The Fundraising Mindset

by

@cee | @seedcamp

Fundraising is a journey

Some of the Investors you'll meet along your

journey

Investors that doubt you and your capabilities to execute

Investors that are just meeting with you because they want to

invest in your competitor

Investors that don’t have the money to invest but want to be

seen to be active

Investors that want every inch of detail about what you will be

doing for the next 5 years

Investors that don’t get what you do at all, but have opinions

about everything(usually because of what their mom or kids do)

Investors that give you good advice, but unfortunately say you

are "too early for them"

Investors that are only comfortable following in a

round(usually smaller investors)

Fundraising can therefore be just as frustrating as...

... Dating!

What do Dating & Fundraising have in common?

You have to be willing to open up to meet anyone in the first place

No NDAs

It’s a numbers game: you have to meet many people, this can be at

in-person at networking events, parties, or online

Connections usually happen in the least likely of places and are

strongest when they come through a trusted 3rd party

Being a good story teller gets people to laugh, open up, and

remember you

Chemistry matters

Sometimes its just plain luck: being at the right place at the

right time

The better you prepare yourself, the better your odds get

Being too eager to get back to someone or waiting too long

can end things prematurely

You have to go on several dates with several people before you

ultimately feel someone is the right one for you.

Take Away Lessons on Fundraising

1. Understand that it's a journey and that it'll take time. Few are

lucky to have it be quick and painless.

2. Embrace rejection as part of the process. Don't take it as personal

rejection.

3. Treat every meeting as a form of practice that is merely making

you better for the next meeting

4. Analyse what was said & learn how to improve on mistakes

@cee | @seedcamp