Impero Ventures Is The Bridge To Ownership
Founded by Mike Nathan — a U.S. Navy veteran turned serial entrepreneur who has raised $55 million for startups and helped other founders raise far more.
He's Sat On Both Sides Of The Table
Twenty companies across two decades. $55 million raised for startups. $170 million in revenue. Three exits. Two venture funds.
He has pitched for money and he has written the check. That's the part that matters when you're the one raising — he knows what the room is actually listening for, because he's been on the listening side of it hundreds of times.
His path didn't start in a boardroom. It started with four and a half years in the U.S. Navy — Yokosuka, Pearl Harbor, and after 9/11, Naples. Boatswain's Mate Second Class, Surface Warfare qualified, search and rescue swimmer. Composure under pressure wasn't something he was born with. It was trained into him in cold water. He earned his MBA from Concordia University–St. Paul after he got out.
He hosts Burn Rate + Bull$hit, where founders say the parts they normally leave out. Over a million subscribers.
What That Experience Actually Buys You
He has raised the money himself
$55 million raised for startups across twenty companies. He has set terms, run the process, and closed rounds — including the ones that went badly.
He has heard hundreds of pitches
Two venture funds and countless early-stage deals. He knows the exact question that kills a pitch in minute three, because he's the one who asks it.
He has lived with the terms after
Pre-revenue through FDA clearance, funding rounds, and CEO transitions. The cost of a bad cap table isn't theoretical to him.
Impero is Italian for empire, and the whole company rests on one line: owning is greater than earning.
Impero exists for the people who already generate the value and own none of it. Doctors and nurses. Commercial reps. Attorneys and CPAs. Engineers and technical experts. The person who runs the numbers. Senior operators who have spent an entire career making someone else's balance sheet work.
The expertise is already theirs. Impero turns it into equity — and when that takes outside capital, Impero makes sure they don't give away the company to get it.
Founders Who Built With Him
He was one of the first people to believe in what we were building, and he backed that belief with real action — strategic guidance, critical fundraising support, and access to a network that fueled our growth.
When things get tough, he's the one you call first.
Mike listened, then said something I'll never forget: "Start f*cking seeing patients. What are you waiting for?" That moment lit the spark. Within months we were on UnitedHealth Group's radar.
He doesn't just believe in entrepreneurs. He activates them.
Work With Mike Directly
Four weeks. Four 1:1 sessions. Investor-ready, guaranteed.
See If You Qualify →Owning > Earning
Impero Ventures provides business education and coaching. Nothing on this site is investment advice, legal advice, tax advice, or an offer to buy or sell securities. We do not guarantee that any investor will invest in your business.
Results are not guaranteed and are not typical. Outcomes depend on your business, your effort, market conditions, and many factors outside our control. Any results shown reflect individual experiences and should not be taken as average.
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