Essays

Understanding VC Signals (Part 1)

Understanding VC Signals (Part 1)

The Story Behind Lex's $5.6M Seed Round

Fundraising Strategies They Don’t Want You to Know (Part 2)

Fundraising Strategies They Don’t Want You to Know (Part 1)

How Ian Swanson Started 3 Successful Venture-Backed Companies

Boring but ESSENTIAL: Project Planning Your Fundraise (Part II)

Boring but ESSENTIAL: Project Planning Your Fundraise (Part I)

How Nancy Xu Raised $10M for Moonhub

Pitch Decks: What to Highlight, What to Leave Out?

Founder Q&A: Finding the Sweet Spot for Your Deck

The Story Behind SGNL Raising $22M in Venture Capital

When Good Decks Go Bad

Preparing For a Pitch Competition

The Story Behind Purple Metrics Closing a $1.2M Pre-Seed Round

How to Handle Investor Rejection

How & Why to Get a Technical Co-Founder

Lessons from a $16.3M Fundraise

Should You Announce Your Fundraise? Pros vs Cons

How Much Should I Raise?

Betting on Yourself: The Journey to Closing a $7.6M Seed Round

Developing Your Pitch Persona

The Power of Deadlines

Lessons From a $45M Series B

The 7 Types of Support You Need while Fundraising

How to Pick: Generalist or Specialist VCs

Inside Midi Health's $25M Series A

Founder's Guide to Advisory Shares

Founder Salaries: How Much Should You Pay Yourself?

How Mindbloom Raised Over $50M in Venture Capital

Smarter Fundraising: Using Roll-Up Vehicles (RUVs) for Your Next Round

Conversion Rates throughout the Fundraising Funnel

The Story Behind Language I/O's $8M Series A

When Are Venture Scouts Dangerous to Work With?

The Skeleton Key for Cold Outreach

An Intro to Your Phantom Advisor

Preparing for Due Diligence

Casual Encounters... Not So Casual in Venture

Spotting Red Flags with Angel Investors

Sneaky Side Letters

The Value of Outside Perspectives

How Much Traction Do You Need?

Don't Run into This Wall When Fundraising

Investor Anxieties - Why Am I Seeing This Deal?

How to Leverage Investor FOMO

Pre-Seed vs. Seed- What's the Difference?

The "Dirty Secret" Behind Thesis-Driven VC Firms

7 Key Advantages of Choosing a SAFE for Startup Founders

EA Services for your fundraise & company (why, how, and discounts)

How to End Your First Call With an Investor

What is a Data Room? The Data Room Primer - For Startup Founders

VCs want to know: Is this the Money Round?

The Art of Remote Pitching

Accelerators- Expensive Capital, or More?

"Let me tell you a secret..."

From MVP to MVC: Rethinking Early-Stage Startup Strategies

Keys to mastering investor diligence

What's The Deal With Due Diligence? pt. I

You Aren't Doing Enough In Person + Stories From Brazil

Do you Have This VC Requirement? (Purity of Motivation)

Capturing Value from your Investors

Venture Capital: A Means to an End or an Essential Partner?

Does AI = Always Invest?

Translating the 9 most common lines in VC emails

8 Unsung Heroes in Fundraising - Recognize & Nurture These Relationships

5 Controversial Fundraising Ideas

Following up after a pitch - what do I do now?

Soft Commitments? They suck. Why, When, and How...

Failure to Launch in Fundraising

Founder Q&A: The Investor Passed on Me - What Should I Do Now?

Asking for help in fundraising (you're doing it wrong)

Sending the best signal in fundraising

Fundraising is this… over and over again

This common mistake will crush your chance of getting an intro

WhatsApp for Investor Comms

9 Ways for Founders to Stand Out in a Global Fundraising Slowdown

Positive Updates on SVB

How the SVB saga impacts fundraising (spoiler: it’s not good)

The Curse of Overvaluation: a Breakdown pt. II

The Curse of Overvaluation: a Breakdown pt. I

Leveraging your cap table for HELP