April 11, 2017

196: Fundraising: How to Raise Your Series A

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about raising a series A round. Tune in as Steli and Hiten lay the groundwork for what your company should already have in place prior to doing a series A round. They discuss what is expected of you from an investor’s perspective and give quality advice to prepare you for that next relationship with the right investor.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:03 – Today’s episode is about how to raise a series A round

00:27 – Raising money is a highly, in-demand topic

01:32 – What should a company have in place to start a series A round?

01:50 – If you are raising a series A, you should have already addressed the risks

02:00 – Different industries take different risks

02:20 – If you are already an experienced founder, the first round you raise can feel like a series A round

02:36 – Money given at this point is for the growth of your business, so things should already be in place

03:38 – Startups may have had an easier time raising seed funds

04:42 – Founders who have raised seed funds easily found that raising a series A is harder and often do not know what to do

05:30 – Operate your business as if you are raising money all the time

06:01 – Hiten shares a story about a founder who loves doing pitch decks because it gives him clarity regarding his business

06:45 – It is important to run your business in a way it can be presentable to an investor at any time

07:21 – The expectations of investors are different for every stage of your business

08:27 – In Episode 188 regarding pitch decks, the emphasis of the episode is to NOT LIE to investors

09:10 – DoGo is Hiten’s new project where you can get feedback for your pitch decks for free

10:31 – Getting and giving feedback for pitch decks can be difficult

11:25 – Steli talks about what his first pitch deck looked like and how he had difficulty asking for feedback

12:40 – You want to ensure that you are ready when you are going to do a series A

13:54 – There are some things about the series A that go beyond just the money

14:06 – You need to be willing to give up one or two board seats

14:30 – Hiten and Steli will be talking about the board in a future episode

15:10 – Make sure you have a good relationship with an investor, where you can be brutally honest with one another

15:42 – Create a space that allows you to listen to one another

16:01 – Investors are giving YOU money so that you can make THEM money

16:40 – You have a commitment to the investor to grow the business

17:09 – Investors will make you feel like they like you, but they are professionals at “dating” founders and you should keep your emotions in check

18:00 – The core relationship is the business relationship

18:46 – Steli’s tip for today’s topic: Find a healthy balance between believing in your business and being brutally honest about the risks and weaknesses

19:30 – If the investor does not like the risk, they are not the right match for you

20:21 – Hiten’s tip for today’s topic: Don’t get caught up in an investor’s brand, focus on what they can do for your business and your relationship

20:54 – Go to iTunes and give us a rating and review

21:03 – Connect with Steli and Hiten on Twitter

21:08 – End of today’s episode

3 Key Points:

Raising a seed or pre-seed round is very different from raising a series A as your business will be in different places.

Operate your business as if you are raising money all the time.

It is important to have a good relationship with your investor where you can create a safe space to be brutally honest with one another.

Steli Efti: Hi everyone. This is Steli Efti.

Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah,

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By Steli Efti & Hiten Shah: Serial Entrepreneurs, Sales & Marketing Experts, Startup Investors & Advisors, CEOs running multi million dollar SaaS Startups

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