just finished raising a pre-seed for me and @janerikasplund's new venture.
the last time i raised money was 2011-2013. a few things have changed that surprised me 👇
the last time i raised money was 2011-2013. a few things have changed that surprised me 👇
1/ no one uses @AngelList any more to raise. in 2011, you created a profile on angellist when you started to raise.
you could filter and sort investors to create a list of prospects. then you could find intros, reach out and set up meetings all through the platform.
you could filter and sort investors to create a list of prospects. then you could find intros, reach out and set up meetings all through the platform.
today angellist seems to have shifted its focus to be a platform for investors to run syndicates.
nothing seems to have filled the void there and the process seems to run even more on warm intros than it did back in the day.
nothing seems to have filled the void there and the process seems to run even more on warm intros than it did back in the day.
2/ there are a lot more angels out there and folks who are writing $5k checks.
while there's a debate on twitter as to whether it's a weird sv flex, it's great for founders raising money because it helps you create momentum and maintain it through the raise.
while there's a debate on twitter as to whether it's a weird sv flex, it's great for founders raising money because it helps you create momentum and maintain it through the raise.
getting a 'yes'—even if it's $5k—gets you more social proof, a nice pick-me-up and another person on your side for intros and backchanneling.
as @shreyamurthy advised me, keeping your energy and confidence up is one of the big challenges of raising, and $5k checks help big time.
as @shreyamurthy advised me, keeping your energy and confidence up is one of the big challenges of raising, and $5k checks help big time.
3/ many more folks seem to be 'index investing' into startups as influenced by abe othman's @AngelList research angel.co/blog/venture-r…
the article argues that "[a]t the seed stage, investors would increase their expected return by broadly indexing into every credible deal."
the article argues that "[a]t the seed stage, investors would increase their expected return by broadly indexing into every credible deal."
the game then is to prove you're 'credible', and i think you do that by creating irresistible momentum around the raise that it's certain to get done by x date.
that makes credibility another word for being oversubscribed, which is something that hasn't changed in importance.
that makes credibility another word for being oversubscribed, which is something that hasn't changed in importance.
a bunch of people helped us get this raise done and as with everything, it takes a village.
if you're a founder raising money today, i'd love to chat and offer help. just dm me.
if you're a founder raising money today, i'd love to chat and offer help. just dm me.
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