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Fund Raising ​

At an early stage, almost all inbound investment proposals are noise or may be even scams. Be careful, don't waste your time.

Remember that fund-raising is a high-touch interaction. Most investors would NOT reply to your generic mail-merge. Research, target, get warm intros or write awesome cold emails.

“Fundraising is arguably the most heartbreaking, confusing, and high-stakes part of a founder’s job.”

  • Be honest about the process. Many a people advised FOMO, but it should never be manufactured. If you are a hot deal and there is indeed FOMO for investors, you don’t have to do anything extra.
  • Be truthful about numbers. Don’t obfuscate.
  • Anything wrong with the team, be upfront and let the investors know. In the early stage of the company, Investors are investing, mostly, in the team.
  • Share your pitch deck generously. Make it good that you should be proud if it gets leaked. Make your deck leak-ready.
  • You should be the best expert about your product.
  • If you have a few good customers. Make the story about that. Make the work for the Investors easy.
  • Practice, Practice, Practice.

Early Fund-Raising Tools ​

  • AngelList RUV Efficiently raise capital from investors with a single cap table entry. With Roll Up Vehicles™, founders get a single link that allows investors to commit and send funds online—and AngelList takes care of the rest.
  • What valuation should I raise at? is an interactive calculator for your valuation and amount to raise.

References ​