After the Round Closes: How to Leverage Your Investors

In this episode, host Kate Adams sits down with Julia Austin—Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, startup advisor, executive coach, and author of After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup . With decades of experience leading teams at Akamai, VMware, and DigitalOcean, Julia brings tactical wisdom and deep empathy to the messy, high-stakes realities of startup life. Together, they unpack what really happens after the check clears: from managing investor relationships and board dynamics to building operationally sound companies that can scale. Drawing on frameworks from her book and real-world examples, Julia gives founders clear guidance on how to stay in the driver’s seat—even in the face of strong investor opinions. Highlights include How and when to communicate with your investors after the "check clears" Productive ways to disagree with your investors and still build trust Strategies to get the most value out of your board member’s network & expertise The gap most startup books miss—and how After the Idea fills it Julia also lays out a strong case for why figuring out the “culture and people stuff” is essential to a startup’s survival. Whether you’re working towards product market fit, building a team, or navigating early-stage chaos, this is your crash course in leading with intention, not reaction. ---- Stay connected with our host, Kate Adams, here on LinkedIn ! Purchase your copy of After the Idea here!

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After the Round Closes: How to Leverage Your Investors is an episode from Startup Success: A Podcast for Founders & Investors by Burkland.

This episode is 31:18 long.

This episode was published on Aug 26, 2025.

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