GoldCapital Client Story: Sofiane of Throne Music

0:00 The Funding Table: GoldCapital Consulting podcast

[Cold open - highlights from the episode.]

Max: What is going on, and welcome back to The Funding Table, episode number seven. An exciting episode we have today. For those of you that are new here, this is a show devoted to all things venture capital, startups, and raising money, with the hope that you avoid some of the costliest mistakes we made on our own journeys. If you're returning, please drop a like, subscribe, and comment below - we want to hear from more of you; we've been getting some good engagement on the prior episodes. And speaking of engagement, we have one of our most active engagers on the podcast here with us today: Sofiane, an active GoldCapital and FTFC client - hopefully the first of many episodes showcasing the stories of the folks we get to work with every single day. And man, has this been an exciting process with you, Sofiane.

1:47 Max Goldberg, Mike Spidaliere, Sam Poon, Cam Owen

Max: Before we get into Sofiane, the company he's working on, and his background, it wouldn't be a Funding Table episode if we didn't go around the table and do some brief introductions and bios, so you know who you're hearing from. As always, I'll go first as the host of your show. My name is Max Goldberg. I'm a two-time exited startup founder, former investment banker, and Techstars alum - and I'm currently the founder and managing partner of GoldCapital Consulting, where we help startups raise capital. Mike, as always, welcome back.

Mike: I appreciate it. Mike Spidaliere, multi-time founder, CEO of First Time Founder Capital - founded it about three years ago. We work with early-stage founders to help them get to the point where they're both investable and investor ready.

Max: And we'll actually have an honorable callout shortly in the segment for Sofiane - he's about to get really investor ready in a moment here, isn't he?

Mike: Oh, yeah.

Max: Awesome. Turning it over to you, Sam, our resident VC. Welcome back to The Funding Table.

Sam: Thank you so much, Max. I'm Sam Poon, and as Max says, I came from the dark side - venture capital. That was sourcing companies, taking them through diligence, all the way through the investment committee before we decide whether to fund them or not. That was across pre-seed to Series B companies, in a generalist, global capacity, working with general partners that have done this collectively for over 40 years, having been among the earliest and largest investors in your Facebooks, Uber, Venmo, Beyond Meat. Nowadays everything's AI. Happy to be here.

Max: The least experienced man on the team. Thank you, Sam. Last but not least, my partner and COO at GoldCapital Consulting, Cam Owen. Welcome back to The Funding Table.

Cam: Yeah, I'm Cam Owen, partner and COO here at GoldCapital. I'm a one-time exited founder, bootstrapped. I'm the first person that got the pleasure of speaking with Sofiane, by the way, months ago. I talk with founders every single day and bring their burning questions to the funding table to discuss.

4:14 Who is Sofiane Seddiki of Throne Entertainment?

Max: Amazing. And this time we have another seat at the table for a very charming gentleman. Sofiane, why don't you do a brief introduction for those that don't know who you are and your company, and we'd love to dive into your background in more detail.

Sofiane: One hundred percent. First of all, guys, I'm excited to be here - thank you for having me. I'm Sofiane Seddiki, founder and CEO of Throne Entertainment, which is an entertainment company in the media business, in the music business. I started working a couple months ago with you guys, and it's been an incredible experience - almost a life-changing experience as a founder. I've worked with a lot of people before, in Europe and some in the US, and as you guys know, there's a lot of good and bad on the advisory side when it comes to fundraising. But it's the first time that I'm like, wow - this is it. I'm really happy about the work that we did, and I can't wait to keep going. It changed a lot of things for us, because you guys tell the truth. There are a lot of advisors that will say the things that you want to hear. You guys say the truth, and you don't apologize for it. You're super direct, super fast. Coming from Europe, where everything is super slow - you send an email, you get a response back ten days later - with you guys, it's seconds.

Max: That's the crazy Americans.

Sofiane: Exactly. Which I like. So yeah, I'm really excited.

Max: Well, we really appreciate that. The feeling is mutual, and we're excited to get into our experience - why we decided to work with you, what that's looked like from our vantage point as well. But there's a lot to unpack. Could you do a one-liner on the company? You should be able to do that now, Sofiane - we've gone through our process.

Sofiane: One hundred percent. Throne Entertainment is a company I founded a couple years ago, starting with a record label called Throne Music in Paris, France, and then in 2021, the United States. We've been fortunate to have a lot of success as an independent record label and management company, and we've decided to expand into sports management, media, and podcast production. And we decided to raise money so we can be way more competitive - and most importantly, we're building a very exciting AI operation, which is going to be key to the next phase of the company.

Max: I know I'm speaking for the team here, but when we came in, we were dealing with more of a traditional service record label - and now we're dealing with an AI-driven, and in some parts AI-native, operation, which we'll talk about in more detail, because a lot of folks considering working with us are in a similar boat and will value that experience.

7:59 Instinct raised $1.35B in 5 months - real or hype?

Max: I want to move on for a second - we couldn't run this podcast today without covering a major headline in the fundraising space. Maybe the most amount of money ever raised in the shortest amount of time, in the frothiest-seeming headlines I've been seeing. Mike, what's going on? What's the company, what's the headline, and what does this mean for everyone listening?

