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Part 2: How to Raise Money for Your Startup, as Explained by a Former Entrepreneur
A condensed and practical roadmap for startup fundraising.
In Part 1, we covered how to calculate roughly how much capital you want to raise and what types of investors to target. Now, let’s talk about all of the materials you have to put together when you’re actually “on the road.”
Core Fundraising Assets
The specific type of fundraising materials you’ll need to prepare are going to differ, depending on the type investors you talk to. But a few things will always be relevant. We’ll cover each in order here.
1 — Elevator Pitch
The elevator pitch is thus named because it should be a concise description of the product, the business, and the team. You should have this written down, in your back pocket, and memorized in cases where you get initial warm or chance introductions to investors. It doesn’t matter how well you know your stuff, practice it quietly in your mind and aloud in front of a mirror or with family and friends. You want any in-person delivery to be polished and brief. Each time you verbalize the elevator pitch to an investor, take visual cues and mental notes on their reaction and the follow-up questions they ask. This gives you opportunity to refine your pitch each time. Don’t…
