Interview with Angel Orrantia, Founder and President of i2i Corporate Strategies
Check out the latest edition of Founder Spotlight! This time, we’re shining a light on Angel Orrantia, the dynamic Founder and President of Corporate Strategies. i2i Corporate Strategies is at the forefront of providing advisory and consulting services to drive Indigenous economic development, enterprise, and business opportunities. Get ready to dive into the world of i2i Corporate Strategies with Angel Orrantia!
Can you provide an overview of i2i Global and its mission in the fundraising space?
i2i Corporate Strategies helps private companies raise capital and prepare for an exit, either an acquisition or IPO. Through our partners, we offer the startup community a wide range of services.
What inspired the creation of i2i Global, and how does it differentiate itself from other fundraising strategy services?
The genesis of i2i is owed to a gap in the market. Investment banks can’t come down market (aka make their services affordable) for startups. Many early-stage founders don’t have the experience raising capital or the time to undertake the process. Our unique blend of AI automation and hands-on assistance differentiates us from the competition.
Could you explain how i2i Global integrates AI technology, particularly the AI Chatbot, into its fundraising services?
We use a number of AIs to help us find investors. Using an AI developed in Stanford’s Neurobiology Department, we first create a 2000 pt psychographic profile of our client’s ideal investor. Then, we use that profile to find matching profiles on LinkedIn and investor databases (e.g., Pitchbook, Crunchbase). On LinkedIn, many angel investors do not self-identify. Therefore, we use another AI that checks their slime trail. That AI checks all known social media sites to confirm that the person identified is an active investor and invests in the client’s space. Finally, we have another AI that consumes our client’s pitch deck and the profile of the investor we are contacting. That patented AI produces an introductory paragraph for that specific investor. The chatbots we create are the digital twin of the CEO and are intended to be a stand-in with investors to get all their first order questions answered. While we build and maintain the chatbot, the client merely has to include a few lines of code on their website to enable the chatbot.
What key benefits can startups expect from utilizing i2i Global’s end-to-end fundraising service?
The biggest benefit is that we do the fundraising for the client. Not only do we have superior technology to identify investors, that’s actually the easy part. We also manage the outreach and follow up to all the investors so our clients only take meetings with investors who have been thoroughly vetted and have interest in making an investment.
How does i2i Global assist startups in choosing the right route to investment at different stages of their growth?
Through years of experience and a current understanding of the fundraising ecosystem, we can easily help companies determine the appropriate investment terms and underlying investment vehicle.
What strategies does i2i Global employ to help startups define compelling propositions that resonate with investors?
We work closely with our clients to incorporate not just our perspective on how to make their story more compelling, but also incorporate all the learnings from other campaigns we are running in parallel. We’re constantly gathering data and using that information to make all our clients more successful.
Can you elaborate on how i2i Global supports startups in refining their pitch and creating effective marketing collaterals?
There are two unfair advantages we have to help our client refine their pitch. First, I have been an active investor for decades. Knowing what investors are looking for comes second nature to me at this point. The second unfair advantage is that we are running multiple campaigns and gathering data from each one that we then use for the benefit of all our clients.
Could you share some examples of successful fundraising campaigns facilitated by i2i Global?
Our most successful campaign was with the ORNA App team. I’m still on their Board. With ORNA, we were able to get them funded a mere four months after we incorporated the company.
How does i2i Global provide legal guidance to startups navigating the complexities of fundraising?
We provide two cost-effective models for engaging with early-stage startups. The first is a subscription model, where startups have access to a corporate attorney in exchange for a monthly fee. The second method is project-based pricing. Since we don’t do hourly work, we don’t have to spend the time and effort to log our time or the expense of maintaining software systems to track our time.
Lastly, what future developments or expansions can we expect from i2i Global in the fundraising landscape?
Our biggest expansion at the moment is coming from our partners and channel partners. We have several organizations that have joined us to either provide referrals or white label our services. These engagements are allowing i2i to grow much quicker than when we were going it alone.
