Straight from the Investor’s Mouth is full of pearls of wisdom for entrepreneurs. After several years working in venture capital, Mary Lemmer wrote Straight from the Investor’s Mouth to share the advice she learned from her experiences (and years of copious note-taking) at entrepreneur pitches, board meetings, fundraising sessions, and more. The advice covers key aspects of building a business: the people, the market, the model, the product, the fundraising, and the life of an entrepreneur. Each one-line piece of advice was said by a real investor and is followed by a story elaborating on the advice and the takeaway lesson for entrepreneurs. This book is written for entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and anyone who wants to better understand how investors think.

Mary is an entrepreneur. She started her first business, Iorio’s, at age 14, which she grew to become a sustainable business that continues to operate even a decade later. During her time at the University of Michigan, as a full-time student and entrepreneur, Mary started and helped grow several different ventures, including some related to apparel, food, medical devices, internet, and clean energy technologies. She co-founded an internet company, grew her existing business, and built relationships with and learned from entrepreneurs and investors, all while attending classes. Shortly after graduating Mary joined RPM Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies. Her experiences working in venture capital and drive to help entrepreneurs build successful and sustainable businesses provided the inspiration for this book.