Investor Office Hours w/ AP1 VC & Mission One Capital (M1C)

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Darrel Frater ✝️
@DarrelFraterSep 1, 2025

The Spaces brought together host Daryl Freighter and two investors—Arturo (AP1 VC) and Atlas (Mission One Capital)—to demystify early-stage venture, share fund theses, and provide real-time feedback on founder pitches. Arturo, a 0-to-1 builder turned investor, outlined AP1 VC’s $5M pre-seed focus on AI-first B2B in proptech, supply chain, and healthtech, emphasizing partnership, defensibility beyond thin LLM “wrappers,” working product, and a unique GTM edge. He detailed a hands-on 30-day “do-diligence” sprint with founders. Founders pitched across deepfake detection, sales/lead-gen GTM and pricing, culture-led work infrastructure, a healing-first dating platform, and a creator analytics/fintech concept, receiving guidance on ICP focus, upmarket moves, churn/LTV, and bottom-up market sizing. In hour two, Atlas shared Mission One’s specialist thesis—Energy Abundance, Industrial Resilience, and Earth Systems—anchored in macro shifts (AI power demand, onshoring, critical minerals, energy as national security), dual-use paths, and a value-add centered on peak performance (leadership and longevity). He advised on one-minute pitches (story, one key chart, and a founder’s “secret”), aligning fundraising with the right investor persona—especially for regulated or creator-focused plays—and closed with targeted feedback on construction AI co-pilots and a Ghana gold-trading platform.

Weekly Investor Office Hours — Session Summary and Notes

Host, Format, and Announcements

  • Host: Daryl Freighter — Co-founder, Freighter Family Foundation (Tulsa). Focus: economic mobility via tech and entrepreneurship; advises/invests in early-stage fintech, SMB/solopreneur SaaS, future of work, and AI that helps people build wealth. Has run these office hours weekly for 2.5+ years.
  • Community: Sessions now hosted within Adam’s “startup community,” expanding reach to ~150,000 entrepreneurs.
  • Event: Tulsa Tech Week (week of Sept 22). Daryl is hosting “Feature Day” in Tulsa with partner Rod Walton (Think Moda). Panels, founder showcases, networking, investors. Flyer/registration to be announced imminently.

Fireside with Arturo (AP1 VC)

Who is Arturo

  • Background: Lifelong founder/builder; multiple 0→1 experiences (pre-idea to hundreds of millions in raises/exits). Several wins and failures. Transitioned to full-time investor to back many companies while remaining hands-on with founders.
  • Investment POV: Founder-first, operator mindset; invests where he has built and succeeded. Views early-stage investment as a deeply personal, relationship-driven partnership.

Fund: AP1 VC (Austin, TX)

  • Stage & Size: $5M pre-seed fund.
  • Check size: Low six figures; ~$150k average.
  • Thesis (AI-first B2B): Focused on legacy, high-impact, “boring but vital” sectors:
    • PropTech
    • Supply Chain
    • HealthTech Rationale: These operate core societal systems (housing/infrastructure, logistics/manufacturing, healthcare) and are undergoing urgent AI-driven transformation; large impact potential with significant upside.

What Arturo Looks For

  • Minimum bar:
    • Working product (not ideas only). Barrier to functional prototype is low; expects click-through demos at minimum.
    • Unfair GTM advantage (unique wedge, distribution access, specialized networks, LOIs, or buyer access). Not rigid ARR thresholds, but concrete evidence of how you’ll win customers.
  • Timing to engage:
    • Prefers to meet slightly before investable milestones if there’s commitment and something tangible to point to (not purely “day-zero” ideation). Long-term relationships matter; will support earlier for known builders.

“Do/Dont’s” in AI and Early Stage

  • Don’t: Thin wrappers over LLMs tackling trivial or non-painful problems; easily outpaced by next GPT/cloud update; low defensibility.
  • Do: Solve loud, painful, monetizable problems in ways that can’t be swallowed by platform updates. Defensibility from domain expertise, proprietary workflows/data, and niche depth. Technology is a tool; insight comes from deep customer problem understanding.