Mike: It is another surreal story. I feel like every other podcast I'm coming in and talking about a ridiculous raise. This time it's a company called Instinct. Noah Sims - he's 23 years old, used to work at an AI company. I took down notes, because this is just stupendous. Launched the private beta in February. Broke open the invite-only in August. In between: in April he raised a $50 million seed. In early August, $75 million at a $500 million valuation, with Kleiner leading. August 26th, he raises $250 million at a $2.5 billion valuation - Index and Benchmark leading. And then September 28th, he raises a Series C - a billion dollars at $10 billion - from Sequoia, Benchmark, and Coatue. About $1.35 billion in five months, and the team is only 14 people.

Cam: Oh my god. That's unbelievable.

Max: Before I dive deeper - Sam, if you saw this as an investor back in the day at VU, what would you think? Would you jump on it immediately, or is this too rich?

Sam: This is too rich. If I saw how much funding they got in that short amount of time, I'd say this valuation is kind of nutty. But that's the market we're in right now. People are exuberant. It's the times we're in.

Mike: Let me tell you some facts - see if this changes your mind. Noah went on a pod for the first time on Monday and announced a handful of things. One: 10% growth day over day - allegedly. They've had over $1 billion in annualized transactions, 80% retention, and 40% of users put their credit card down within three weeks. Does that change your mind?

Sam: It makes it a little more interesting, but it's a competitive space. Those metrics are outstanding - but there are bigger players entering this space. You have Muse coming out from Meta. Fighting against Zuck is not easy.

Mike: Sofiane, question for you. We help founders raise - we're on the front lines. But you yourself, as a CEO, are about to jump head first into a fundraise. You're seeing these headlines, these ridiculous raises in infrastructure and AI. Does that discourage you? Is it useful information? Or do you see it, brush it off, and go back to work?

Sofiane: This is wonderful - I need the phone number of that guy. But more seriously: I think it's very important for international founders who were not born in the United States, like me, to see that it's possible. When you wake up in the morning in Paris, France, and you watch TV, you don't hear about people raising hundreds of millions or billions. You hear the opposite - businesses closing. So for me, it's great energy. I don't have the details of his company, but he looks like a young founder who wants to go hard and is ready to compete, which I like. Pretty much every week in the news you hear that a guy raised $500 million at some enormous valuation. It means the market is active, people are willing to try to become great founders, and investors are ready to go. I'd say: great.

Mike: I love that positive attitude. And you reminded me I got so excited about the numbers that I didn't explain what the company does. It's an AI assistant in your pocket, all over messaging - iMessage, WhatsApp. You wake up, you text it a task, and it just gets it done. Whereas Muse is in an app you have to download, with this you just go on WhatsApp and tell it to do something. Pretty wild.

Cam: My question - and this is something founders face a lot, because we talked about vision versus revenue traction last week: how much of raising that amount of money that quickly is FOMO and momentum from the growth, and how much comes from the team?

Mike: With something this categorically massive, it's a trifecta. The team has to be incredible. The growth has to be monstrously J-curve. And it has to do with the industry - you're coming up against some of the biggest companies in the world, so you've got to have that war chest. If the team can share the vision, has the tech, and shows astronomical growth from a beta, it takes all three to raise that type of capital that quickly. Sam, do you agree?

Sam: I think it's metrics, traction, and a little bit of FOMO. But I'll layer this on: a lot of AI companies coming out are focused on enterprise, and people have been clamoring - maybe subconsciously - for something for the everyday person. This might be that solution. It's like we've been waiting for it, and now it's here.

Max: I'm very skeptical of this form factor. Let's just poll the room: raise your hand if you've used an iMessage agent for anything. None of you have even used the experience - and I guarantee most of the investors backing the company have never interacted with an agent over iMessage. I have. There was a social media agent from a company, Stan - it got very annoying, started messaging me all the time, and I blocked it. It was cool for about an hour. The form factor isn't right. If someone's going to win in this space, I'd bet on Apple, because they're becoming more of a walled garden - Apple is in the only position to use iMessage as a real social graph and distribution. Outside of Zuck and all the first-party data from Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, it's hard for me to believe these aren't going to be terrible investments. I'm very rarely a bear, but go clip this: I think every investor is going to lose money on this investment. I heard the founder speak - he's obviously bright and knows how to raise money, and I'll give him every accolade in the book; maybe he's more skilled than all of us. But I watched that podcast, and the ideas were regurgitated things everyone says. I think investors are doing hardly any product due diligence - I'd guarantee the elite investors in those rounds haven't used the product beyond five minutes or a demo. And number two: very sketchy reporting of metrics. Without charts and evidence, it's hard to know what's real. These platforms have crazy churn rates - you don't know how they're calculating retention. "Annualized transactions" sounds like a fancy way of saying GMV, which isn't that impressive when you're scaling to millions of people. There's a lot we don't know. Sofiane's really excited by this, and I love that - but these are actually scary. And this morning on Twitter, right above a post about Instinct, I saw a legend of the industry get asked what he'd be doing in venture right now given these valuations. He said: I wouldn't be in venture. Get out - this is becoming insane. People are going to get slaughtered on these kinds of investments.

