Free Friday event on VC, Key principles for efficient fundraising and our courses
Founder time is more valuable than money
‘Ask a VC’ - free IfWeRaise Ask Me Anything webinar
Zoe Peden Partner at impact Venture Capital fund Ananda Ventures will be joining IfWeRaise on Friday at 1PM for a free webinar, get your questions ready!
Key principles for efficient fundraising
For first time founders the risk of overwhelm is very real. MVP, dilution, ASA, traction, EIS - the jargon and acronyms alone require a deep breath when you’re first starting out.
📚 Angel Investing School’s Investment Dictionary is a great reference on common terms if you need one.
It’s so easy to get lost in fundraising technicalities that founders often forget strategy - how much do I need, what source is most attractive and where will I get it.
First - what money do you need and when
A quick profit and loss forecast (money in and out each month) combined with a simple cashflow forecast (how much money you will have at the end of each month) is enough. It will give a rough sense of what cash the business will need and when.
💸 Considered Capital are running a free Financial reporting and getting the numbers right webinar on this very topic tomorrow night (26 September 17:00)
Second - what source of money is most relevant to your business
Venture capital (VC) are the type of investors that gets the most PR because of the often massive investments made in relatively late stage businesses. But it’s incredibly rare for the first investment in a business to be VC - angels, grants and accelerators are much better place to look.
💰 More on demystifying VC in our article Founders & Angels: How well do you understand the Venture Capital business model?
😇 Or hear from Gary Izunwa, a founder who recently raised nearly £1m from angels at this AIS + HSBC panel at 17:30 3rd October, central London.
Third - raise what you need, not what you can
Investors effectively become co-owners with you in your business. This can be game changing (hopefully) but it’s largely a one-way street - they’ll be with you until you decide to sell up. If you can minimise the amount of shares you sell then you’ll keep more control and spend more time with customers and less time fundraising. Or you can even sell no shares and raise money another way.
Upcoming IfWeRaise courses
Create your personalised startup funding strategy
Our last cohort gave the workshop 4.5/5 🌟
“Great session, Hattie & Tim - very insightful, with information every founder should know when they’re considering raising investment”Revenue now - How to get customers before you get investors
Starting 5th October - 4 weeks of generating commercial momentum
We just launched a new IfWeRaise community ‘hot seat’ feature. We know founders really value 1:1 expert advice but it’s often unaffordable. Our ‘hot seat’ sessions are a free way for members to get an expert 1:1, other members can also watch - making them valuable for everyone.
Enjoy!