Some Thoughts On Early Stage Fund Raising

(Initially published as a Tweetstorm here).

I did a workshop on early stage fund raising with a group of founders last week. Thought I’ll share some of my key messages here:

1/ Your job in that first mtg is to get the VC *emotionally* excited about you and your startup. It’s not enough to get them rationally excited. VCs are meeting 2-6 founders every day. Most of those founders are smart and driven. You’re competing for attention against all of them by the end of that day/week. Whoever creates emotional excitement won that first mtg.

2/ Be ready to sell the larger than life vision. Don't be shy about your ambition. Show the passion behind the vision and mission statement. Let the ambition come through. They're betting on you!

3/ Two things drive investor excitement in most early stage fundraises: “Why Me?” or “Why Now?”

4/ Be intentional about the entire process: pipeline of intros, which partner at which firm, who’s making the intros, the scheduling… everything. It’s an enterprise sales process. Don't be casual about any aspect of it.

5/ Be ready to manage your psyche thru the process: The No's come before the Yesses. The best No's can be an input to your thinking. But there are some people who will be dismissive of you or your idea - let those No's become fuel to your fire.

6/ Don't underestimate the importance of quality of partner. Will matter a lot in the end. Do backchannel references and ask pointed questions.

7/ Fund raising is hard. Company building is harder. BUT... people like you and me have done it before and will do it after us. Just remind yourself: "If not you, then who?"