Some Advice Before You Hit the Fund Raising Trail

Fund raising.

It definitely has a “d” in it, as in it’s really not fun, raising. But it’s critical for your business, for you as a leader and people who excel at fund raising have an extreme advantage over those who do not. The best entrepreneurs in our industry focus on it year-round as opposed to just once every 18 months.

As a VC with scores of startups in our portfolio we have ringside seats to many, many fund raising processes plus I had to raise money across about 5 different rounds of capital as an entrepreneur so I’ve developed some thought on the process that I hope can be helpful to some of you before you start.

As a VC I also have to fund raise every three years and these posts 100% apply to VCs raising money, too.

Rather than overwhelm you with a super long Suster post I thought I’d break it up into a series of 13 (or so, might expand) posts. Below is the outline Upfront

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Suggested Prompts

How can entrepreneurs effectively prepare for each stage of the fundraising process to improve their chances of success?

In what ways might continuous fundraising efforts influence the long-term strategy and growth of a startup?

What are some common challenges faced by both entrepreneurs and VCs during fundraising, and how can they be addressed proactively?

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Welcome

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Welcome & Ray Walia Intro

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Investment Perspectives

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Why Investors?

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How does this module works?

The Stages of Startup Funding

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The stages of startup funding

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The importance for founders

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Find out your funding stage

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[Article] A Guide to Seed Fundraising

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[Infographic] Visualizing the Stages of Startup Funding From Pre-Seed to IPO

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[Resource] Glossary of Funding Types

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[Resource] The Hacker Guide To Angel Investing

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[Resource] Understanding Startup Investments

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[Article] Invest in Experience or Potential?

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[Article] What Founders Need to Know: You Were Funded for a Liquidity Event – Start Looking

Where to Get Startup Funding?

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Sources of funding

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Why you need to seek more than one source?

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Unexpected sources of funding

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Angel Investors

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[Resource] Who’s Who In Ed Tech? Top Investors And Their Board Seats

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[Video] Hacking AngelList syndicates with cofounder Naval Ravikant

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[Article] How I raised $400,000 in two weeks, from 61 investors, through AngelList

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[Article] 9 steps to finding angel investors for your business

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[Article] The rise of the family office venture investor

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[Resource] A quick guide to venture debt

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[Resource] Venture Debt: 50+ Options for Anti-VC SaaS Founders

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[Resource] Sources of Funding

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[Resource] Canada’s Top Venture Capital Firms

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[Resource] Canada’s Best Incubators & Accelerators

The Process of Startup Funding

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How to get started?

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Why build a network?

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Things to keep in mind and pitfalls to avoid

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Investors are a key element

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The Art of Valuation

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How to do investment right

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[Article] What’s the FIRST thing you need to do before fund raising?

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[Article] 9 steps to finding angel investors for your business

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[Article] “Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get money twice”.

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[Article] Raising Venture Capital

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[Resource] Raising Capital: This is the Advice We Give Our Founders

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[Resource] Demystifying the Six Documents You Will See When Raising Venture Capital

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[Article] How Many Investors Should You Talk to in a VC Fund Raise? And How Do You Prioritize?

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[Article] What Should You Send a VC Before Your Meeting?

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[Resource] Term Sheets 101: A beginner’s guide to VC term sheets

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[Resource] Cap Tables 101: The Startup’s Guide to Cap Table Management

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[Article] Some Advice Before You Hit the Fund Raising Trail

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[Article] How Long It Takes To Raise Capital For A Startup

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[Article] Why you should never have a data room — the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get

The Art of the Pitch

More Startup Funding Tools & Resources