Fundraising Quotes

“During: ●   Meals: Fundraising in the time of Zoom is an even more intense experience. It can be difficult to carve out enough time to get out of your house, or even away from your computer, for a proper meal. I suggest doing meal prep or planning every Sunday. Meals should be light and calorically restricted to keep your mind and body active — you shouldn’t bring any afternoon grogginess to a pitch because you ate a burger for lunch. ●    Exercise: Add blocks to your calendar to carve out exercise time. Getting your blood pumping and providing an alternative to staring at your own face on Zoom is key to providing context and awareness. Exercise helps reset the body and the mind. ●    Emotional support: A great fundraise is still an experience in rejection (seriously, most meetings result in a “no”). Make sure you have a weekly check-in with someone (not your cofounder) who can help rationalize and normalize this crazy process. ●        Breaks: Schedule time to take breaks. Watch a movie. Take a hike. Go swimming. Do something to get your mind off the fundraise for at least 30 minutes every day. ●      Meditating: There is nothing in this world that I believe in more than meditation. I started meditating twelve months ago, and since then have nearly 10X’d our business. It’s never too late to start!”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Health Done well, fundraising should be an intense experience. You're putting yourself and your company out there, showing up with extreme energy at every meeting, and staying up late to take care of both follow-ups and your existing business. In light of that, it’s important to invest in your health. I suggest implementing the following habits prior to and during your fundraising process: Before: ● Spend considerable time getting healthy and getting your mind and body right. ● If you've stopped exercising, start. ● If you've slipped on your healthy diet, start to get in the flow again. By initiating these habits before you begin fundraising, you’ll make it easier to maintain them during fundraising. Meanwhile, the knock-on effects of a good diet and regular exercise will make fundraising easier as you'll have extra energy.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Negotiating The only way you’ll be able to negotiate is if you have other term sheets in hand. That’s why it’s important to keep your process tight. You can negotiate with a top investor by saying something along the lines of “You’re my top pick, but I have other offers at ____. If you can match/beat that, I’ll go with you.” But remember to come back to two crucial principles: 1. Relationships trump metrics. You want to find, work with, and get support from investors who are there for the right reasons and who value what you’re trying to build. 2. Momentum is everything. The relationship building is the groundwork. But, you still have to create a compelling event or a “moment.” And when the process starts, you have to drive urgency.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Process For these rounds, you want to start relationship building far in advance of a raise — as much as 3-4 months in advance. Meet investors, get to know them, and build touchpoints. A lot of the same things we discussed earlier in this playbook apply here as well. And even if these investors are not a fit for this round, each earlier stage is an opportunity to build relationships for later stages. Your goal in this relationship-building process is twofold: 1. Make sure you have a bunch of investors who are warm. 2. Get close enough with 1-3 investors who you know will offer you a term sheet. For Series A processes, it’s really important to land a term sheet quickly after the process begins. In hot rounds, investors are accustomed to seeing term sheets generated within 1-2 weeks of them hearing from a founder. You need those investors to already be far along in order to catalyze the process. However, if you only have #2 and #1, then when an investor gives you a term sheet, everyone else will be caught flatfooted. Lots of investors will say “no” to a round if they don’t feel like they can meet the timeline or have any shot at winning the deal. This is all a delicate balance of moving fast but not so fast that firms see it as hopeless for getting involved.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“The Perfect Pitch Here’s the general framework for successful pitches: 1. Here’s how the world works today. 2. Here’s how the world should work in the future, but here’s what’s broken/missing. 3. Here’s why no one has been able to solve this problem so far (potentially reference folks who have tried and failed). This is a massive opportunity. Whoever solves this problem is going to have to do X, Y, and Z, but will be rewarded heavily. 4. Here’s the secret to how we’re going to fix this. A secret can be a unique insight, approach, technology, invention, or some shift or change in the world that has opened up an opportunity with you being the first mover. 5. Here’s why we’re going to execute the best (best team ever, traction thus far if applicable, your unique experience as a founder, etc.).”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“The most important pitch isn’t a polished one, it’s a casual one. Remember, you’re ideally not going through a deck. You’re setting up casual meet-and-greets with investors. At some point in the conversation, they’ll ask you what you do (that’s their job!). Here, you have to absolutely knock it out of the park… casually.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“As a founder, you are the Chief Storyteller. In the very beginning, you have a story that only you believe. Soon, a couple more people believe that story (your early team). A few more with checkbooks start believing it, too (your investors). And then, finally, the ones who matter most (your customers).”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“The Structure