Sofiane: This is a very interesting topic, because when I hear stories like this, to me it sounds like: you're an artist, you just put out a song, you're crazy viral everywhere, and all the record companies are calling you, offering deals that don't make a single bit of sense. But they do it because they want the market share. They want to be able to say, "We signed that guy." Yes, the deal doesn't make sense - we'll make our money back on some other guys, but we need that guy. To me, it looks like the equivalent on the investor side.

Cam: I love that you tied it back into your world.

20:07 Do mega AI rounds trickle down to seed founders?

Cam: What we're here to do is give value to founders - so my question to Mike and Sam, to tie it back to the Sofianes of the world raising rounds that are not a billion dollars: does any of that money start to trickle down? What effect does it have on founders at the earlier stages?

Sam: Do these mega rounds trickle down to the smaller rounds? Not directly. But there's a version of this that's actually okay. When money is expensive and it's being thrown into mega rounds, you have to be well positioned. For Sofiane's raise, it has to be what he needs right now - not just raising because he can. Eventually, when the market dips, the copycats won't get funded, and the investors still writing checks will be the ones who actually know what they're looking at. We're going to get to a point where it's a worse market but a better investor room. So - not directly, but the excitement is there. Right, Sofiane?

Sofiane: The excitement is there. And it's pretty much the same thing in every industry: everyone gets excited about something at some point, the winners win, the losers lose, and it all comes back to normal. Maybe we have mega rounds now, and in six months we see something different. Maybe the founders raising less money end up with more success, because people say: we're not going to spend $500 million on one company anymore - maybe it gets spread around. The winners are going to win and the losers are going to lose.

Max: That's the power law we talked about so much in the educational calls we did, Sofiane - the winners pay for all the losers. And I find it really interesting, because you and I both came from the music and tech industries, and you spotted the adjacencies: industries that follow strict power laws. There will be labels, just like funds, that make it rain. I actually think record labels have a better deal at face value than VCs do - they'll own the underlying asset, which is also part of what makes the business tough on some artists. I've personally felt that some of this investment activity goes back to the Cluely days and the Andreessen Horowitz investment. Think about it - there are many reasons those investments could just be marketing line items: give a founder like Roy Lee ten million bucks because it makes the fund super relevant, when he was everything on social media for a time. So maybe backing an Instinct - unless I'm a fool and don't understand how NPV and ROI work - there could be a lot of investors who just want to be part of the moment, and the bet is that the next Instinct, who might be far bigger, wants to raise from the same VCs because they gave this guy tons of money. A herd effect. We don't always know why a check is written - you assume it's just for stock.

Mike: I have a different line of thinking: acquisitions. These companies get massive rounds and want to spend them on the hottest companies. Once they're more capitalized, if you're creating a company with enormous value, making a splash, seeing substantial growth yourself - you have the potential to become an acquisition target. That's a real trickle-down effect of these poster rounds.

Max: The theme emerging here is that seed investors might write checks for different reasons - a big surge in relevancy with the upside of holding stock in the thing that could be the next big company is a pretty good bet, especially when it's not your own money. Meanwhile we have very different seed strategies right now - barbell approaches, late stage - there's a lot going on.

26:17 How do VCs judge music and consumer startups?

Max: Sam, you're the one who understands pre-seed and seed best here - you sat in those rooms at VU Venture Partners for years. A traditional music company like Sofiane's comes into the room, does the pitch, walks out - or leaves the Zoom. What gets said after that founder leaves the room?

Sam: After the founder leaves the room, the first thing we'd look at is: is this a company, or is this a label? What we're trying to get to is - are you going to be able to scale, or are you a service business reliant on one hit actually making it? It comes down to: do you have a system in place, or is this just luck? Within music and consumer, that's the biggest thing. Nobody doubts the result you have - they doubt whether you can do it again and again, with intentionality, on purpose. And it ties back to revenue concentration: if you're overly reliant on one artist or one song, that's the biggest single point of failure. There's too much risk. I'll also say: if you're in the music and consumer space, sometimes the investor you're in front of isn't well versed in it - you have to see if they're the right people. I've met music companies that just weren't a fit because we didn't know enough about the space.

Max: Interestingly enough, back in the day we pitched VCs - we can speak about one on the record in the network, right, Mike? The Chainsmokers and Mantis - and they don't do music investments anymore. There are a lot of folks in the industry who think they're too close to the problem and will no longer invest in it. So you have some people saying "we don't understand this," and other folks saying "we understand it so deeply it blinds us from an investment perspective." At the same time, music is so unique because it affects every single person - everyone loves music, so it's a very alluring place to park dollars. Sofiane - let's say you had access to the intercom into that room, and you just heard Sam's take. What would be your response?

