For years, startup investing was reserved for institutions, venture funds, and a small group of accredited investors. Sherwood Neiss (Woodie) helped change that.

As one of the architects behind investment crowdfunding, Managing Partner of D3VC, and author of Investomers, Woodie joins The Morning P!ng to discuss how ownership is evolving and why companies that turn customers into investors may have an advantage that traditional businesses cannot replicate.

Neiss shares the story behind helping shape the crowdfunding legislation that opened the door for everyday investors, explains how D3VC evaluates opportunities using data and predictive signals, and discusses what stood out about p!ng as an investment.

Alongside Rob Whitten and Jane Lo, the conversation explores how customer-investors become advocates, advisors, franchise prospects, and long-term supporters. They discuss why community ownership creates stronger businesses, what founders often misunderstand about crowdfunding, and why excellence in customer experience remains one of p!ng's biggest competitive advantages.

Whether you're a founder, investor, entrepreneur, or simply curious about where startup finance is headed next, this episode offers an inside look at a model that is changing who gets to participate in building companies.

Cut the line and get straight to the numbers! This week on The Morning p!ng, we're joined by Mike Ogasapian, a "triple threat" who’s all-in on p!ng: he’s an investor, a future franchisee, AND a commercial real estate broker.

Mike breaks down the crushing real estate economics that traditional coffee shops face, think massive land costs and high labor, and reveals how p!ng’s hyper-efficient pod model flips the script.

Mike explains how p!ng pods, requiring only 10-14 parking spaces, dramatically lower the cost of doing business, making ownership accessible for entrepreneurs (not just the wealthy) and creating a new monetization strategy for landlords with vacant parking lots.

Plus, he gives his first public, five-star endorsement of the coffee itself!

Tune in to discover:

• How p!ng’s low-overhead business model (Robotics-as-a-Service) creates a "turnkey" path to passive cash flow for franchisees.

• The surprising commercial real estate vacancy rate that p!ng pods are helping to solve in urban areas.

• Why the convenience of zero-wait automation is the ultimate solution for people on the road, from truck drivers to gig economy workers.

Mike just laid out the real numbers on why traditional coffee shops are toast, and how p!ng is the blueprint for low-cost, high-profit franchising. Hit play to get the full financial breakdown on how to start making money with parking spaces instead of paying $15,000 a month for land!

In this crossover episode of The Morning P!ng, Ping co-founders Rob Whitten and Jane Lo sit down with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of RISE Robotics, to pull back the curtain on the founder-investor relationship.

Hiten breaks down his personal investment thesis: the critical "3 Ts" (Team, TAM, and Traction) that made him support p!ng. Rob and Jane reveal why they put their money into RISE (it’s all about crushing antiquated systems, from coffee drive-thrus to the $750 billion hydraulic market).

The conversation gets real on startup resilience, the power of healthy conflict, and how they navigate massive crowdfunding campaigns on Wefunder.

Tune in for master-level strategy on scaling, culture, and learning to love being wrong!

Want to join the movement!? You can explore the community investment opportunities for both P!NG and RISE Robotics on Wefunder.