze growth. By fostering strong founder-investor partnerships and emphasizing dialogue, Alisha aims to support the growth and success of startups that have the potential to make a lasting impact.

We asked Alisha what she looks for when considering an idea for investment and the advice she would give to those looking to pitch her.

Q: What past experiences have contributed to honing your skill set as an investor?

A: Before crossing over into the buy-side of startups, I built and ran a consulting firm in NYC on the sell-side. Our clientele was primarily made up of tech startups and development agencies. Our model was intentional about tieing our company's success to our clients’ KPIs and bottom line drivers. Many thought I was crazy for this, but it created a spirit of hustle internally for my team and kept us connected to the heartbeat of each of our customers' business/operations. Our firm was responsible for millions of dollars in capital raised for startups. We architected many major brand partnerships between tech startups and enterprise and legacy brands and supported many European and African companies to scale into North America.

All of this experience informed my approach as an investor today. I’ve been on both sides of the table and know what it takes to build, expand, and scale, which helps in identifying the investment bets I believe are worthwhile.

Additionally, my consultancy spun out a pre-accelerator aimed at closing the funding gap for women founders in Sub-Saharan Africa. Years of building this program has not only informed my individual programmatic style of investing through a global accelerator. It has also provided the contextual insights that shape investing in emerging markets as a thesis, specifically in Africa.

Q: What issues in the investment world are you trying to solve?

A: I’m driven by leveraging capital deployment to generate access and pathways for underserved, under-resourced founders. I believe redefining who the chosen ones are in startupland comes from betting on founders who are building in emerging regions and solving real problems. Historically, access to capital has been concentrated in certain parts of the world, which has fueled the idea around what best-in-class founders look like and where they can come from. Through taking a broader approach to finding world-class entrepreneurs building for the future and being able to generate healthy returns, we can actively change the narrative of what the best founders look like and where we should expect to find them.

Q: What do you look for when considering a company or idea for investment? 

A: I always start the review of every investment with these six baseline questions:

• What is the true problem this is solving and is this really needed?
• Is there anyone who could solve this same problem in a better way?
• What is unique about this founder or founding team that’s worth betting on? What in their journey gives them a competitive edge? 
• What skin in the game do they have?
• Where are they now? Where are they going? 
• Are they people with integrity?

Q: What types of companies are most exciting to you?

A: I like companies that are solving big hairy problems—founders and founding teams that are being bold and inventive in their approach, and leveraging a lifetime of skills and experience to tackle said problems. Companies that are solving challenges that are infrastructurally rooted really excite me. These will be the building blocks in emerging markets that lead to big wins for the tech ecosystems overall.

Q: How much time and energy do you devote to supporting portfolio companies, once you’ve invested?

A: I believe investing at an early stage and in emerging markets requires a hands-on approach to investing. Beyond this, investing in ventures is a service-based business, and founders at all stages should expect their investors to work for their deal. Good investors are partners with their portfolio companies, and that journey does not stop after the capital is deployed. Founders should look at investors with this lens if they are looking to build big and generate outsized returns.

Q: What’s the biggest misunderstanding that either founders or aspiring investors have about the investment industry?

A: I come across founders who immortalize investors, believing that investors are mythical creatures who get to determine their fate. In actuality, any good investment is a partnership. A company comes to the table with a unique approach to solving something significant in the market, a big vision, and some traction to boot, and, as investors, we apply capital, network, and tactical support to help catalyze that growth. Investors and founders work with and for each other. It’s a mutual journey toward win-win.

Additionally, I urge founders to understand this entire game is relational. Be good at building relationships built on solid interaction and trust, and you’ll find half the battle either on the founder side and the investor side won.

Q: What advice would you give to a company or founder wanting to pitch you?

A: When founders pitch me, I like to turn it into a dialogue versus a monologue. I do this for many reasons: 

1. I want to get into the weeds. I want to learn what you know about the problem you're solving. 
2. I want you to let me in on the secret you know that informs your approach to what you are building, how you are building, and why. I want to see how you handle feedback and tough questions.
3. I want to know just how much, and how long, you’ve thought about the problem. I want to see how resilient you are not only with questions and critical feedback, but with how you’ve responded when the market has rebuffed you.
4. The best pitches I’ve received have been from founders who have proven they’ve critically thought about what they are building, are resilient against all odds, and who are consistent executors who can move with speed. 

Alisha is a member of Dreamers & Doers, an award-winning community that amplifies extraordinary women entrepreneurs and leaders by securing PR, forging authentic connections, and curating high-impact resources. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and get involved here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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