$140 Million Raised, No Equity Taken: What Ezinne Price Looks for in Founders

Ezinne Iroanya-Price runs Grid110, the LA incubator that’s helped founders raise $140 million in outside funding and win $3 million in grants, without taking a dollar of equity. She’s also watching the funding math get worse, not better: Black women founders are getting less than 1% of total venture capital, and she’s blunt about what that means for how people should be raising money right now.

Ezinne breaks down the two traits she actually screens for before backing a founder, consistency and the ability to explain a business past the elevator pitch, and why she tells most founders to think hard before chasing VC at all. She makes the case for partnerships, crowdfunding, and customer-funded raises as underused alternatives, and she’s direct about the boundary-setting most first-time founders skip: saying no to free work and knowing when to stop being everyone’s free advisor.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why Ezinne tells most founders to think twice before raising VC money, and what she suggests instead: partnerships, crowdfunding, and customer-funded raises.
• The two things Ezinne actually screens for before backing a founder: consistency and knowing your business past the elevator pitch.
• Why Ezinne says partnerships are the most undersold fundraising tool — and how she landed her first advisor with an offer that had nothing to do with money.

“I [look for] consistency. There’s something about someone who’s consistent, and consistency can come in different ways.”

“Until you can stand ten toes on your own, [founders] should be a little selfish. There’s a level of selfishness you have to have when you’re building something.”

“I’m not giving you a dollar if you don’t believe in what you’re building, and that’s just the truth.”

(00:00) Introduction
(00:51) Quality of Life as a Business Goal
(01:51) From Nigeria to the Beauty Industry
(04:09) Sales & the Customer Journey
(05:20) The SKN Muse Origin Story
(07:16) Leaving Dior to Build Something of Her Own
(10:20) Kitchen Production & Early Testing
(13:19) The Pandemic Pivot & the Beyoncé Boost
(18:38) The Founder’s Case for Healthy Selfishness
(19:53) What GRID 110 Does
(23:55) When Cash Flow Almost Killed the Company
(25:36) The Exit Decision
(28:55) Why Funding Got Harder
(32:26) Alternatives to VC Funding
(35:18) Partnerships, Pricing & Getting It Right
(37:37) The Most Common Founder Mistakes
(39:42) Why Customer Feedback Loops Win
(41:56) The Traits That Separate Founders Who Make It
(44:37) Finding the Right Coaches and Advisors

Connect with Everett: linkedin.com/in/everettksands
Connect with Ezinne: linkedin.com/in/ezinne-iroanya-price-567a6515b/

Learn more about Lendistry: lendistry.com