EP. 247: Rod Turner - Fear of missing out drives investor action.

Can your company pass the 15-second test? Rod Turner says if you cannot explain your business in 15 to 20 seconds online, your capital raise will not work, no matter how strong the company is. In this episode of Test. Optimize. Scale., host Jason Fishman, CEO of Digital Niche Agency (DNA), interviews Rod Turner, founder and CEO of Manhattan Street Capital, the first dedicated Regulation A+ funding platform, live since June 2015. Rod is a seven-time tech startup veteran who was the 12th employee at Ashton-Tate (dBASE), built Norton AntiVirus from scratch at Symantec, took two companies through IPOs to NASDAQ, and suggested the concept the SEC later named "Test the Waters." Questions this episode answers: \- What is Regulation A+ and why did Rod Turner call it the SEC's most pragmatic rule system? \- Which industries raise capital most successfully online? (Real estate, biotech, med tech, and consumer-relatable technology) \- Why do Main Street investors fund biotech companies that institutional investors pass on? \- What is the 15-second explainability test for online capital raises? \- What is "proof of life" and why do stagnant offering pages kill investor confidence? \- Why do eye-to-camera founder videos convert investors? (Viewers feel they already know you) \- How did Insitu Biologics convert 87% of its reservations into investments in three weeks? \- How did a 7-second video ad cut one campaign's cost from $10 to $3.30 per $100 raised? \- Can you raise your share price during a Reg A+ offering? (Yes, within SEC rules, and it rewards early investors while managing dilution) \- How do direct listings work through Reg A+ when the IPO window is closed? (Newsmax's March 2025 Reg A+ IPO discussed) \- How should issuers structure offerings so institutions can participate? (Bonus shares and parallel Reg D offerings) \- Why should founders never prejudge which ad creative will convert? Connect with Rod Turner and Manhattan Street Capital: Website: https://www.manhattanstreetcapital.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodturner-msc/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Intro 0:38 - Who is Rod Turner and what is Manhattan Street Capital? 1:16 - From apprentice engineer at a UK nuclear power station to Silicon Valley 3:55 - Employee #12 at Ashton-Tate: 12 people to 2,000 and an IPO 4:39 - Building Norton AntiVirus from scratch at Symantec 5:22 - Why the Reg A+ rules impressed a seven-time startup veteran 6:26 - Founding the first dedicated Reg A+ platform in 2015 8:00 - Why Manhattan Street Capital skipped Reg CF and stayed boutique 11:29 - What differentiates the platform: tracking pixels, logic, and transparency 15:30 - Which verticals raise the most: real estate, biotech, and relatable tech 17:21 - Why Main Street investors fund biotech that institutions pass on 21:12 - The 15-second explainability test for online raises 23:24 - Proof of life: why stagnant offering pages lose investors 25:55 - Eye-to-camera founder videos and why they build trust 28:24 - Viral reach: the GolfSuites ads investors shared in droves 31:18 - How Rod suggested "Test the Waters" to the SEC 32:44 - The takeoff-speed problem: why tiny ad budgets never get airborne 34:12 - Insitu Biologics: 87% of reservations converted in three weeks 36:29 - Direct listings through Reg A+ when the IPO window is closed 38:01 - The Newsmax March 2025 Reg A+ IPO 39:52 - Cub Crafters, Red Bull, and 1.6 billion views 43:15 - Structuring offerings so institutions can invest 44:25 - Never prejudge your creative: the green company case study 47:08 - Optimization: the 7-second video ad that cut costs 3x 50:13 - Raising your share price mid-offering to reward early investors 53:04 - Why securities attorneys give contradictory answers on Reg A+ 56:49 - Where to find Rod Turner and final advice