Sofiane: I would say it all depends on whether the company is real - if the founder and his team have real skills. Yes, you can have a TikTok moment, a viral moment, but it doesn't mean you're going to have a career. What makes the difference is whether you have the right team and a strategy to get there. Obviously there are a lot of music companies out there, because it looks good to say "I'm a music label, we're doing parties, we're having fun." In my case, I've been a professional musician for a lot of years - I started when I was 15. I worked with some of the biggest stars in the world as a drummer and music director. My skills in music come from a real place - I'm a musician myself, I've toured the world, so I understand what it is. And when it comes to the business, it's the same thing: I was signing deals for artists with major companies all around the world before I was even 18. So I do understand this space. And now we're fortunate to have incredible people in the company - executives who are some of the best in the world in that space. I don't feel threatened by what Sam said, but I understand it, because most companies just hope for the best. Ambition is just not good enough sometimes.

Cam: I love that answer, because this is me from the front line speaking - I'm the first person people speak with, and then we decide whether we're going to work with them, and they decide whether they're going to work with us. Your story is everything, and I think Sofiane just crushed that. He just mentioned the accolades and the things he has done - that is what gets you across the finish line. Everybody has a story, and you have to be able to get it out of there. And if you don't have it, you should start working on it.

Max: That's what A&R does, right? These are professional people at building brands and identities, so it comes easy to someone like Sofiane. But I'm curious - you have people you interview to bring into the company, artists you're signing. When you tell them you're approaching the operations in an AI-driven way - radically different from how a lot of the crusty old incumbents function - what reaction have you gotten that surprised you, and how have you overcome it?

Sofiane: It's pretty easy, I would say, because the world is going to change anyway. It's almost like being an artist 20 years ago and being against Spotify, or being an artist who doesn't want to sell tickets through Ticketmaster. The smart artists understand that things are changing, and we're going to be one of the first companies to really do it at scale. Everybody we have understands the world is changing and wants to change it with us. I did hear some fun feedback from artists - but it's usually from the artist who doesn't have the potential to become a superstar. Because when you're a talent - an artist, a model, a journalist, a podcaster - you're a business. You have to have a strategy, or have the right people around you who understand what's going on.

Max: Spill some tea for us, though. The most difficult conversation you've had - give us something.

Sofiane: I was on a call with an artist based in the UK - a great artist. And what he said was very surprising: "I'm a real artist, and I won't do no AI thing." And we weren't talking about putting AI into his music - we're not touching anything. I just feel like some people are allergic to AI no matter what it is. Even if you explain that they're going to make more money and be able to focus even more on the artistry, some people will say no for whatever reason. And that's just pretty sad, because it's to your advantage as an artist. If you don't have your music on Spotify today - where are you?

Max: But do they like the AI that finds copyright infringement to protect their IP?

Sofiane: They do like that. And that's the funny part - they want to be protected.

Mike: It reminds me of when DoorDash and Uber Eats started to come up. A lot of restaurants said, "I'm not doing that - we do things the traditional way." And a lot of them lost a ton of money, got left behind, shut down, because they were scared to implement new technology. I agree with Sofiane - and I was going to ask: does their hesitancy come from the thought that you're going to inject AI into their actual art? I'm confused why they'd be against AI in the operations side of the business, versus turning every song into T-Pain.

Cam: Sofiane, is it because of the independence and freedom that a lot of artists enjoy?

Sofiane: That's a very interesting question, and there are multiple answers. First: artists are special people. They're not usually super pragmatic. Some of them are - the Jay-Zs of the world, the Mick Jaggers, the Bonos; those people are entrepreneurs. But there's the other side of artists - they're in their world, and our job is to figure out how to make that work. For some people it's going to be strangeness; for others, greatness. What we have to do is extract the greatness and make it a business. If they don't understand it at first, that's not a major problem - we're here for a reason, to explain. It took me a little time to understand it too, because the last thing you want as an artist is your art being changed or used without your permission. But as soon as you put facts in front of people and make them understand it's bringing more value, most artists are going to understand it's going in their direction.

Max: There's that rigidity - they're stubborn because they really believe in the thing. A lot of folks think real innovation is shiny object syndrome, that it's a fad. And for all we know, certain things could be. But with how good AI music tools are now, there's going to be a real moment soon on the consumer side.

38:02 How do I make my business venture fundable?

Max: You have that rigidity from the startup founder's perspective too. Sam - if someone listening has a business that resembles a traditional service business, or a legacy business that wouldn't necessarily be venture-backable: what would make that company more fundable from the venture investor's perspective? If Sofiane, or someone else, came in on day one with just the business - no AI, no real tech, just a traditional label - what should founders think through to make the company more fundable in a VC's eyes?

Sam: I would say really having proof - proof that the thing is repeatable. It goes back to repeatable growth engines: a system, not a streak. If you own something - catalog, I think, is way stronger than just IP, because people infringe on IP all the time. You need the data and something that actually proves it's more than a service. It's the economics and the numbers that show: this works, and this hit - listen, we have other hits; it's just more upside, we're not overly reliant on it. Having the proof point that you have a system in place is way stronger, because a service is a one-time thing - you're always involved with it, and you can't venture-scale that.

