The Startup Funding Formula

In this lesson I will talk about a handful of the most common startup phrases and terms that you will want to understand before connecting with investors.

This could be the most important lesson in the course!

Before you even bother seeking investors I want you to ask yourself some really hard questions. These questions will help determine a lot of things regarding your business model and maybe even your life!

There are a variety of ways to fund the growth of a business.

In this lesson, I cover the basics around a few of the types of investors that exist and also some "investors" that you may not be considering.

Not all startup investors are created equal. If you are choosing which investor(s) you want to partner with based purely on the money they want to give you then you are doing things wrong.

When raising capital for your startup there is a typical timeline of when it makes sense to work with the different types of investors. In this lesson I share how that funding principle flows at various stages, as well a sharing a few pieces of advice about other sources of capital that may not be investor specific.

In this lesson I run through nine different things that most of the investors I have worked with look for in a startup.

Founders have a habit of lumping all investors into one group. The reality is that investors all look for different things in an investment opportunity.

This is particularly true of private equity versus venture capital.

This is the most common question I get from entrepreneurs. In this lesson, I share five different places or ways you can meet investors.

Including my favorite question to ask people when looking to connect with investors.

A lot of startup founders think that the point of getting a meeting with an investor is to walk away with a check. They would be wrong.

Pitching to investors is no different than being in marketing or sales. If you are in sales then you know that the money is in the follow-up. The key is not annoying an investor to death.

In this lesson I share some tips on follow-up including my secret weapon for follow-up.

There are three main types of documents that investors will often ask for. Plus, in this lesson, I also share a document you should complete for yourself in order to encourage thought-processes.

You might notice that I didn't share any images of existing executive summaries (ES) in the last lesson.

There is a good reason for that. All of the ES material that I have copies of on hand are either my own or the property of the clients that I work have worked with in the past. I consider those documents their property. Plus, in many instance I have signed NDAs with those clients.

Instead, so that you could get a flavor of what an actual ES should look like, I have decided to point you to examples of ES documents that are already published publicly online.

You might notice that I didn't share any images of existing financial projections earlier.

There is a good reason for that. All of the financial projections that I have copies of on hand are either my own or the property of the clients that I work have worked with in the past. I consider those documents their property. Plus, in many instance I have signed NDAs with those clients.

Instead, so that you could get a flavor of what actual financial projections should look like, I have decided to point you to examples that are already published publicly online.

Pitch decks are the preferred document for sharing your idea with investors.

In this lesson I share a typical pitch deck structure, why that structure is required, and more.

The first pitch deck you design should only be a foundational document. For each investor you plan to pitch or for each phrase of funding raising you are in, your pitch deck should be customized to suit the audience.

The more pitches I listen to, both as an investor and a pitch competition judge, the more I realized that founders tend to mess up on three particular pitch deck slides.

You might notice that I didn't share any images of existing pitch decks in the last lesson.

There is a good reason for that. All of the pitch decks that I have copies of on hand are either my own or the property of the clients that I work have worked with in the past. I consider those decks their property. Plus, in many instance I have signed NDAs with those clients.

Instead, so that you could get a flavor of what an actual pitch deck should look like, I have decided to point you to examples of pitch decks that are already published publicly online.

Looking for a pitch deck template to start from for your own deck? I've included some templates from a variety of resources below.

Listen in as I do a live review of two pitch decks built as examples of AirBnBs and Uber's decks. I will share what I like about each of them and where they could have been better designed.

In this newer lesson I talk about a few ways that a presenter can ruin their investor pitch as well as a couple of ways to knock it out of the park!

So, you have made a pitch. Now what?

Next comes more meetings and hopefully a term sheet.

One last lesson from me. Well, not really a lesson. But I hope you will watch it anyway.

Listen in as I interview a real life angel investor, my good friend Eric Dobson of the Angel Capital Group. He group syndicates deals across 12 different cities within the Southern United States.

From time to time I record videos for other purposes that I think will add value to my courses. In this instance I was asked what questions a startup founder should ask potential co-founders.

A student asked about overlooked sources of startup funding. Here are four sources that many entrepreneurs I work with miss.

Ever wondered how to value a startup that doesn't have any revenue? Here are some ideas.

This is one of the more common questions I get.

The truth is that it depends on a lot of factors.

Like:

• Revenue

• Number of customers/users

• Number of signed contracts with strategic partners

• and so on

What you want to go is show as much traction as you can.

Still, sometimes nailing down a valuation is tough.

So, here's what you do.

I wanted to take the topic and importance of networking to another level. This is the key skill for startup founders that are looking to raise capital and find talent.

My third most popular video, at this moment, is about using a SAFE, or Simple Agreement for Future Equity, as a fundraising vehicle for pre-revenue startups. Today I am bringing you a similar, but a different concept, the SAFT.

Use this checklist to get ready to fundraise. You can download the file below.