Your Partner for Your Full Potential
 

Joe MerrilL

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Joe Merrill is the co-founder and Partner of Sputnik ATX, and Partner in the Linden group of venture funds based in Austin, Texas. Merrill is a former U.S. diplomat and served as a political, economic and consular officer at U.S. Embassies in Bosnia, Nigeria, and South Korea as well as postings at the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C..

After leaving the State Department, Merrill worked in corporate treasury, finance and development at Deere and Company before entering the private equity world at a Carlyle-Apollo education fund, Apollo Global. Overall, Joe has over $3 billion of transaction experience in venture investing. Merrill has also founded and exited two start-ups, Pan Am Education and Smart FundEd. He enjoys running around Town Lake in Austin and early morning swims at Barton Springs!

His blog can be found at www.econtrepreneur.com and you can find him on Twitter at @Austin_VC. Below are articles Joe has written for Sputnik ATX.

Blog
Changes At Sputnik ATX (Updates to our SAFE - April 2024)
Changes At Sputnik ATX (Updates to our SAFE - April 2024)

We’re adding more follow-on funding, and here’s how our interview process and classes will look during the pandemic.

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De-Risk Your Startup
Fundraising: Don’t Waste Time Convincing Skeptics
Fundraising: Don’t Waste Time Convincing Skeptics

Find investors who share your “gospel” and understand what you’re doing.

Blitzfailing: How to NOT Grow a Company
Blitzfailing: How to NOT Grow a Company
Changes At Sputnik ATX
Changes At Sputnik ATX

We’re adding more follow-on funding, and here’s how our interview process and classes will look during the pandemic.

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Beware of the Startup Industrial Complex

As an early stage VC, one of the saddest things I observe from meetings with founders is the toxic and pervasive influence of what I call the start-up industrial complex (the SIC).

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What Entrepreneurs Really Need (and It Isn’t Funding)

I recently saw data from Y Combinator comparing what founders consider their biggest obstacle, then contrasting that with a list of the things proven to grow companies fast (what you really need).

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Is Your Start-Up Struggling for Sales?

Struggling for sales? One of the things entrepreneurs often don’t consider is the price customers actually pay when purchasing.

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Five Questions Every Start-Up Should Ask About Accelerators

If you’re a breathing human, you’re confused by the veritable potpourri of accelerator and incubator options clogging your inbox. Need help evaluating which one is right for you?

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The Worst Start-Up, Ever!

Angel Sheet is the worlds first fully-social, AI infused, machine learning toilet paper, on the blockchain. Yes, you heard me correctly.