Max: Mike - riding on Sam's point, any recommendations for founders on how to turn something legacy and service-like into a true venture-backable outcome, AI-driven or not?

Mike: One of the biggest pieces of advice I have - and this is for every single industry - is don't just put "AI-driven" or "AI-native" on as a tag because your team uses an AI chatbot to answer questions. That's not an AI-driven company. If you're going to go the AI route, make sure it makes sense and it's scalable alongside your business. A lot of founders come in like, "We're AI for dogs," and it's a dog food company. You can't just put AI on there and get funding - investors see right through it. Make sure it's actually defensible and going into the operations and infrastructure of your business to help you scale.

Cam: When I say the proof points - I'm going to bring this back to Sofiane. When he was on a call with us the other day, he told us he went into one country he'd never stepped foot in, spotted a talent in another region, took that track to a completely different market, and showed that it scales. He's done that his entire career. Those are the proof points: what you did in the past, and recently, what have you done? And Sofiane's always like, "Yeah, I'm doing this," and I'm like - that's amazing, man, keep it going. That erases doubts and shows that it's fundable.

Sofiane: I think that's very correct. We've been able to have incredible success all around the world. The last time we were on a call, we talked about a single we released last year that went to number one globally on YouTube on release day - it now has 200 million views. It's a remix we did in India, and I've never been to India in my entire life. I did this from my dorm room. It comes from an understanding of how global this business is. I understood it a long time ago - I come from a very simple background, I come from no money, so I was pretty much hustling my way up into the music industry. But music allowed me to travel and understand different cultures - Asia, the United States, Latin America. I understand the power of music. Some people have the vision and some don't, but I have the feeling the investor community - the VCs, even the biggest names in this industry - do understand the value of the music and entertainment business, because it's growing like crazy. People use Spotify like they use Netflix - it's a commodity now, part of people's lives. You used to be a real fan if you were spending $15 a month on vinyl or CDs. Now there are close to a billion people subscribing to Spotify or Apple Music, which is enormous. The industry is doing incredibly well. But what has been incredibly valuable in working with you guys is getting a real understanding of how this works - how the VCs are going to think about it, what type of feedback we could get. That's the real value, because as a founder you're focused on what you're building, and you don't necessarily understand that world. Yes, you hear the headlines, you can watch some podcasts - but that's not enough. I could have started the raise before; we have success, we know a lot of people. But I wanted to understand it from people who did it, with the right mindset. It's incredibly valuable.

Max: That's not a surprise, Sofiane, because we know a lot more about your background - and we'll link to your socials below; people should go check out Sofiane. This guy would do absolutely anything to succeed. You're making it sound easy right now - and the risk capital is in the US, and you might not be surprised that a lot of folks from Europe will come onto a call just skeptical and pessimistic about everything. We've faced it a lot. There are great places that are not the United States for just about everything else - except risk capital. In that, we're sort of one and alone. And it takes a certain person: an incredible sense of self-conviction, an internal locus of control, extremely high agency. You literally just get on a plane and go anywhere - while some people won't leave their childhood bedroom and wonder why nothing changes. People need to get serious about business, or go get a job, because they're not built for this. You have the DNA of a superstar - that's why those people have an affinity for working with you.

47:21 How do I know I'm ready to raise money?

Max: So my question is: take us back to the first day you decided to pull the trigger on the raise - that point of maximum conviction where you knew it was time. What did you think the fundraising process was going to be, and what has it actually been so far?

Sofiane: Great question. After having a lot of success, I was doing the math, and I figured out that we're bringing too much value to the major companies. I like those guys - they're great partners - but we're bringing too much money and too much value to them. It's time for us to take advantage of our own talent and our own decisions. So we need to raise capital to compete with them. As simple as that. And the decision to raise money the right way came from experience. I've been to a lot of conferences in Paris, in Europe, and in the US, and I understood very quickly that we were going to have way more success raising in the US market, faster than in Europe. In Europe there are great investors - some are great friends - but it takes months to make a decision. You're going to have to meet them for dinner a hundred times before they decide, which probably sounds crazy to you guys, but that's how it works there. I've dealt with it before, and I just stopped it. I said: we're not doing this. I want investors that are going to move fast, that understand the business, and that want to play long with us - because we're trying to win here. We're trying to create a billion-dollar company. In Europe, the mentality goes instantly to figuring out what the problems are. People have asked me crazy questions - "What if the artist dies? What if the artist is sick? What if you're sick?" - and I'm like, guys, what are we doing here? I've traveled enough to understand that every place is different and cultural differences are real. But when it comes to business, there's a reason the United States is the major player.

Max: It's also because we don't stop working. But I'm curious - you had connections, you had meetings. You could have just executed there. Was something missing in the know-how, the presentation, the skills? Did you recognize before working with us that the intros are the piece that comes at the end - that all this other work has to happen first? Was that an epiphany, or something you expected?

50:38 What is it like to work with GoldCapital?

