00:20 Hey, welcome back to the show. I am so excited today to have Irina with us today because, well, you'll find out very shortly, actually. She's an amazing woman. And Irina, will you please just explain to us all who you are and what do you do?

00:34 Okay, I would love to. My name is Irina Litchfield and I am a mystery woman.

00:41 No doubt about it.

00:45 So yes, and I'm an owner, I'm co-owner of a holding company. I'm motivated by innovations, capitalization and space industry.

00:58 Okay, that's a lot of fun stuff to unpack. So tell us about this. So space industry, investments, capital raising, all that kind of stuff put together. What are you doing? Tell us, you're the interstellar woman of mystery, doing what?

01:16 Doing what? I'm strategist. I am driven by relationships. So naturally, investor relations is something that is one of my strengths. I really begun my professional career 20 years ago when I founded a gaming entertainment company. So kind of a hybrid between a gaming life and then integrated the financial technology on the back end. So that really launched me into the financial technology. About 10 years ago, I got into the blockchain industry, Bitcoin. It was bad back then Bitcoin. So I'm one of what you call OGs, crypto OGs, original gangster. 

02:04 Nice. Love it. Yeah.

02:05 So, you know, yes, yes. And so, I came in as a builder, I saw an opportunity to build and so I kind of pushed it and then five years ago I got into the space industry and everything I do is related. I have a very big map in my mind and it all connects.

02:25 That sounds fascinating. So from gaming to financing and financing, I'm assuming you're in a transactional part of the gaming industry where they were upselling little units.

02:36 Payments is my, payments always being but technical. I'm not, I'm not a trader. I'm not really, I really don't care about prices of things except of course, when I invest in equity of the company and I want to see the company scale, I look at the numbers but overall my motivator has been always the adoption and I self identify as a solutions finder. So when there is a unit, if there is a problem in the universe. All I see is solutions. My brain is like a computer and I can't help it, but come up with solutions.

03:13 I love it, love it. I love people like you. This is gonna be a fun conversation and that feeds really, really well into what you're doing with your fund. You know, you've got a company called Lemuria and you are investing in all sorts of things. You know, you've got a really fun portfolio to look at because so much of it is right now focused on space. And I think, I don't know many people who aren't intrigued by the aspect of what space types of products are coming out right now. I mean, between the three billionaires producing all these rockets and doing all these fun things around the world, this is a really fun time to be thinking about space and space-related products. What problems are you trying to invest into to solve in the space game?

03:57 One of the biggest problems that I see as a bottleneck to all innovation of space industry is space debris. So it's been one of the subjects that I've been very proactive about. And so active space debris removal,

04:17 Interesting.

04:18  I would say, is my biggest thing that concerns me. Everything else is things that can just show up, do work and progress things. But it is the space debris remediation is one of the things that unfortunately is putting in jeopardy everything.

04:38 Yeah, it is, it is. You know, but you gotta admit, they make a really pretty shooting star when they enter our atmosphere, don't they? 

04:47 Well, you know, yes, actually, yes. I've actually seen that and it really is amazing, but the problem with space debris is not only when it reenters, but really the problem is a big problem is a small debris, debris that we don't see, that we don't really detect. And there's millions of pieces of debris just like going super fast in space.

05:18 Right, right, right. I can see that being a problem. So some of these companies are resolving that issue. What are some other things that like, I'm sure that your involvement in the industry has kind of opened your eyes to a lot of things that most of us aren't seeing as problems that need to be solved. What are some other problems that need to be solved in the space industry?

05:39 Cybersecurity, data platforms. If you think about space industry, we usually like to compartmentalize and separate industries from one from the other. What's interesting about space industry is that it allows for growth of all opportunities. So whether it's AI, where the data management, whether it is a biotech, whether it's advanced materials. Whatever industry you have quantum, it all applies to space. And what's interesting is that historically, it is space that brought in the innovations into kind of our daily lives. So I'd say that that's what really attracts me to space because it really scopes many different innovations. And it is that integration of innovations, I think that is most interesting.

06:38 That's exciting. That's a really cool niche to be involved in. And I would imagine though, that most of these companies are needing some pretty major funds to really grow and scale their businesses. Tell us about what you see as great opportunities and how has your fund evolved over the years? Because a lot of people don't really think of a fund having a beginning and an end. They just think, I'm gonna go invest in this fund and it better make me some money. How did you start to grow and develop your fund? And I guess what does that growth journey look like? Cause a lot of us don't know what that looks like.

