Category: Fundraising

how venture capital funds work

How Venture Funds Work

Most successful tech startups end up sitting across the table from a venture capital (VC) fund somewhere along their journey. With a little luck, they also enter into negotiations about…

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event networking

Best Practices for Networking at an Event

Founders are regularly told they need to network like crazy in order to be successful.  On the surface, that sounds like going to a bunch of events and meeting a…

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messy cap table

Common Causes of a Messy Cap Table

The puzzled look on a first-time founder’s face after hearing an investor’s concern of a “messy cap table” happens more than some probably think.  But what the heck does “messy”…

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Investor Rejection

20 Investor Meetings and No Interest, Now What?

Something is wrong. 20 initial meetings is almost never enough to fully complete a round of funding. But 20 meetings with the right investors should result in at least a…

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fundraising recession

Fundraising After a Sudden Market Downturn

The value of this article will be directly proportional to the significance of the market downturn that creates general uncertainty and affects the ability for startups to fundraise. All downturns…

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investor due diligence

Demystifying Investor Due Diligence

I think of due diligence as an investor’s process for confirming either their intention or full-blown commitment to invest in your company. After initial conversations, presentations and email exchanges, a…

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virtual meeting tips

20 Tips for Virtual Investor Meetings

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all interactions between investors and fundraising founders into virtual settings.  And the return to a “new normal” will certainly leave a place for them into the…

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short meetings

Mastering the 30-Minute Meeting

For much of my career, a one-hour meeting was the norm.  But in the world of startups, 30 minutes is all you get most of the time for sessions with…

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fundraising recession

Fundraising During a Pandemic

Some of the posts to this progressively-built article no longer apply, and that’s a good thing because it means investor and fundraising dynamics have returned to normal. I never imagined…

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series a ready

Your Series A Readiness Scorecard

Founders often ask me how much revenue they need to generate to be ready for a Series A.  The question is so common that I previously wrote an article just…

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startup lies

Aspirations, Exaggerations & Outright Lies

Just from the article’s title you probably think you know everything I’m going to say, right?  I predict not but soon we will find out.  The basics definitions of aspirations,…

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pre-seed funding

Threading the Needle for a Successful Pre-Seed Round

Raising money from professional investors before your product is built, launched and generating revenue is far more difficult than when those things have already been accomplished.  This can result in…

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Getting Maximum Credit from Your Enterprise Trials

Investors are often skeptical of claims made by startup founders.  Among the various types of claims that can be made, this especially relates to all forms of traction.  This article…

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Series A sweet spot

Series A Sweet Spot Combines Size & Slope

I often get asked how much revenue is needed to successfully raise a Series A.  I can tell the entrepreneur wants me to confirm what they might have read in…

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negotiating valuation cap

Negotiating Valuation with Investors

I know, you just want me to show you the scorecard and associated secret formula investors use to decide a supposedly “fair” valuation for your company.  Unfortunately, you are only…

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bootstrapping

How Long Should You Bootstrap?

With as little as it costs to get a software startup off the ground these days, many entrepreneurs start off as what we call “bootstrappers” rather than fundraisers.  There’s nothing…

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bridge round

Don’t Fall Into the Fundraising Chasm

Not much different than the famous chasm described in Geoffrey Moore’s book “Crossing the Chasm”, funding your startup venture over time also has a chasm that you want to avoid. …

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startup runway

A Startup’s Most Valuable Resource

When I ask entrepreneurs what their most valuable resource is, I ALWAYS get one of two responses: money (aka – funding, cash) or people.  And it’s hard to argue about…

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startup fundraising

Using Verbal Commits to Secure Your First Investors

Almost no investor wants to be the “first check written” for your round of funding that uses convertible securities. This makes total sense if you think about it from their…

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series a

A Series A Isn’t Just a Large Seed Round

Here’s a scenario I commonly see.  A startup raises $1M in total seed funding to turn their MVP into a real product and figure out a profitable and scalable customer…

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negotiating

Tell Me Your Price and I’ll Tell You My Terms

I didn’t invent this quote (can’t remember where I heard it) but what a great one to help remember that with most business-related transactions, price is definitely not the only…

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equity crowdfunding rules

What You Should Know About Equity Crowdfunding

FINALLY!!!  After years of waiting for equity-based crowdfunding rules (aka Reg CF) to be adopted and put into effect following legislative approval of the JOBS Act of 2012, it’s finally…

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pitching event

Preparing for a Pitching Event

I’m not talking about a stand-up presentation in front of an individual investor or VC firm but rather some form of on-stage pitching event.  It might be called a “demo…

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Defending Your MVP or Prototype Stage with Investors

Defending Your MVP or Prototype Stage with Investors

While you are still in the idea phase, investors tend to focus on vision, promise, potential and personality traits of the founder(s) because that’s all you have for them to…

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bridge note

Bridging a Gap Using a Convertible Note

Most startups think of a convertible note as the most common fundraising vehicle used during the pre-seed and seed stages (see related article titled “Convertible Note Basics“).  What they might…