Sofiane: Well, it was pretty much life-changing, because before starting with you guys, the whole fundraising process felt weird to me. It didn't feel organic. It felt long. It felt like it was not my thing. But as soon as I was able to get into the real details and understand how it works in the US, and get some feedback, I understood that it's as important for me as a founder as it is for an investor to have people like you guys - people who make it safer for the entrepreneur, but also for the investor. Because if I'm an investor tomorrow, the last thing I want is to invest in the wrong company. And as a founder, the last thing I want is crazy investors that don't understand anything and move slow. You guys make the process way easier for both sides.

Max: I'm happy you brought up the other side too. This is a very unique perspective - which is why, candidly, we have a lot of options of folks we could bring on here, and you're one of the few who deeply empathizes with the investor side as well. And Mike in a minute might share - he's got some incredible names and folks that will be coming along for the ride with you, Sofiane; it sounds like there's a bunch of intros that might be made right after the pod, because time is of the essence. But that investor perspective is super interesting. And when Cam speaks with founders day in and day out, they ask him all sorts of questions when deciding to work with us. Cam - would you be willing to ask Sofiane, who's now gone through the experience, some of the questions folks have been asking you lately? He's in the sales seat.

54:43 Can I raise money without a fundraising advisor?

Cam: I love it, and I'm absolutely happy to do that. Before I do, I want to give Sofiane his flowers. Everybody watching can see the drive and ambition Sofiane has. Every person we speak with - of course we take notes, we talk about the founders; we make decisions quick, but not randomly. It has to be a gut feeling at the end of the day, but you need your notes. And frankly, my notes on Sofiane from the first call - I brought them up just so I could see them: "Super quick, super ambitious. Fully confident in what he's doing." That was it. The business was perfect - given Max's background, there were no questions about fit. It was much more about who is the person we'd be working with, and Sofiane fit the bill to a tee. So - the questions I get asked every day. The first and biggest one: "Why shouldn't I just try this myself? What does a fundraising advisor really add?" Sofiane - why shouldn't somebody do this themselves? Is it timing, the knowledge, the people? What seems most important?

Sofiane: That's a great question, because some people could. But when you're a founder, you have to stay a founder. I'm building this company every single day. I don't have the time, and most importantly, I don't have the experience that you guys have. Maybe, yeah, I could do this myself - but it would take me three years. Do I have three years to lose? I'm not sure. So what I wanted to do is get in business with people that I can trust, that have the real experience, so I can keep being a founder and run my company the way I should run it. It's incredibly important to surround yourself with the right people - because I don't see how, in today's world, you're going to run your company, raise money, teach yourself with no experience, and go out and try to raise where people are raising hundreds of millions of dollars. It's super competitive. It moves quick. To me it looks crazy. Maybe it's possible - maybe I'm crazy. But I'm pragmatic, and I want to win, and I want to win fast. The first call we did was during the night for me - it was 2 AM my time. I'm intense.

56:56 Is GoldCapital Consulting legit?

Max: Sofiane, you mentioned one key word that's very important - and we're screening for this just as much as folks are screening it for us. You mentioned trust. What made you trust us? Because we had zero mutual connections prior to this.

Sofiane: To be honest, I've done this before. I'm speaking to big executives, superstars, big managers, millionaires, billionaires. So I would say it's my gut - gut instinct. That's my job; some people just have a better instinct than others. And real recognizes real. It was a very fast decision - I didn't need six months to think about it. I've spoken to enough people to figure out: okay, these guys are ready to go. They know what they're doing, and they're going to bring value to me, my company, and pretty much my life. Because coming from Europe, I can tell you - there are a lot of investors and a lot of entrepreneurs, but a lot of them are struggling because people just don't move fast there. That's just a fact. Understanding there's another way to do it was kind of a relief, to be honest.

Max: You did your homework, but also quickly. You had conversations with folks to vet us - you told us about this - within a very short time frame. Although we had a massive hiccup at the beginning of the engagement, which, if you're comfortable, I'd love to share - it wasn't funny in the moment. There were some banking issues, to say the least. And it wasn't because of funds - it was the wire system. It fits everything Sofiane has said about how slow things move. And on the flip side: Sofiane went to the bank probably 15 or 20 times. He gets things done. A teller switched up the account number - transposed two digits - and the money was nowhere to be found. It was out of Sofiane's account, and the retainer was not to be seen in our account for what felt like two years, but I'm pretty sure it was 60 days. And I heard from Cam and Sofiane every single day - there was a touchpoint on WhatsApp every day. That was just cool. It didn't feel good in the moment - we were demanding we get going because we were on a timeline - but you could only feel for the guy. And finally Wells Fargo was the one who sorted it out.

