Building a startup is hard.
Figuring out fundraising and venture capital shouldn’t get in your way.
Here you will find all of my posts, starting with the most recent.
You can also jump directly to the following categories:
Know Your Competition
If an investor knows more about your competition than you do, that’s a problem.
What Happens After You Sign a Term Sheet?
Here are the steps that occur between signing a VC term sheet and the money being deposited into your startup’s bank account.
The Mythical U.S. Lead Investor
The stereotype that local investors don’t lead rounds but "foreign investors" do exists all over the world. But is it true?
How to Pitch Hard Tech to a Generalist VC
To increase fundraising success with generalist VCs, hard tech founders must show that your startup fits the traditional VC model. Here's how.
How to Connect with a VC on LinkedIn
Connecting on LinkedIn can be the easiest way to open a direct line of communication with a potential investor. But you have to do it right.
How to Pitch a VC at a Party
Pitching an investor at a party is very different from pitching in an office, a coffee shop or over Zoom. Here are 6 tips for pitching a VC at a party.
Why is Summer a Bad Time to Fundraise?
Is summer really a bad time to fundraise? And if so, why?
There is No Such Thing as Pre-Seed Valuation Data
Founders and VCs both want valuation comparisons when fundraising. But the truth is, there is no such thing as accurate pre-seed valuation data.
The Paradox of the Junior VC Partner
There’s plenty of debate around whether or not founders should talk to associates at VC firms. But there’s another, more subtle fundraising dynamic at play that most founders are completely unaware of: the dynamic between partners.
Be Honest With Your Metrics
Here are 5 misleading metrics that have no place in your fundraising deck.
How to Manage Your Fundraising Timeline
Here are 5 tips for starting your fundraising process on the right foot and signalling to investors that you’re in control of the timeline.
How Glean Raised a $1M Pre-Seed Round
How data analytics startup Glean raised a $1M pre-seed round…in 2012.
Velocity: One Metric that Matters Most
As an early-stage investor, velocity is the #1 thing I’m trying to measure when I meet with founders.
How to Diligence a VC
Plenty of posts have been written about how investors diligence startup founders, but how can founders diligence VCs?
Why Do Solo Founders Make VCs Nervous?
One topic that gets founders riled up is the fact that many VCs won’t invest in solo founders. Why do solo founders make investors so nervous?
The Problem with Pivots
Pivoting is a right of passage for many startup founders. But too often, the road to a successful pivot is cut short by a critical mistake: the founders failed to fully reset the business.
The Paradox of Time: Silicon Valley's Ultimate Riddle
Silicon Valley has a paradox: most people in places of power, influence and experience genuinely want to help up-and-coming founders, but their work and obligations leave little to no time for them to do so. Solving this puzzle is the ultimate cheat code.
All the Small Things
As with many things in life, the little things can have far more of an impact on your success when fundraising than you might expect. Here are four small things that won't win you a new investor, but could potentially lose you one.
"What if Google Builds It?" is No Longer a Bullshit Question
In a world of generative AI and LLMs, “What if Google builds it?” is no longer a bullshit question for investors to ask founders.