SAFEs or Notes For a seed round, I recommend a SAFE (simple agreement for future equity) or Convertible Note. Why? They: - Are flexible instruments that let you raise the price incrementally. A fixed price round locks you into one price and one set of terms. - Let you close money progressively instead of all at once. This is a key point that’s hard to comprehend unless you’ve actually been through the process. Fixed priced rounds require a lead investor, which makes them much more painful. All of the investors who can’t lead will be forced to wait on a lead, thus dampening momentum. You won’t be able to get money in the bank until the lead is secured and everything closes. If you don’t get a lead quickly, there will be concerns about your company. And priced rounds add a ton of legal and governance overhead to your company. - Are easy to close (it’s a simple document!). Fixed price rounds can take weeks or months to close and get through all the paperwork. Make sure you know every term in your documents. Lean on, but don’t fully trust, your attorneys. Tell them you want the most founder-friendly terms possible. Even with this directive, I’ve been shocked at the number of times they'll include terms that are completely unnecessary and a disservice to the company. They’ll tell you it’s “standard.” That’s usually BS.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“What are you using the capital for?” There are tons of answers to this, e.g., “It gives us room for X additional hires, which will help us capture market share faster or launch Y product Z months faster.” I often like to tie in a sense of momentum: “This thing happened sooner than we thought, and we need to scale faster than we originally planned!” If you can tie it into the numbers, even better, e.g., “It’s going to take us roughly $1.5M, about half of which will be used to hire the engineers needed to get this product to market, and the other half of which will be used to onboard our first 20 customers and $1M in ARR.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“What are the terms?” You should say it’s a SAFE and let them know the cap (that you’ve pre-determined — see the Staggered Valuation Caps section). Don’t waver on this answer. Keep it short, sweet, and simple.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“What other investors are you talking to?” You NEVER want to share other investors’ names until those investors have wired their money. At that point, share away. I’d say something like: “I’m managing a lot of conversations right now, and as we get deeper, I’m happy to share that with you!”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Not focusing enough on the raise Fundraising should be a full-time job for one founder. Plan for three months minimum. If you get it done earlier, then congrats! But don’t underestimate it.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Raising from Series A/B firms for a seed Bringing a Series A/B firm in for a seed round is risky business. They’ll want to talk to you to get an early look and learn about what you’re up to. But don’t get too excited! In fact, I’d recommend avoiding those conversations entirely. Whatever capital they commit will be trivial relative to their total balance sheet. No Series A/B firm is serious unless they lead your A or B, and, if for some reason they decide not to do so, you’re screwed because that’s a red flag for other investors. This is called “signaling risk.” Basically, by investing in your seed, they intend to block out others from your next round. It’s a win-win for them because they either lead your next round from a privileged position or, they pass and you’re the one who’s screwed as a founder. So, your incentives are completely misaligned! You may have heard success stories, but that’s a sampling bias — you’ll rarely hear about the companies that do not get the follow-on term sheet. Note: A fund investing in your company at the seed stage is completely irrelevant to their willingness to write a check to lead your Series A or B. The only thing that determines their willingness to invest is your traction and momentum. Letting them in makes them no more willing to invest, and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is deceiving you. There might be relationship benefits, but you can build on the relationship without letting them on your cap table!”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Rejecting Investors If you’re in the fortunate position of having too many interested investors, good work! However, this can be a tricky situation. You want to keep all relationships intact to the best of your ability. If you need to pass on someone, say something along the lines of, “We unfortunately had to move forward with investors with whom we have longstanding relationships, or started talking to earlier. However, you're someone that I think can add tremendous value to our company. I plan to keep you in the loop on progress and well ahead of future raises.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Approaching Existing Investors If you ever need to raise more money, there’s no better audience than your existing investors! I find that the best way to reach out is with a super short email blast. For example: “Dear Backers, [2-3 sentences on what you just accomplished, extremely excited] We’ve also got a very exciting opportunity. Based on our milestones, we are gearing up for a serious product launch and will raise another $1M at a special-priced note to accelerate a few components. If you’ve wanted to get more deeply invested, now is the time. I imagine this being accounted for very quickly, so please ping me ASAP!” You might want to send a couple of “momentum” emails leading up to this message so that they’re already excited by the time they get the email from you.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Tracking & Managing the Process Track your process to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Using Salesforce or a CRM is overkill; I typically use an Excel spreadsheet with the following columns: ● Firm ● Target investor ● Last touchpoint ● Next step ● Interest level ● Notes on prior conversations (where did they light up, what concerns did they have, etc.) You could also create columns for specific stages (e.g., intro call, deep dive, references) and check them off as you go. Organization is half the battle here. If you’re careful and deliberate about capturing data, it helps not just to raise your first round, but also subsequent rounds. You aren’t building this spreadsheet as a one-and-done exercise — it’s a tool that follows you for the life of the business.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“A common pitfall I see is multiple cofounders trying to tag-team fundraising. This is nonoptimal. As with any business objective: one person needs to be ultimately responsible. With fundraising, one cofounder should take a leading role. The other cofounder should focus on keeping the business running and should be leveraged in a supporting role to: ● Attend a 2nd/3rd meeting with the investor (increases buy-in and adds another touchpoint) ● Amplify the shared network and investor introductions ● Help check references ● Take the blame for being a hard negotiator :-) As I hope I’ve illustrated, fundraising isn’t an afterthought — it requires this kind of discipline, follow-through, and planning to get right. Make that one person’s whole job, not two people’s shared job.