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fundraising terms

10 Basic Fundraising Terms You Must Understand

Are you a startup founder venturing into fundraising? Understanding the essential terms in the world of startup financing is crucial. Imagine the disadvantage of hearing an investor say a word…

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Investors Write Checks for Outcomes, Not Activities

In a previous article, I described various ways to determine how much money to raise (you can read it here).  If you’ve decided and communicated how much you are raising, you might…

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market sizing

Sizing Your Market

If you aspire to build a company that is scalable, then the size of your market is a very important element of your business plan. That’s because it suggests the…

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convertible note

Setting the Max Authorized Amount on Your Convertible Note

Let’s assume you have already determined $500K is the ideal amount of money to raise in your current fundraising round (see related article titled “How Much Should You Raise”) and…

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convertible note extension

Extending Your Convertible Note

You didn’t plan for it to happen this way but you’re reaching the maturity date (end of term) on your convertible note and didn’t raise money in an equity round…

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exit strategy

Answering the “Exit Strategy” Question

You’ve just completed a great investor pitch with heads nodding and good interaction.  You’re about to ask “Does this opportunity interest you enough to explore an investment?” when instead you get…

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The “Yeah, Right” Rule

Similar to the “So What” rule, every time you make a claim, prediction or forecast, imagine your audience is thinking to themselves “yeah, right!” in skeptical fashion immediately after seeing/hearing your…

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comparing SAFE to convertible note

Comparing the SAFE to Convertible Notes

Initially made available by Y Combinator (YC) in 2013 and subsequently updated in late 2018, the SAFE investment instrument was intended to improve on the highly popular convertible note used…

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establishing valuation

Establishing Valuation Before Revenue Traction

Once you have a product in the market with an increasing number of paying customers, your valuation will increasingly be driven based on financial and operational metrics.  Don’t get me…

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elevator pitch

Your Elevator Pitch Only Needs to Accomplish One Thing

There’s a reason it’s referred to as an “elevator pitch” – it must be expressed in a few sentences and no more than 15-20 seconds.  And that might even be…

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investor research criteria

Investors’ Research Varies Widely Before Making a Decision

Each individual investor and venture fund is different in the way they like to interact during their investment evaluation. This difference is pronounced amongst angel investors and less so for…

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negotiating valuation cap

Justifying the Valuation Cap Amount in Your Convertible Note

In a previous article I explained what convertible notes are and when they are commonly used (see article titled Convertible Note Basics).  Now I’d like to dive into one of…

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startup fundraising

How Much Funding to Raise for Your Startup

Hopefully you are reading this before you decide how much to raise.  I’m referring less to the earliest funding raised (perhaps from friends and family) just to get your minimum…

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startup storytelling

Use Storytelling to Describe the Problem You Solve

As a startup founder seeking investment, your pitch deck must effectively communicate the problem your product solves. Learn how to captivate investors with powerful storytelling that conveys the true essence…

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pitch deck flow

Typical Pitch Deck Flow (Topic Order)

Your pitch deck will become the single most valuable communication tool for external audiences of all types. You will use it for multiple purposes, but especially presentations to investors. If…

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convertible note basics

Convertible Note Basics

Are you scratching your head trying to figure out how convertible notes work?  They are form of convertible security that is so commonly used for pre-seed and seed rounds of…

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startup fundraising

When Prospective Investors are Looking for Predictability

If you're fundraising during the very early formation of your company, your ability to predict the future will be very difficult.  Of course, you can imagine and dream what might...

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Consider Everything

Consider Everything Short of a “Yes” a “No”

I recently heard Dr. Robert Wiltbank from Willamette University use this analogy and loved it so much I had to share it with others.  Entrepreneurs are, by nature, very optimistic. …

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closing an investor

Getting to Closure with an Interested Investor

Some investors seemingly take forever to make a decision. But if you think about it, if they can stretch out the timeline for their evaluation and initial due diligence, they…

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startup fundraising

Having Trouble Raising Money?

Fundraising is rarely easy and is usually a far underestimated undertaking by entrepreneurs that haven’t done it before.  In the fundraising section of this blog, I describe ways of approaching…

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startup fundraising

Stuck at 75% of Your Fundraising Goal – Now What?

Here’s the scenario. After securing your first investors and then having a flurry of activity over a couple of months (see related article titled “The Domino Effect of Fundraising”), you…

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The domino effect of fundraising

The Domino Effect of Fundraising

Fundraising can seem like herding cats. You get some initial momentum, potentially from a pitching event, and have a bunch of conversations but can’t seem to get the funding commitments…

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so what rule

The “So What” Rule

I use this rule all the time when advising startups and early stage companies.  It has all sorts of sales, marketing and fundraising application, regardless of your company’s stage.  I…

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demo day pitch

Why Participate in a Pitching Event?

Pitching events (often called “demo days”) are prevalent these days.  There’s possibly even too many of them for active startup regions, which results in fatigue on the part of investors…

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