07:18 Yeah, yeah. Well, there is a Lumeria is my family owned holding company. We are not a VC, we're not a fund, we're a family. And so but in our portfolio companies, we have different VCs of your word. And so of course, so if we discuss, if we discuss with VCs, for example, that you know, one of the key aspects for the specifically for space industry that is important to understand is that the opportunities for the service providers are probably the most grand, because if you think about the VC fund, it really needs a thesis, right? And so the definition of those thesis is make your thesis a little bit more interesting other than focus on what you see happen on the news. Usually by the time we see, that's the bottlenecks, right? If you see that something is popular, you already like find those edges that are coming early. I would say that that's one of the thing that's missing for the space industry because we're comfortable saying, oh, it's going to be half a, we will invest in a platform, tech platform, for example, half a billion dollars. We don't need to monetize. We think we can get the data. We'll just really play on the data. We will figure out how to monetize it. In space industry, it's kind of missing. People are scared to make the decision and say, you know what, this is a data plan. This is the same data play. It's just in space or whatever connection that the service area that allows you to do, it's just in space. And because people here in space, they put those, you know, blinds and say, I don't understand it. I thought already, Ilan already got it or Jeff Bezos already got it, you know, but the vast opportunities are there. And I would say that the biggest opportunities that are there is to really watch what innovation, what Sibbers are doing. Do you know about SBIRs? 

09:42 Nope. 

09:43 So SBIR is, I might be wrong because I'm not an expert in it, but it's a $6 billion fund that is launched by, it's a small business grant. There are different three stages. They're deployed through different arms, for example, Space Force Works, SF Works, W, I'll spell it, just AF Works. uh, ignite program for the, uh, for the NASA. So these are all non-deluded funding for specific solution that I needed for that specific branch. And that's where, that's where, if you want to get into the space industry, um, I would say follow that because they publish different pieces. Uh, they, they go out, they identify the most critical need technology. And then they publish the thesis. Companies apply and then those companies that get grants, that's a really good follow on for you to say, hey, this is non-deluded funding. This funding is covering the development of technologies without taking over my IP. So that's, I would say one of the biggest ways you can get into innovations right now.

12:15  Cool, that's exciting. Now as you start to explore the different opportunities, how are you, I'm assuming you don't go into this alone, how are you kind of surrounding yourself with people who are interested in the same projects you are? Or do you come up with different groups of VCs and different areas of raising money for each opportunity?

12:40  That's really great question because I'm a natural relationship cultivator, it's just what I care about. It comes natural to me to want to know what people do. I want to really I'm a person who likes to keep relationships for the long time. And I want to understand what drives people. I want to understand who they are. And then investor relations, I would say that that's one of the most important kind of key aspects. And then being a thought leader and when going on a global road show, speaking up about innovations, it also allows me to build the relationships and connect with people that compartmentalize in specific innovations.

13:30 Right, right, right. Ah, fascinating. So in your groups of investments, I mean, like I mentioned earlier, there's probably a need for a lot of capital raise for things that for a lot of people feel very unsure about, because like you said, this may be a complete data play, or this may be a hardware play that might not even work, you know, and there's a lot of risk involved from the outside. How do you translate that risk into something that's a pretty sure deal that a lot of people wanna jump in on?

13:56 Well, investment is never a pretty sure deal. And early stage investors fail all the time. So, and I would say that if you are looking at leading edge innovations, because there is a limited access to money, you can actually make better deals and then realize that alpha. I don't wanna come in mid cycle. I want to be first in on alpha. I wanna be an angel investor. I want to support a company. And I don't care whether it's going to expedite and the liquidity event is going to happen in five years or 50 years or a hundred years. It really is just a dynamic for me. I smell opportunities, I see them and I execute on opportunities and I just follow up. And so to me, you can't, it's a gamble shoot. We know that, we see investment, you identify the thesis. And it's just happened that my thesis is connect my gut, okay, with my ability to be visionary and seek out the new innovations and new realities for people. So it kind of connects together. Expertise of my trusted network comes in because if I don't understand something, I can text or call and say, hey, I get it all, just what is this one thing that I don't get it? You have to explain this to me. And so seeking out that is to me, that's my, if you would, magic recipe.

15:35 I love it, love it, I love it, I love it. And you know, it's scary to do what you're doing because you are jumping in so early and you're just following your gut and you're basing a lot of this off the relationship with the founder, is that right? 

15:48 Yep, yep.

15:49 So as you develop those relationships and you start seeing where their vision is going, at what point do you feel comfortable saying, I'm in? And I know just the other partners to bring in on this. Is that kind of what goes through your mind cycle as you're talking to these ideas?

16:07 Great question. Usually in my reality, the way things happen is that I see the need for solution and then the doors open and people come. And usually it ends up to where if the people, I sometimes assign the name to the door and sometimes I'm wrong. If I let myself start labeling and categorizing instead of kind of doing work blindly, if you would, and not predicting the future. It ends up working and kind of interconnected into things.

