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đŸ’„đŸ’„đŸ’„ The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise $18B in Follow-On Capital

Two years, our team at First Round, led by partners Bill Trenchard and Brett Berson, began to quietly build out a program to help our founders navigate the choppy waters of follow-on fundraising.

Long had we observed founders caught off guard by what was needed to raise their Series A after having a relatively easy time at the seed stage (only further exacerbated by an influx of seed funding in the market).

All together, we have immense knowledge in fundraising that we’ve accrued witnessing our companies raise over 1,000 rounds and $18 billion in follow-on funding. It’s possible for startup founders to know more about almost every facet of company-building, but fundraising is one area where we’ll always be able to offer more experience.

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Realizing how well positioned we were to help, we built a program called Pitch Assist — a four to six week bootcamp for our startups that are getting ready to raise follow-on capital. At the end of the program, they emerge with a well-designed deck, a strong narrative, and a clear strategy for how to approach the fundraising process.

Unlike normal fundraising advice, Pitch Assist is an immersive program where we advise, build presentations and rehearse side-by-side with First Round founders. Trenchard, in particular, has experience on both sides of the table, having started and fundraised for 5 companies before joining the firm.

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What follows is an inside look at how we run the Pitch Assist program, and what startups everywhere can apply from what we’ve learned helping create fundraising pitches and processes for over 10 years.

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FIRST, FIX YOUR TIMELINE

Given the cyclical nature of tech and venture, there are distinctly good and bad times to raise capital. “Avoid August, the second half of November and December, when many venture firms slow down.

The year-end holidays and summer dog days are dead zones for fundraising, so why set yourself for an uphill process? July can be slow, too. You can finish your fundraising process in late July — just don’t start it then,” says Trenchard.

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The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise $18B in Follow-On Capital

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First Round Review

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The red flags and magic numbers that investors look for in your startup’s metrics – 80 slide deck included!

Andrew Chen is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, where he invests in new consumer startups.

Growing startups and evaluating startups share common skills
Earlier this year, I joined Andreessen Horowitz as a General Partner, where I focus on a broad spectrum of consumer startups: marketplaces, entertainment/media, and social platforms. This was a big moment for me, and the result of a long relationship that began a decade ago, when Horowitz Andreessen Angel Fund funded a (now defunct) startup I had co-founded. One of the reasons I’ve been excited about being a professional investor is the ability to apply my skills as an operator. The same skills needed to grow new products can be used both to evaluate new startups to invest in, and once we’ve invested; to help them grow.

https://andrewchen.co/investor-metrics-deck/

 

 

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Better Everyday: Rethinking the Standard Fundraising Deck

I see hundreds of fundraising decks each year. I’ve been doing this for eight years now, so I’ve been able to see some longitudinal trends during that time.

There are a couple trends that I have noticed emerge over the last few years that I think have become industry standard. The problem is that I think they don’t work and need to be rethought. Not sure if this is going to be true for every investor out there, but this is definitely true for me.

Below are a couple things I’d change, and a proposed structure that I’d recommend for most fundraising decks. This is what I’d recommend for founders that are raising a more mature seed or series A that has at least early signs of Product/Market Fit.

 

https://bettereveryday.vc/rethinking-the-standard-fundraising-deck-406c9061e1c3

 

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7 Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in VC Pitches And How to Fix Them

With plenty of resources available for entrepreneurs about how to craft an effective pitch deck for raising seed-stage capital from VCs, often what’s left out are some of the tactical components of an initial meeting.

The following is a list of mistakes that, despite seeming obvious or perhaps mundane, are still frequently committed by founders and CEOs. The good news? They’re easy to fix.

Mistake #1: Not clearly articulating the basics in the beginning of a pitch.

Every single pitch should, but unfortunately often don’t, contain specific,

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https://bettereveryday.vc/7-common-mistakes-entrepreneurs-make-in-vc-pitches-how-to-fix-them-ee2d74e66884

 

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Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works

As Startups.co and Fundable founder Wil Schroter likes to says, “There’s not a lot of ‘fun’ in funding.”

Raising equity funding for your startup is a long, difficult, and often demoralizing process. However, if you’re successful, you walk away with money that will help your startup grow and become everything you hope it could become.

One of the major challenges that founders run across is that raising a round often takes more time than they expected. While a founder might know that your startup is excellent, convincing other people to invest thousands — and potentially millions — of dollars into their company is not a simple task.

Check out the full article here:

Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works