Process: From First Call to Check

  • Call 1: High-level intro/fit.
  • Call 2: Working product walkthrough; story of what’s live and why.
  • Due Diligence as Do-Diligence (30 days): Work together on a real company problem (e.g., GTM plan, product iteration). Define success criteria, execute a mini-project. Outcome: company improves + Arturo assesses founder execution, resilience, and working dynamic. Then check-writing decision.

One-Minute Pitch Advice (Office Hours Format)

  • Goal: Spark enough interest for a follow-up. In 60 seconds: Why this, why now, and why you.
  • Include: Market/context sizing at a high level, the core problem, your unique edge, and a hook that compels “let’s keep talking.”

Founder Pitches to Arturo — Key Summaries and Feedback

1) Journaling App (Speaker: Andrea/Andre)

  • Product: App to make journaling effortless in ~60 seconds.
  • Status: Listening; no prepared pitch; no specific ask.

2) Previas (Speaker: Idris, Nigeria)

  • Product: AI content forensics — detect image/video/text authenticity (real vs AI-generated) to combat misinformation; use cases include political deepfakes causing panic.
  • Feedback (Arturo): Shared personal approach to questionable content (skepticism, mental health filters). No specific investment feedback given; discussion acknowledged problem relevance.

3) Sales AI for Lead Gen and Conversion (Speaker: Akin)

  • Product: AI-driven lead gen/outreach; initial traction with advisors at UBS/Morgan Stanley, recruiters, M&A advisors; pricing experiments from $100–$500 up to $5,000/month.
  • Ask: GTM and pricing strategy — high-ACV verticals vs many SMB users.
  • Feedback (Arturo):
    • Moving upmarket typically increases ACV/margins but extends sales cycles; may require building a sales org; beware becoming a dev shop for one big client.
    • Evaluate churn and LTV across segments; SMB low-ACV could still win if churn is low and LTV strong; enterprise CAC payback and retention must be robust.
    • Historically B2B firms often start lower and move upmarket; your direction (bigger ACVs) makes sense if supported by sales motion and retention.

4) AI Infra for Culture-Led Businesses (Speaker: Preston)

  • Product: “Dropbox + Asana + Slack for sports/music/entertainment” — infra for talent/creative operations; interviewing 2,000 creative/talent teams; ~$110k ARR; raising $1.2M on $10M post (YC Safe).
  • Ask: GTM wedges and fundraising advice.
  • Feedback (Arturo):
    • Sharpen ICP: Agencies (NIL/production) appear promising; double down where pain is high and budgets exist.
    • Enterprise vs SMB: No universal best; enterprise has higher ACV but higher CAC and longer cycles; ensure stickiness and positive unit economics.
    • Focus on the segment with strongest signal (willingness to pay + retention + clear ROI).

5) Upfront — Intentional Dating for Black Professionals (Speaker: John Graham)

  • Product: Dating ecosystem for healing, self-aware Black professionals seeking marriage; mandatory 30-day “healing journey” before matchmaking; AI guides (Langstener, Zora); mission to facilitate 1M Black marriages by 2035; raising $5M at $15M cap.
  • Ask: Aligning mission with capital; picking the right investor partners.
  • Feedback (Arturo):
    • Mission resonates, but venture requires clear return path; if revenue model/scale path is murky, consider philanthropic/family offices or impact-aligned capital.
    • Market sizing: Avoid top-down “entire dating spend” claims; use bottom-up sizing tied to realistic capture of app spend (e.g., what Black users spend on comparable apps monthly). Be prepared to show expansion beyond initial niche over time while starting focused.

6) “Bloomberg for the Creator Economy” — Investing in Creators (Speaker: Rundle; product “Alfina”)

  • Product: Scores/insights on creator videos (views, growth, engagement), enabling investors to identify and invest in rising creators; SEC implications for structured investing.
  • Ask: How to coordinate a pre-seed in a highly regulated (fintech) model.
  • Feedback (Arturo):
    • Not a fintech specialist; cautioned on regulation. Brainstormed non-prescriptive avenues (e.g., contractual structures, tokenization), but emphasized need for proper legal counsel; no concrete advice.