16:42  I love it. Well, this has been a really fun conversation. I think this is opening up a lot of eyes to the people that are in my audience, are people who have already launched their businesses. They're really kind of in that stage of, okay, I'm making money. I don't really know where to go next. I think I need to go this way. I think I need to raise some money. I think I need to, they don't really know for sure what the next play is. As you see a lot of these early stage companies that you invest in, what is some advice that you would give people to say, Hey, like when you're, when you're thinking you need to raise some money, make sure you have A, B and C. To you, what are those things?

17:23 Yeah, well, and yeah, yeah. So I depending on the stage, right? If it's a very early stage company, make sure that you have your data room, make sure you have the deck updated in your data room, do not send decks to people, just update everything in the data room, you know, to make sure all your documentation is there and understand that if your first time raising capital. You need to understand how it works. Read, if you don't want to hire investor relations and you can't, then read books about it. You read the books about how to raise capital in the standard that you're doing. Also don't over-rate because we always know, we know that those that are over-capitalized, they end up paying price always. And, you know, follow a strategy. If you already raised capital, make sure you deploy responsibly. Follow up with your investors. One of the biggest problems that we see is that entrepreneurs reach out for the capital. They do the work and then they get the capital and they kind of forget about investors until it's time to go get more. And most of the times, you know, if the times are medium or bad, which is continuous cycle, likely you're gonna need to go and have the bridge. You know, and so don't go don't come asking for the bridge when it's time for the bridge Make sure you reach out build the relationship constantly and if you're going through vc always be raising, you know A abc's we have two abc's right now in our reality Always be well raising ABR and then ABC is anything but china. That you can't touch anything chinese becausethere's a lot of penalties that are gonna be coming in from the capital right now. And so if you want to be able to start touching, especially if you're touching innovations, if you wanna do the non-deluded funding, if you want to go into kind of more proper way of doing business, let's say in five years strategically, just anything but China do not take, if the fund has Chinese money in it or not just know you're an investor, know your investor's investor type of a thing.

19:51 Right, right, right. Now that's really smart because I don't think most people dig that deep into where the money's coming from and I'm assuming, I'm a fairly inexperienced money raiser, I'm a bootstrapper, but I know that there's a lot of people that raise money that just kind of go blindly off of the person who's a representative of the fund. Is that public knowledge? I mean, can people look in and see behind the window there who...

20:17 What your limited partners are? I believe so. You have to know. And for example, you saw that Sequoia cut the ties with their, they separated about a month ago from their Asian fund. And after that announced their deployment in the some deep techs.

20:40 Wow. Interesting. I didn't know that. So as you are investing in these companies and people are looking into who you're partnered with, who are smart people to raise money with? Because obviously there's a strategic element that you want people kind of aligned with what the brand is that's raising money. but also you want some creative element where people are just like, Hey, if, if arena's in, I'm in, you know, how do you balance that on a fundraise?

21:09 That's a really great question. That's where investor relations come in. And we actually start seeing more and more companies understand that it is actually a specific role that you have to, that often is best to have internally or at least hire a firm that actually does that for you. Because the way the capital needs change and continuously making sure that you, you do have a relationship that is focused on understanding how capitalization works is critical.

21:44 Right, right, right. So as you kind of jumped into this world of capitalization and being the type of player that you are, how were you first exposed to this? Because this isn't knowledge that people are generally born with. Like this is not a, there's no college course on raising money. How did you actually fall into this?

22:04 There, there. Yeah, I, as being an entrepreneur 20 years ago, I learned about, I learned, I graduated through my own experience. And so first as an entrepreneur, and then learning different models, and then integrating the financial technology. First traditional technology to build my business, and then learning about the alternative technologies, and then kind of seeing what the gaps are, and throughout all of that meeting people. If I go somewhere that social environment, or conference, or, you know, it's always been natural that the conversation bleeds, the investor will meet each other. Is there something, I'm the magnet and probably because I've always wanted to understand how does it work? What is it like? I've wanted to be an investor from when I started my own business because I thought that as an entrepreneur you grow, but then also what is it like to invest and understanding how important the money is too. And so that probably led me to asking questions. if you're fundraising, ask investor about them. Don't tell them about all of your stuff and nonstop, speak about it, quick answers, precise answers, and then ask them about what they do. Do they, you know, just because it's a VC, it doesn't mean that they only deploy capital through VC. They could be actually investor that invests outside of the thesis of their primary responsibility and actually manages their own capital, they might ask them why they do it and what they're driven to do and what is the future and all of these questions, because we all want to talk about ourselves and investors. And then, yeah.

24:10 Totally. Well, I was just gonna say, even VCs are people too. Don't forget that.

24:13 Well, and also, I think that the most important thing to remember is that investors, family offices, PEs, private holding companies, your VCs, all kinds of endowment funds, people that run endowment funds, I think that the most important thing to remember is that we all are driven by something and people that invest, they believe into something magical that the that the entrepreneur has the ability to magnify the money that they're going to trust them with. And I think that's very, that's very, very special. And it is something that deserves understanding. What motivates me to be involved is important.