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“NEVER give up a board seat in a seed round. And, to the degree possible, try to do your rounds without a Preferred Board Seat. Observer seats give them a seat at the table without the control. Common seats give them a seat at the table, but while holding them accountable to push the company forward since the common shareholders, with you as a founder holding most of the common vote, can let them go. You can emphasize to this investor that your intention is to have them on the Board forever. If they add value to the business, you’ll naturally want to keep them around for as long as that is the case.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“You should also make sure that the investor you’re working with has decision-making authority in their firm. This is critically important. If they don’t, when your business faces hard times, other partners in the firm may start stepping in out of nowhere.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Here are some signs of bad investors: ● Large ego ● Treating you with anything other than the utmost respect ●   Unsophisticated questions (they really just aren’t getting it, or perhaps they’re even excited but for the wrong reasons) ●    Extra investment steps (for example, holding you up by saying, “I want you to meet with my friend who knows about this”) ● Missed deadlines (or general slowness) ● Unclear investment criteria ● Bad energy (judging investors based off your energetic connection with them is incredibly important) Disregard the investor’s brand and prioritize your assessment of them as an individual. In fact, bringing on an investor with a strong brand has real downsides. You’ll run the risk that they have outsized influence over your board, your other investors, and your organization. It’s hard to butt heads with someone who everyone is afraid to disagree with. You’ll end up spending most of your time managing your relationship with this person rather than managing your business.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Still, don’t assume you have capital committed until the money hits the bank.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Some will give you a “no” but not give you real reasons why. If they’ve been vague and unhelpful, ask them to give you the real reasons. If you’re going to get a “no,” you might as well learn why. Still, don’t let it demotivate you, and don’t take their reply as absolute truth. Sometimes, their reasons are worth taking into account. And sometimes they aren’t!”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“The most dangerous investors are the ones who drag out the process, wasting your time while ultimately saying “no.” Overseeing hundreds of fundraises, I’ve never seen this kind of process result in a “yes.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“The best way to get to know an investor is through dialogue, not decks. I’ve raised tens of millions of dollars without decks.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Hey _Node_ — how well do you know X? Or combine the two: Hey _Node_, hope all is well!
I noticed you [are connected to _Investor_ on LinkedIn] and heard from a few folks they’re pretty good. They have relevant experience to what we’re building and I’d love to get to know them.
Do you know them really well? If not, I’ll find someone else, no stress. If you do know them well, I’d love an introduction. Here’s a quick email draft you can copy and paste. Feel free to modify as you see fit! Thank you so much. "Hey _Investor_, hope all is well!
  I have a friend, Ryan Breslow, who is building Bolt. They are doing one-click checkout for the entire online commerce landscape. Ryan is sharp, and I think you both should get to know each other.
Can I make the introduction?
_Node_”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“A Node is your immediate contact while an Investor is the target you’re pursuing.
Hey _Node_, hope all is well!
I noticed you [are connected to _Investor_ on LinkedIn / raised money from _Investor_] and heard from a few folks they’re pretty smart. They have relevant experience to what we’re building and I’d love to get to know them. Would you mind making an introduction? Here is a quick email draft you can copy and paste. Feel free to modify as you see fit! Thank you so much. "Hey _Investor_, hope all is well!
  I have a friend, Ryan Breslow, who is building Bolt. They are doing one-click checkout for the entire online commerce landscape. Ryan is sharp, and I think you both should get to know each other.
Can I make the introduction?
_Node_”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“The best “champions,” or intermediaries through which to meet investors, are other founders and mentors who are not investors themselves.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“I like to keep these qualities in mind, and strive to embody them: Visionary
Creative, bold, unique vision Thinker
Critical thinker, open-minded, willing to change your mind Warrior
You will run through walls to win If you’re able to convey all three attributes, you’re going to succeed with investors. You’re also going to attract talent. Finally, don’t forget to be authentic. That is the key that unlocks everything in life.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Uniqueness is essential. Investors meet with hundreds of founders and only invest in a handful of them. If you really stand out, it's far easier to win.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising

“Some investors take their interactions with founders personally. They may say unkind words about you, either directly or behind closed doors. Avoid these high-ego investors at all costs; they’re not worth the pain. You wouldn’t believe the number of investors who harbor feelings of jealousy, resentment, or clinginess to founders’ successes… even though their job is all about supporting founders! Instead, bring on investors who are authentic and genuinely want to help you succeed. That doesn't mean blind agreement: great investors will speak up when they disagree, give their advice in an authentic way, and ultimately respect the final decision the founder makes. This takes the element of fear out of the partnership and ultimately leads to better outcomes for the business. To all investors who act as genuine partners to their founders, thank you. You are playing such an important role in the ecosystem.”
― Ryan Breslow, Fundraising