Fireside with Atlas (Mission One Capital, “M1C”)

Who is Atlas

  • Background:
    • Wharton undergrad; investment banking (NY) → Johannesburg (Sub-Saharan Africa M&A).
    • Operator: Early startup leader (BD/Growth) to ~$40M revenue in influencer marketing.
    • CAA (Creative Artists Agency): Started in the mailroom; advanced to international deals (e.g., tours, JVs in India/Bollywood); applied analytics to expand global celebrity businesses.
    • Linkin Park Family Office: Built their alternative investment platform; global brand-building and early venture investing (invested alongside top-tier firms in Robinhood, Lyft, Snapchat, Impossible Foods, Blue Bottle Coffee, etc.).
    • Angel, CVC roles, then founded Mission One Capital (M1C).

Macro Shifts Shaping M1C’s Thesis

  • AI infrastructure bottleneck: Explosive data center power demand for training/inference.
  • Energy as national security: Reducing dependency on foreign energy.
  • Onshoring/Manufacturing: Reshoring effort + skills gap; need for automation and upskilling.
  • Natural resources geopolitics: Critical minerals, rare earths, and broader resource constraints (water, forests) underpinning energy and industrial growth.

Mission One Capital Thesis (Specialist; Pre-seed/Seed)

  • Pillar 1 — Energy Abundance: Renewable generation (solar, geothermal, nuclear), storage (Li-ion, LFP, hydrogen), and critical minerals.
  • Pillar 2 — Industrial Resilience: Advanced manufacturing tech — automation, robotics, industrial software/OS for labor-constrained environments.
  • Pillar 3 — Earth Systems: Tech to monitor/manage natural infrastructure (satellite/IoT/robotics) — water, forests, materials, value-to-waste systems, and material innovation.
  • Dual-use awareness: Many portfolio opportunities with defense + commercial applicability.
  • Venture Partners:
    • Unicorn energy founder building a nuclear company.
    • Cambridge PhD in nuclear engineering/deep tech.
    • Former White House/regulatory expert.
    • Former CIA/DOD senior leader.

Value Add and Operating Philosophy

  • Peak Performance Protocol: Coaching on leadership (resilience, bias toward action) and health/longevity (sleep, nutrition, endurance) to sustain founders over long journeys. Coaches include exited founders and high-performance leaders (e.g., former head of an Olympic cycling team; flow-state and longevity experts).
  • Capital Syndication: M1C helps fill cap tables with specialist firms relevant to a startup’s domain; networks in climate/energy/industrial help recruit larger co-investors.
  • Communication: Storytelling is foundational (recruiting + fundraising). Great founders make compelling narratives that create momentum.

One-Minute Pitch Advice (Atlas)

  • Prioritize:
    • Founder story (credibility, character, reason to believe).
    • One chart/one stat that crystallizes the opportunity.
    • “The secret”: The unique, non-obvious insight/edge your solution pivots on.

Founder Pitches to Atlas — Key Summaries and Feedback

1) Dosio Technologies (Speaker: LD Humphrey)

  • Product: AI-powered construction decision assistant (a “Waze for construction”). Sits across schedules, field logs, and cost systems; answers “what if” (e.g., crew doubling, resequencing) with modeled impact on days/dollars and productivity. Bottom-up adoption (supers/PMs) to solve adoption barriers; not a rip-and-replace.
  • Founder-Market Fit: Licensed GC; built from firsthand pain around margin slippage and schedule risk.
  • Feedback (Atlas):
    • Strong direction to be a co-pilot vs. platform replacement — fits adoption realities and reduces sales friction.
    • Value add from M1C beyond capital: peak performance coaching; structured co-investor network formation with construction/industrial specialist funds.