25:01 Yeah, no, I totally agree. And I think that a lot of small business owners tend to find themselves in a position where the VC or the investment fund is very intimidating and they don't look at them as just people who have been in their position before oftentimes and want to know, like, what's going on here? What do you need help with? Why do you think you need this much money? What are you going to do with it? I mean, that's really all you're really looking for, right?

25:26 Yeah. And also ability to really respond. Are you getting really defensive when certain questions asked? Are you being very defensive when actually an advice is given? Do you follow up with the advice that's given to you? Are you taking the notes? If we're going through your deck and you want me to give you a quick review, follow up with those edits and say, hey, what do you think about that?

25:54 Totally. Ah, I love it. This has been such a fun interview. And honestly, I've got like 10 more questions I'd love to ask you. 

26:00 Yeah, let's do it.

26:03 I might do it offline. Well, I, I don't want to keep my audience. Like I usually keep it to a time and I don't want to make sure that they're not like, Whoa, that was a long one. But, but I do, you know, on a selfish level, there's a lot of us like me and maybe not a lot. I think there's a lot of idiots like me who are bootstrappers who have been burned by investors and we're now so determined never to raise money again because we could do it on our own. Dang it. What, what do you say to people like that who are literally sacrificing their family to start and launch new companies all the time when money is available and there to help them not to hurt them? How do you, how do you kind of heal that wound?

26:48  Do you heal that wound? Understand and take responsibility that you failed only because of you. Okay? It's nobody's fault. It's not investors fault. And if you made a deal that ended up not a good deal, learn from it. Make sure you understand who you put on your cap table. Make sure that when you are accepting the deal, it's not nearsighted. And it's not going to come and stab you in the back and kill your whole company and destroy your trust into investors or humanity. I think that that's, you know, hire an attorney if you don't understand the deal. And do not ever take, you know, I'm gonna make this and it's gonna be okay. And follow, there's a template, so follow them. And then remember, a journey of entrepreneurship is to fail and fail and fail and fail and fail, and eventually you're gonna succeed. And the truth is, we do not know when we're gonna succeed. And the reality of life is, when we draw a picture of how things are gonna play out, they never do that way. But whatever we dreamed about becomes a reality. And if we force it into reality, it ends up being something you end up not wanting. So, you know, trust your God. Make sure you treat each other as people, defend your, you know, defend your ability to make the right deal. Don't take the bad money. You know, you're going to know if you know when it's not right.

28:23 There's a lot of snakes out there though, they look really good from afar, but then they kind of bite you in the butt, so...

28:28 Think about it from the investor relations. How often do you think are snakes that approach the investors?

28:35 Right. Oh yeah, yeah.

28:37 And how often they're so good at making you think things and feel things.

28:40 Professional fundraisers and horrible product implementers. Yep.

28:44 So understand too that investors put yourself in those boots and say, you know what, you write a check knowing likelihood it's not, you have a hope, you have the dreams for this product, right? For the project. But in the end of the day, you have to accept yourself that this is not gonna work. You have to, because the statistics speak for themselves.

29:08 Well, this has been a really fun therapy session for Todd, and I appreciate you being here, Irina. I hope that there's other people that think like me out there that this actually does a benefit to them. But Irina, you've been a wonderful blessing to the show today. I really appreciate you being here. You know, is there someone that you'd like to give a shout out to? I love to ask people, is there someone that's inspiring you to do what you do outside of yourself? This maybe kind of puts you on the path you're on right now.

29:40 Yeah, I know so many I I'm grateful for everybody that's in my life and I do have a lot of people. I would say that one of the one person that I would love to give a special shout out to is Jenna at mind method. Okay. And it's mind method. It's a it's a system that she did delivered and discovered and you know, built. And it's an executive assistant and I've tried to have different executive assistants and I'll tell you that she's amazing. And with her help, I have been able to take very complex mind that I have and structure rise it and not really with, with Jenna's help and AI plugin for myself to express myself, I I'd say that I'm thankful for the technology innovation and I love AI and I extra things for to Jenna with my method and of course my husband who Supports me in all my adventures as I say the train is moving and I have to get on it He says okay, I don't I might not understand you a hundred percent, but I support you and I Trust that it's gonna be good and it's been.

31:00 I love it, I love it. Those are great shout outs. I mean, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show today. And we hope that for those listening, I hope this has been really helpful to you. It's been very helpful to me. And I hope that you are seeing things that you need to do in your business structure to open yourself up a little bit more to these potential opportunities that could come through not only strategic money, but strategic players, strategic companies to align with, and really identifying does your current solution fit in other places? And I think that you've done a great job of kind of walking us down that path today. So thanks again for all your time.

31:37 My pleasure. Thank you so much.