4 excellent fundraising tips you probably haven’t seen before
A lot of fundraising advice on LinkedIn has been regurgitated umpteen times, but here are four excellent tips I haven’t seen elsewhere…
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The first two are from VC, Casey Flint:
At the start of a meeting with a VC, ask what concerns or questions they have, based on what they know so far. This will help you see how prepared and thoughtful the investor is, what their biases are, and how to position your pitch.
At the end of your meeting, ask what the VC is thinking based on your conversation. You’ll likely get more honest feedback than if you wait for a follow-up email. The more honest the feedback, the better you can craft your future pitches.
The next 2 are from serial entrepreneur, Dori Stein, who raised >$30m for his last startup. He now helps founders automate the mundane fundraising tasks that actually work.
The secret slide that can transform your pitch deck: “Challenges”. By adding a slide that shows all is not perfect, you’ll control the narrative AND show investors:
- You’re not hiding anything.
- You’re authentic and honest.
- You think differently to other founders.
- You’re not afraid of the hard stuff.
- You have a plan.
Emailing investors you don’t know almost never works (approx. 1 call from every 1,000 cold emails sent). The conversion to investment is also dire, because there’s no trust. So, instead of cold emailing investors directly, email the founders of their portfolio companies. Entrepreneurs rarely get pitched by fellow founders and are way more likely to accept your call (around 1 in 20). Tell them what you’re building and why it’s relevant, then ask for an intro to their investors. Done well, half will make an intro. That’s a 25x improvement: 2.5% overall conversion rate from initial email to a WARM INTRO, as opposed to a 0.1% conversion rate to a call with an investor you contacted COLD.
What other secret tips do you know that don’t regularly reappear on LinkedIn?
P.S. Give Dori and Casey a follow, they both share excellent tips and insights.