2) Authority Accelerator (Speaker handle: “Covid Probably”) — Creator/Personal Brand Venture Studio

  • Product: “MMA for personal brands” — full-stack services from mindset coaching to DFY agency ops; early signs of revenue conversion; building continuity/MRR; targeting a $3M/year runway; looking at family offices vs. VCs.
  • Ask: How to get “inside” understanding of investor types and who to target.
  • Feedback (Atlas):
    • Map the investor landscape by vertical: Identify creator economy specialist funds and follow their public content (LinkedIn, X, blogs). Example: Slow Ventures’ work on creator equity models; thought leaders like Chris Lyons (a16z) regularly share frameworks.
    • Learn the language: Beyond Venture Deals, read Power Law; consume sector-specific investor theses to pitch in “VC-speak.”
    • Trend: Creators becoming VCs and vice versa; influence + capital is converging.

3) Mandarin Technology Inc. (Speaker: Mansa Dan)

  • Product Suite (venture studio model):
    • GoldBold: Digital marketplace/infrastructure for Ghana’s Gold Board — centralized, vetted gold sales; SKR issuance; compliance and fraud reduction; international buyers print SKR and pick up gold in person.
    • MultiChat: Alternative to Telegram/WhatsApp with professional call filtering/priority.
    • LandLoop: P2P lending marketplace enabling local, proximity-based loans.
    • Funding: ~$3.5M from Abu Dhabi investor; seeking more.
  • Ask: Advisory/collaboration; where to focus.
  • Feedback (Atlas):
    • GoldBold is the most distinctive with clear unfair advantage (government relationships, centralized mandate, entrenched pain around fraud). Focus resources here.
    • Validate KYC/AML, escrow, and onboarding friction; consider revenue via transaction “vig” vs pure SaaS; potential to accumulate commodity-based treasury exposure.
    • Competing with incumbents on chat/lending is tougher; double down on the gold flow where you have structural access.

4) Additional Touchpoints

  • Preston (follow-up): Sought to connect with Atlas on creator/talent operational infrastructure and capital raising; Atlas open to connect.

Cross-Session Highlights and Practical Takeaways

  • Partnership mindset is ascendant: Both investors emphasized deep founder relationships, hands-on support, and co-building vs. passive checks.
  • Thesis focus matters: AP1 VC targets AI-first B2B in proptech/supply chain/health; M1C is a specialist in energy/industrial/earth systems with dual-use awareness. Founders should qualify investors by domain, stage, and value-add.
  • Minimum bar at pre-seed: Working product and a believable GTM edge. Early traction helps but isn’t strictly required if the wedge is clear.
  • AI startup bar: Avoid commoditized wrappers; pursue deep, defensible workflows with domain expertise and real customer pain. Prepare for platform volatility (new LLM updates).
  • Pricing and GTM: Moving upmarket can increase ACV but stretches cycles and demands enterprise sales; mind CAC/LTV and churn; avoid becoming bespoke dev shops.
  • Market sizing rigor: Favor bottom-up analyses grounded in actual spending on comparable products vs. broad category spend.
  • One-minute pitch craft: Be crisp. Why this/problem pain, why now (macro/tech tailwinds), and why you (founder-market fit + unique edge). Include one stat or chart and “the secret.”
  • Founder sustainability: Peak performance (leadership + health) is investable. Investors increasingly value and support long-haul founder resilience.

Contact and Follow-up

  • Arturo (AP1 VC): Focus on AI-first B2B — proptech, supply chain, healthtech. Based in Austin. Prefers to meet when a working product exists and a GTM wedge is credible. Active relationship-builder; hands-on “do-diligence” month. Best to reach via LinkedIn (implied by session).
  • Atlas (Mission One Capital — M1C): Specialist pre-seed/seed across energy abundance, industrial resilience, earth systems. Peak performance platform for founders; strong co-investor network. Best channel: LinkedIn.
  • Host (Daryl Freighter): Freighter Family Foundation (Tulsa). Weekly office hours; organizing Tulsa Tech Week Feature Day with Rod Walton (Think Moda). Follow for registration details.