Startup Fundraising Series for Early Stage Companies
Summer is over, which can mean only one thing; you've ramped up your fundraising efforts to close that round of financing to take your business to the next level!
Right?! That's what you're doing right now, isn't it? Well, if not, don't worry. Fractionalist’s series on fundraising offers practical steps for early-stage, first-time founders/fundraisers to get started. If you've done this before, this isn't the series for you.
What are we going to talk about in this series?
Are you ready to raise? (Why and what you give up)
Due diligence - preparation is everything
Building a startup is not for the faint of heart. Not everyone is cut out for it.
No one has all the skills, expertise, and time needed to succeed at everything that will need to be done early on. Prioritization and delegation matter. It's not so much that you have to make sure everything gets done, it’s that you have to be smart about how you do it. It's hard and you probably will fail. Seriously.
80% of all startups don't get past the seed stage of funding. The odds are stacked woefully against you. And yet, you're still reading. Turns out once you start down this path it’s hard to turn back, even knowing the risks.
Before diving into the main content of this series it’s important to keep a few things as your North star as you navigate all of this.
Be authentic to who you are. You got to where you are because of who you are and overcoming the obstacles you've faced. Don't try to be something you're not or something you *think* your investors are looking for. We don't need more entitled and arrogant startup founders in this world.
Get used to hearing no. A lot.
Don't lie. It's one thing to forward-sell, but it's another to outright lie about your company or your product. Don't do it. Your reputation matters. We don't need more Elizabeth Holmes or Adam Neumanns in this world.
Take it all in. You only get to be a first time founder once. One of my favorite advisors through the years used to call me at different stages of our company as we scaled and he always reminded me of the simplest of things; "it's never as good as it seems, and it's never as bad as it seems." 100% cheese factor, but I always took it to heart.
I'd get a call after closing a big fundraising round and he'd mention that to me. "Take this moment and savor it. Sock it away for those other times that aren't so great." That same call would come when we missed a quarter or I made a bad executive hire (knowing in hindsight of course). Take the moments you can, when you can, to sit back and admire what you've been able to build. Then get right back to work.
These are just the random things I've learned building companies over the last 10+ years and have observed while mentoring and advising other founders. So let’s get started!
What’s next?
This is part of the Fractionalist Fundraising Series for Early Stage Founders. We always appreciate feedback on the series and we're always here to help you with your fundraising efforts.
Fractionalist helps early stage companies navigate the challenges new companies inevitably face with a team of experienced CxOs you can leverage at a fraction of the cost.