Sofiane: Exactly. And look - this is a very good example of what people are facing on an international level, because it goes from banking to pretty much anything else when you're trying to create a company here. Getting the incorporation done, opening the bank account - everything takes a long time, and it slows people down. I'm not saying it's impossible to be an entrepreneur in Europe - there are incredible entrepreneurs in Europe - but most of them, at some point, went to the US to get to the next step. The first example that comes to mind is Bernard Arnault with LVMH, who represents French excellence - but he went to New York in the 80s and figured out: this is how we're going to build the biggest luxury group in the world. And he did. He took French culture as the core, because he's a great tastemaker, but he applied American business culture. People thought he was crazy - some people still do; that's how disconnected people are. He's one of the richest people in the world, an incredible entrepreneur. There's a massive cultural difference between the United States and especially France - and that's okay. I'm more than happy to be a French citizen. But as a founder, if you're a global business person, you have to understand those differences, take action, make the right decision on where to start your business - and choose your advisors wisely.

Max: Action versus excuses, every time.

Sofiane: Exactly - because it's easy to say, "I'm coming from France, it's too complicated," or "I'm coming from Sweden, it's hard." Everybody has a different story, but it's your job as a founder to figure it out. If you have to go to China, or to the moon, whatever it is - you just go and figure it out.

Cam: This has been fantastic. And just so we're clear: we did not prep Sofiane in the slightest on this. We don't prep each other on these things. This is as raw and authentic as it gets, and Sofiane can attest to that.

Cam: The other big thing I get hit with all the time is a bit of overconfidence - and you have to be confident; it's why I just praised Sofiane's confidence. But you have people who think, "I just need the warm introductions. I don't need help, education, preparation - just intros." It's a sense of you don't know what you don't know, and Sofiane did a good job of saying that - it's why he hired people like us. So from the education side, not the intros: how important has that been? Did it save you time? Where does the education and preparation side land with you?

Sofiane: It was probably the most important thing. Because right now, when I look back, I'm glad I didn't start the raise before meeting you guys. I'm really happy about it, because now I have a way more skilled vision about it. We've put hours and hours and hundreds of emails - we've put the work in on all of that. Even people around me can see the change. The confidence is different. I've always been confident, and I was going to be successful anyway - but right now I feel like I'm ready to go in the right way. I've been told a lot of things in the past - previous advisors, friends - but it didn't click. My instinct said: that's maybe how it works, but it doesn't make sense to me. As soon as we started working, it clicked. It makes sense.

1:05:54 Is GoldCapital Consulting worth the cost?

Max: You paid a small fortune for the work we've accomplished over the last several weeks. You paid a lot of money, as do all of our clients - this is not supposed to be some cheap service. All of these engagements in aggregate are hundreds of thousands of dollars all in. Do you think you paid the right amount? Would you pay more? Was the stuff you learned important?

Sofiane: To be honest - when I see what other people, who don't have a slice of your experience, are charging, I would suggest you should charge a little more. Because the value is real. And I figured that out pretty quickly. You've talked about this before on previous episodes: there are a lot of scammers in this industry, and they'll charge enormous amounts of money for nothing. They'll run something through AI, do a couple of calls, and tell you good luck. What I've liked about our calls and the work we did - and are still doing - is that everybody on the team is aggressive and relentless about details, and nothing is over until it is. That's what I like, and that's the real value. Most people will say, "Hey, we spent two weeks on your company - good luck." You've spent a lot of time building this strategy, and I'm grateful for that. It feels right. And I would recommend that any founder who's trying to build a real company and raise serious amounts of money seriously consider working with you guys - because I've met a lot of people, a lot of advisors, and no one comes even close.

1:08:26 What could GoldCapital do better?

Max: Thank you for saying that - it's certainly mutual. But I want to make sure we push back on ourselves for a second, because a lot of folks will see something like this and think social media is an illusion - and we understand how it can be. I'm blown away by some of the words you used; I even think you're giving us too much credit in some cases. This is not designed to be some puff piece about GoldCapital and FTFC. So let me push back: would you give us some constructive feedback? Where in the process could we get stronger? Is there an area where we could have pushed you more, or taught you something we missed? I'd love at least a couple of things we can take away as a company - because we're also a startup.

Sofiane: It's a tough one, because it's all been really, really great. The only thing I would say: I would love to be in touch with you guys even more. I think I became a better entrepreneur because of our work. I remember there was a time where we didn't speak for ten days, and I was having anxiety - like, where is my life going? No, but seriously: it's tough to be a founder. Even if you're talented, even if you have success, it's tough. So it feels good to have talented people with the drive and the energy going through that process with you. Because for most people, if they don't raise money, they just die - and that has serious consequences for their employees, their artists if they're a label, their company. It's critical. So I'm really happy about it.

Max: And to narrow in on that - when you talk about that lull, are you speaking specifically about the raise, or broader in scope: going over go-to-market, business development, things outside fundraising? Or just more cadence on the raise itself?

Sofiane: What I love about your approach is that it's very structured and clear. When the deal is done, you have a clear understanding of what the process is going to be - and it happens exactly like that. The most important thing for a founder is to avoid things that are unclear. That has been a great plus, because I have a lot of things on my mind. I'm busy, I'm traveling - we had concerts, tours, fashion shows, podcasts, movies being made, major meetings. The last thing I want is to worry about how I'm going to work with these guys. It was incredibly well structured, and the execution was even better than what I thought it would be. People are going to think that I've been paid to say this -

Max: And honestly, after this, I might just have to.

