Fundraising

existed thus far, and why I would be able to pull it off. The most important pitch isn’t a polished one, it’s a casual one. Remember, you’re ideally not going through a deck. You’re setting up casual meet-and-greets with investors. At some point in the conversation, they’ll ask you what you do (that’s their job!). Here, you have to absolutely knock

A lot of the same things we discussed earlier in this playbook apply here as well. And even if these investors are not a fit for this round, each earlier stage is an opportunity to build relationships for later stages. Your goal in this relationship-building process is twofold:

As a founder, you are the Chief Storyteller. In the very beginning, you have a story that only you believe. Soon, a couple more people believe that story (your

they meet your cofounder or someone on your team. This builds another touchpoint and deepens your relationship with the investor. It increases their commitment and excitement. It shows that there’s more than just you

the meeting: “First and foremost, thank you for your time. I really enjoyed this conversation. I know it was short, so if you enjoyed it too, let’s set up a deeper dive. I can take you through [our demo, a deeper dive on our product, etc.]. And I’ll come prepared with more questions about you.” Ideally you can even nail down a time at the first mee

Amplify the shared network and investor introductions ● Help check references ● Take the blame for being a hard negotiator :-) As I hope I’ve illustrated, fundraising isn’t an afterthought — it requires this kind of discipline, follow-through, and planning to get right. Make that one person’s whole job, not two people’s shared job. Tracking & M

I would try to convince them that I was worthy. Even when these conversations went well, I’d never get a check. Always remember: you are worthy. Money is plentiful these

Our product is exceptionally hard to build, but we

For #2, when you reach out to founders, ask for a ten-minute call and stick to that. Always start the call with some quick context (1-2 mins) on what you do. Hi Reference , Great to meet via email. We're in discussions with Investor about an investment opportunity at MyCo , and she said you would be a good person to talk to as a reference. Do you h