There are only 2 Things the matter in Early stage fundraising

@naomigoez

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Why it worked

The video provides actionable, counter-intuitive advice on fundraising by focusing on psychological drivers (momentum and FOMO) rather than just financial details. This unique perspective, delivered concisely, likely resonated with founders seeking a competitive edge.

Summary

The video explains that the two most crucial elements for early-stage fundraising success are momentum and FOMO (fear of missing out). Founders should focus all their efforts on creating and maintaining these two factors throughout the fundraising process. Instead of just detailing how funds will be used, founders should leverage investor questions to highlight existing demand and the critical inflection point their company is at, thereby driving momentum and FOMO.

Structure

1Introduce the two key fundraising elements: momentum and FOMO.
2Explain that founders often focus on the wrong things.
3Emphasize that all fundraising efforts should serve the goal of creating momentum and FOMO.
4Highlight the need for a great deck, pitch, and data room, but stress that momentum/FOMO are paramount.
5Provide examples of how to strategically use investor questions to build demand and FOMO.
6Conclude by stating the ultimate goal is to create momentum and FOMO.

On-screen text

There are only 2 Things the matter in Early stage fundraising MOST FOUNDERS GO ABOUT FUNDRAISING TOTALLY WRONG, LET YOU IN EARLY STAGE FUNDRAISING SECRET. SEED INVESTOR BASED IN NEW YORK CITY, FINISHED A HANDFUL OF PITCH PRACTICES WITH PORTFOLIO FOUNDERS. AND I WANT BECAUSE I REALIZED MOST FOUNDERS DON'T APPRECIATE THE ONLY TWO THINGS THAT SHOULD SIT OF YOUR FUNDRAISING STRATEGY, ESPECIALLY THE EARLY ESPECIALLY THE EARLY THINGS ARE MOMENTUM AND FOMO. MOMENTUM AND FOMO. HERE ON OUT, OR ABOUT TO GO RAISE, EVERYTHING YOU DO NEEDS TO BE IN SERVICE OF AND THAT IS CREATING AND MAINTAINING CREATING AND MAINTAINING MOMENTUM AND FOMO. DON'T GET ME WRONG, YOU STILL NEED A GREAT DECK, YOU STILL NEED A KILLER PITCH, YOUR DATA ROOM. YOU NEED A TARGET LIST. THAT BEING SAID I OFTEN TIMES SEE FOUNDERS HYPERFIXATE ON PERFECTING THOSE THINGS OF PERFECTING THEM. AND I FIND THAT THIS ORIENTATION AROUND MOMENTUM AND FOMO IS A MUCH MORE HELPFUL NORTH STAR THAT ACTUALLY GETS YOU WHERE YOU INCREDIBLE. COLLEAGUE DEIRDRE WROTE AN ENTIRE FUNDRAISING PLAYBOOK FOR OUR FOUNDERS TO USE INTERNALLY. NOT GONNA SHARE** WHEN YOU READ IT'S SUPER TACTICAL, STEP BY STEP THINGS, EVERY SINGLE THING THAT YOU DO, FROM HOW YOU GET THE ROUND STARTED TO GETTING THROUGH CONVERSATIONS TO ACTUALLY MAKING A DECISION, IS CONSTANTLY ORIENTED AROUND THOSE TWO ELEMENTS. AND I THINK HOW DO YOU START THE CONVERSATION? THAT ARE FOCUSED ON THOSE TWO THINGS ARE NOT JUST EMAILING A BUNCH OF INVESTORS. THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW TO LINE MAKING SURE THAT THEIR TARGET LIST ARE HEARING ABOUT THEM FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES HOW THEY RUN ALSO ORIENTED AROUND THIS. THEY'RE NOT JUST NOTES OR FOLLOW UP NOTES. WITH REAL UPDATES OR AN INVESTOR AND MOMENTUM IN THE ROUND. PERFECT EXAMPLE THAT A PITCH PRACTICE WAS USING QUESTIONS THAT AN INVESTOR ASKS YOU AS OPPORTUNITIES TO PLANT LITTLE FOMO PLANT LITTLE FOMO SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN YOU'RE ASKED ABOUT THE TIMELINE OF THE RAISE, ARE YOU GOING OUT TO MARKET NOW? THAT'S YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO TELL ME WHY THERE'S DEMAND THAT'S AT YOUR DOOR SERVE WITHOUT THIS CAPITAL. CRAZY INFLECTION POINT THAT YOU ARE LOOKING TO LEVERAGE. MOST FOUNDERS DEFAULT TELLING ME HOW THEY'RE GONNA USE WHICH THEY OBVIOUSLY NEED TO. OPPORTUNITY AT THE TOP OF THAT ANSWER TO JUST REMIND ME THAT DEMAND IS AT YOUR DOOR, UNBLOCKS THAT PERSPECTIVE. THIS PERSPECTIVE SHOULD CERTAINLY INFORM HOW YOU DESIGN AND THE KIND OF NARRATIVE AND YOU BUILD OUT. BUT JUST REMEMBER, YOUR GOAL IS EVERY LINE IN YOUR TALK TRACK PERFECTLY. YOUR GOAL IS TO MAKE MOMENTUM AND FOMO HAPPEN.

Original caption

It’s so easy to lose the plot during a raise or to over optimize any one small thing… but at the end of the day, these are two elements to oriente yourself around #venturecapital #fundraising #earlystage #preseed #startups

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Transcript

Most founders go about fundraising totally wrong. Let you in on an early stage fundraising secret. Seed investor based in New York City, I finished a handful of pitch practices with portfolio founders. And I want to bring you along because I realized most founders don't appreciate the only two things that should sit at the core of your fundraising strategy, especially the early stage. Those two things are momentum and FOMO. Here on out, if you're raising or about to go raise, everything you do needs to be in service of one goal. And that is creating and maintaining momentum and FOMO. Don't get me wrong, you still need a great deck, you still need a killer pitch, your data room, you need a target list. That being said, I often times see founders hyperfixate on perfecting those things for the sake of perfecting them. And I find that this orientation around momentum and FOMO is a much more helpful north star that actually gets you where you need to go. Incredible colleague Deirdre wrote an entire fundraising playbook for our founders to use internally. I'm not gonna share. When you read it, it's super tactical, step-by-step things. Every single thing that you do from how you get the round started to getting through conversations to actually making a decision, is constantly oriented around those two elements. And I think how do you start the conversation? The best founders that are focused on those two things are not just emailing a bunch of investors. They're thinking about how to line, making sure that their target list are hearing about them from multiple sources. How they run the processes also oriented around this. They're not just notes or follow-up notes with real updates or an investor and momentum in the round. Perfect example that came up in a pitch practice was using questions that an investor asks you as opportunities to plant little FOMO, plant little FOMO. So, for example, when you're asked about the timeline of the raise, why are you going out to market now? That's your opportunity to tell me why there's demand that's at your door that you can't serve without this capital. There's this crazy inflection point that you are looking to leverage. Most founders default to just telling me how they're gonna use which they obviously need to. But there's an opportunity at the top of that answer to just remind me that demand is at your door, unlocks that perspective. This perspective should certainly inform how you design and the kind of narrative and talk track that you build out. But just remember, your goal is not to hit every line in your talk track perfectly. Your goal is to make momentum and FOMO happen.