Preparing Your Network for a Fundraise

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

One often hears of other founders raising funding in a matter of weeks.

While it appears the founder raised funding with little effort, this happens because the founder spent years building relationships and curating investors.

Before launching a fundraise, be sure to prepare your network.

Many founders raising funding go to people they don't know to ask for favors they didn't earn.

While a few investors will do this, it won't go very far.

Instead, research the market to identify the investors in the community.

Then meet key investors and provide value in exchange for the time they spent.

This process will take time, so give yourself at least six months to prepare your network.

Building out a list of fifty investors you know and have helped will prepare your network for a fundraise.

Helping people includes making introductions, coaching on how to do their job better, and helping them find people to hire.

This builds the relationship and provides value first.

Consider how to prepare your network for a fundraiser.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

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For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
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Importance of Warm-Up Meetings

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In preparation for raising funding, be sure to include warm-up meetings.

Six months in advance of launching the fundraise, set up meetings with investors to indicate you will be raising funding soon.

The purpose of the warm-up meeting is to gauge initial feedback on the idea.

It also alerts the investor that a fundraise will be coming soon.

In the warm-up meeting, ask permission to keep them informed of the progress.

Most investors will agree as they are interested in the outcome.

Use the interim time to update and inform the investor.

This often provides feedback from the investor that guides the direction of the fundraise.

A monthly update will give the investors six updates in advance of the fundraise launch.

By the launch, the investor will know a great deal about the business.

This makes the first formal meeting much easier, as the investor knows the deal.

Consider taking the core list of investors and setting up a warm-up meeting for each.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_________________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Require Investors To Track Your Deal

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

Founders raising funding pitch many investors.

It's often the case that the founder doesn't know who is interested and who is not.

One idea is to require investors to track your deal.

They must remain engaged with it at some level or they are out.

This pares down the investor funnel to a select few who you know have interest.

It's best to focus your time on those with interest rather than those who do not.

Investors go from pitched to interest to committed to diligence and then investment.

For investors who are not moving from one stage to the next, make clear that there must be some forward progress on the part of the investor.

This requires the investor to make a conscious decision.

If they are not moving forward, then they are put on a list for semi-annual updates.

This positions them for investing in the next round.

Consider requiring investors to make a decision at each stage of the process.

This will reduce your time spent checking in with investors for their interest.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let's go startup something today.

_________________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.