A Fundraising Survival Guide
20 hours ago
- Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup; the hardest is making something people want.
- Fundraising is brutal due to market brutality, small number of investors, and investment randomness.
- Y Combinator aims to create a more efficient market by increasing the number of startups and investors.
- The most important thing is not to let fundraising destroy morale; startups survive on morale.
- Bootstrapping via consulting is an option but can be a long-term pain and risky for many startups.
- Key survival techniques: have low expectations, keep working on your startup, be conservative, be flexible, be independent, don't take rejection personally, be able to downshift into consulting, avoid inexperienced investors, and know where you stand.
- The funding process is currently broken, but presents an opportunity for faster decision-makers.
- Treat fundraising as dangerous; surprise is the biggest danger, so expect it to be hard.