• The first question you should be asking yourself is “Are we even fundable right now?”
• Understand where your business strengths and weaknesses are, how you compare to the competitive landscape, and what your business narrative is from a metrics standpoint (not just mission and marketing). Is the numbers story compelling enough?
• Signals matter more than perfection. Investors don’t expect you to have perfect numbers, but they want to see you have a good understanding of your business, positive direction, discipline, and momentum.
• Traction is king and shows up in different ways: velocities, repeat purchases, reviews, retailer feedback, etc. Can you prove consumers have high affinity for your products and that they will continue to? This de-risks an investment.
• Be ready to sell the vision in the context of an asset (not just your vision as a founder, which is also important). If you were going to put money in the stock market, what would you care about? Ask yourself how your company exits? Why will it be a desirable asset from a business perspective? How will someone else make money off of this business?
• Be honest about stage fit. Not every great business is venture-backable. Some are amazing but better suited to angels, revenue-based financing, or bootstrapping. If you have strong performance but your revenue is too low or your exit potential is nontraditional, consider walking with an alternate round of financing before you try to run with traditional institutional capital.
• You must be organized. Have clean data, a clear understanding of the metrics of your business, and be in control of your business fundamentals. You wouldn’t go to an interview in flip flops and a bathing suit, so don’t go into a fundraise with messy business operations.

• Your deck needs two things: clarity and coherence. No fluff, no 50-slide journeys, just a clean narrative with metrics to support it. Aim for 5-10 slides of the most critical information for someone to understand what you are doing, why it matters, how you’ve proven it has been successful, and how it will continue to be so.
• Build a “memo version” of your business. Investors love when a founder can summarize the entire company in a short, structured document.
• Know your numbers cold:
  • Sales, velocities, repeat purchases, etc.
  • Gross margin vs. contribution margin
  • Trade spend and channel nuances
  • Burn, runway, and working capital needs
  • Profitability
• Be intellectually honest. Don’t try to spin things or cover up less attractive metrics. When you don’t know something, follow-up versus fake it. When your business has a weakness, understand it, have an action plan, and present it as an area of opportunity to improve the business.
• Be ready for deep diligence. Expect investors to talk to retailers, your existing angels, your co-man, your buyers, and sometimes even your customers. Be prepared to share financials and other data requests (especially supporting information for metrics you have already shared).
• Have your data room prepped: P&L, cash flow, cap table, forecasts, manufacturing contracts, sales data, SPINS/Nielsen where relevant.

4. What Matters Most to Investors

• Fundraising is not a one-time event, it’s a commitment. Once you take institutional capital, you’re agreeing to a multi-year growth journey. That means accountability to metrics, likely a need for additional fundraising, expectations for business operations and reporting, etc.
• You are now in a 5-10+ year relationship. Investors call it a marriage for a reason.
• Your goals must align with theirs:
  • Are you building for acquisition?
  • Are you trying to scale aggressively?
  • Are you prepared for board governance, reporting, and accountability?
• Capital increases pressure. The more you raise, the more you must grow, and the more your optionality narrows.
• Understand what funding means for your equity. Feel confident about dilution implications, be realistic about additional fundraising and what dilution will be like then too. Make sure your incentives are aligned with the funding you are seeking.
• Raising money shouldn’t be automatic. Many amazing businesses work beautifully without the venture treadmill.

• Investors see hundreds, if not thousands, of deals a year and only back a handful.
• Many passes have nothing to do with founder quality or product strength, sometimes it’s fund timing, ownership targets, category fatigue, or bandwidth.
• Founders cannot take fundraising personally. It’s always important to learn and adjust to what is not working, but do not internalize rejections.
• Macro matters: channel shifts, retailer resets, M&A slowdowns, consumer trends, strategic appetites, etc. influence fundraising more than founders realize.
• “Right time, right place” is a real factor. Part of fundraising is luck. The rest is preparation.
• Yes, you need money. But, this isn’t charity. They are getting a first-class ticket on your rocketship. Don’t be arrogant, but don’t let the need for green cause you to lose your confidence or agency.
• Think about investors like long-term business partners, not like ATMs. Mentally evaluate them the same way you would a potential hire.
• And remember: “no” will be heard many times, and is often not about you or your business. Be resilient. Sometimes, it only takes one “yes” 💪