Sofiane: No, but seriously - I'm not going to name anybody, but I've worked with a lot of advisors before, and oh my god, the amount of money that we've lost. It's just crazy. People are using the fear that entrepreneurs have - because that's a fear: some people are going to go out of business, some people are questioning whether they're good enough. So it's a pretty easy business to go to a founder and tell him, "Yes, I'm going to guarantee we'll raise $50 million for you." That's a little bit of a stretch. Even intelligent people can fall for that trap. I've had bad experiences before - so that's why it feels so good, to be honest.

Cam: You pay for everything in life - either in lessons learned, or you just pay for it. It sounds like you've done a bit of both, and I think that's part of what gave you the conviction to work with us. Real recognizes real: having those issues with people showed you the pitfalls and things to stay away from. And I think it should be clear to everybody watching that Sofiane has an immense amount of not just respect but direction. When he wants something, he goes and gets it. That's something I try to share with every founder, even the many people we don't work with: it takes a very big amount of delusional confidence and direction. Max always says it best - entrepreneurship is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss.

Max: I wish I invented that one.

1:13:59 How do I contact Sofiane Seddiki?

Max: Sofiane, typically we like to end these with some hot topic to go around the table, but honestly, I feel like that would do a disservice to where we're leaving this. Now - I'm not allowed to solicit investors, so I will not be telling any investors listening that they can reach out to you. But Sofiane is constantly looking for great new talent: partners, anyone in the music industry - nothing to do with the business of the raise. Where would people go about reaching you? We'll link to it in the description as well.

Sofiane: They can reach me pretty much everywhere - Instagram, LinkedIn, whatever it is. We're always happy to meet new people. But again, the real value of working with you guys is also understanding who should be your partner and who shouldn't. Not every dollar is a good dollar. I would suggest to founders: it might be tough sometimes, but you have to pay attention to who you're taking money from, because the last thing you want as a founder is being disrupted by investors that don't understand what they're doing. Crazy things happen to founders, and it can be very bad if you don't pay attention - on both sides. I'm not the type of founder who says just pay attention to the investor. I have to put myself in both shoes and think for the investor as well. If I'm an investor tomorrow, I want to invest my money into something real. Founders should think about that too. Sometimes founders are under the impression that the universe owes them something - but that's just not true. Nobody is waiting outside your door to give you money for anything. And no one will pay attention to what you're doing until you give them a reason to.

Max: Well said. We're going to need a line of t-shirts with some of the things you've said here - very good sound bites. And I don't think that's just entrepreneurs; that's most people. Mike - in the spirit of this podcast being small enough that you don't take a reputational hit, but with some VCs definitely tuning in: maybe you want to call your shot. Give Sofiane a sneak peek of what's coming. No one's going to hold you to it.

Mike: I'm not going to give you specific names, Sofiane, but I am going to say: the first person I'm reaching out to right after this pod is backed by some of the biggest names in music. The second we end this call, I'm jumping into shipping mode - and I couldn't be more excited. You've been an absolute pleasure to work with so far.

Sofiane: Thank you, guys. It's been an incredible journey, and I just can't wait to get going. And even after it's done, I don't want this relationship to be over - we'll have to figure out something.

Max: Oh, you're flying us to Paris to party once the round's done - that's how it continues. And you're gearing up for a Series A; this one's about to be done, and we'll be on to the next one shortly. We get to move a lot faster now, because you have the education - you understand how we build materials, so we actually get to the intros faster. Look: we really appreciate you, Sofiane, more than you can imagine - and I'm not just saying this for the camera. What we'd love to do is have you back in a couple of months, let you continue to grow the business and raise, and do a before-and-after at some point - a part two where we talk more about the actual business.

Max: For everyone that's made it here - you are in the top percent of the top percent. Not to say you should spend your life watching other people speak; frankly, you should build your own podcast and generate your own exposure, like Sofiane was saying. But if you got to this point, you have a lot more knowledge than the counterparts you're going up against - and venture is a zero-sum game. If you keep watching our other episodes and staying tuned in - and we'd ask you to subscribe right now, because most of you, in fact, are not subscribed - this is a way to get a leg up for free. I wish you'd had this podcast beforehand, Sofiane; I imagine we'd probably still be working together, because you actually want to move with speed and have leverage. If you enjoyed this episode, if you liked hearing Sofiane's story, subscribe, like, and comment below. I'll be sending any comments and questions you have for Sofiane his way - or Sofiane, you might as well just live in the comments and answer yourself. Next time, we have another client coming on - actually a newer client - and we're going to have a very different conversation: a completely different story, upbringing, career path, and a super, super niche business, but a really amazing person, and we're excited to share his experience. And later this month, we have a startup attorney joining - someone that's worked with a number of our clients and reviewed engagements we've sent out. I think that'll be uniquely advantageous, especially for folks internationally wondering how to navigate the legal framework here in the States. Until then - really appreciate you all tuning in. Gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. This was a blast.

Sofiane: Thank you, guys. I had an amazing time.

Max: Back to the grind, guys. Thank you. See you.