Creative venture capital funding… Deep Gujral (Vice President of Finance for Nomad Financial, a premier financial partner for early stage companies) joins Pavan Bahl (OS Fashion), Rob Sanchez (Ralph and Remington [Episode 22]) and Marc Raco (The Hope Is Project and Monkey Radio) on location at the 2015 Global Fashion Tech Battle [Episode 48 and Episode 49]. Gujral shares what Nomad Financial does, plug and play fundraising, how neglected financial items cause pain for startups, the significance of his company’s name, what they look for in clients, and what are the best relationships with clients, and a debate ensues on use of the phrase “outside the box”. Gujral discusses when someone is ready to go for their first raise, the step many entrepreneurs skip, why “yes men” can be dangerous, the shift of fashion tech landscape moving from consumer to enterprise, the impact of hackathons and conferences, the change in ecosystem and how the industry is more of a niche with which VCs are comfortable. What excites Gujral about fashion tech, and thoughts on how developments are making it more accessible. How fashion tech has been a secretive industry, ways technologies are disrupting traditional life cycles, why it matters that consumers have many ways to try and access new products, i.e. subscription models, breaking the traditional model, access to inventory and the new desire for customization becoming the standard. Pavan challenges Gujral to rate several trending business models as “Bull” or “Bear: analytics/big data, shoppable images, influencer networks, content to commerce platforms, mass customization, ecommerce, personal styling, social production/pre-order, and fit solutions. And Off the Grid Questions explores how gangsta rap prepares him for a challenging meeting. Fashism Bonobos Warby Parker CFDA Awl Sundry Jimmy Choo