# The Part of Your Capital Raise Nobody Talks About

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/invst-guru-7102712/the-part-of-your-capital-raise-nobody-talks-about
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/invst-guru-7102712/the-part-of-your-capital-raise-nobody-talks-about.md
Podcast: [Invst Guru](https://stenobird.com/podcast/invst-guru-7102712)
Published: 2026-04-17T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://invst-guru.beehiiv.com/
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/673b8adb0f9780339ef0cb02/e/69d6f2ef34b90cef2bc1addb/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/invst-guru-7102712/episodes/the-part-of-your-capital-raise-nobody-talks-about
Duration seconds: 1279

## Resource

Most founders focus on the pitch deck, the platform, and the marketing — but there's a critical piece of the capital raise puzzle they often overlook: escrow. Jeff "Fuzzy" Wenzel sits down with Ernesto Maldonado, SVP & Head of the Escrow and Legal Vertical at Enterprise Bank and Trust, to pull back the curtain on the infrastructure that keeps capital raises protected, compliant, and clean. Ernesto has 23 years of banking experience — 10 of them deep in the specialty escrow space — and he's seen it all: smooth raises, failed raises, and everything in between. If you're a founder raising capital through Reg CF, Reg A+, or a private placement, this episode is essential listening. In this episode: 00:00 – High-stakes podcasting & Ernesto's background in banking 02:40 – Common threads after 23 years across community banks and big institutions 03:10 – Lessons from the Irvine Chamber of Commerce & ground-level entrepreneurship 04:12 – What most people don't know about third-party escrow services 05:15 – When to bring in an escrow agent (hint: earlier than you think) 07:01 – Where business owners trip up most during capital raises 08:06 – Reg CF vs. Reg D vs. Reg A+: what's changing and what's surging 09:03 – Interest rates, credit conditions, and their impact on capital formation 11:00 – Which sectors are hot right now (and which are feeling the pressure) 12:11 – Why some raises fail at the finish line — and how a good banker helps 13:41 – Building trust with first-time capital raisers 14:30 – Every industry Enterprise Bank works with (some surprises in here) 16:29 – The biggest financial blind spots in small and mid-sized businesses 17:29 – How to prepare for an M&A acquisition 3–5 years out 18:43 – How AI and fintech are reshaping the banking and escrow worl…

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## Transcript

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