Raising a Series A:
Most of the same principles apply, but here are a few differences 👇
Most of the same principles apply, but here are a few differences 👇
"The reason the A is so hard to figure out is that it sits somewhere between these two points, and the point at which it sits differs based on the founders, the progress created, and the amount of time that the company has existed."
- Aaron Harris, blog.ycombinator.com/when-to-raise-…
- Aaron Harris, blog.ycombinator.com/when-to-raise-…
"If you think of the A as being either a giant seed or a small B, then the conflicting advice make sense bc it all depends
The longer a company has been in business—or the less good a founder is at telling a story—the more concrete & certain the metrics of that biz need to be"
The longer a company has been in business—or the less good a founder is at telling a story—the more concrete & certain the metrics of that biz need to be"
You're either raising on traction or on vision.
If you have a traction, lead with numbers and let them do the selling for you.
If you don't, you're pitching your vision. Make sure to emphasize how much you've learned & de-risked, & know that "beggars can't be choosers".
If you have a traction, lead with numbers and let them do the selling for you.
If you don't, you're pitching your vision. Make sure to emphasize how much you've learned & de-risked, & know that "beggars can't be choosers".
At seed, you're getting a lot of ppl to be a bit interested to invest a little bit of money
At A, it's the opposite—you're getting one person to be very interested to give you a lot more money
Optimize for partner, but don't discount firm brand. It's a big signal for next round
At A, it's the opposite—you're getting one person to be very interested to give you a lot more money
Optimize for partner, but don't discount firm brand. It's a big signal for next round
Pitch something like 15-20 firms.
The wider you go the more feedback you get, and the more shots on goal you get. There's potentially diminishing returns after 20 or so, and risks that you overextend yourself where you can't be 100% for all of them
Plus VCs want to feel special
The wider you go the more feedback you get, and the more shots on goal you get. There's potentially diminishing returns after 20 or so, and risks that you overextend yourself where you can't be 100% for all of them
Plus VCs want to feel special
When to raise?
Ideally from a position of power. The less you need the money, the better.
So ideally you don't even go out to fundraise. You get "pre-empted" after a few convos where ppl insinuate their interest
Then you say "we weren't planning on raising but we got inbound
Ideally from a position of power. The less you need the money, the better.
So ideally you don't even go out to fundraise. You get "pre-empted" after a few convos where ppl insinuate their interest
Then you say "we weren't planning on raising but we got inbound
As @rahulvohra says, "Always be fundraising, but never fundraise actively."
