7 Key Factors for fundraising success

#7 be a learner

Finance is a journey

• Accounting is historical looking, finance is forward looking.
• Finance is all about how to grow a business
• Also to obtain and maintain adequate working capital

#6 Online technology = efficiency

Social media & online tools

• Make fundraising more efficient than ever
• CRM to track all people and correspondence
• Complete listings on AngelList, LinkedIn and Gust
• On Gmail, check out Streak, which has a fundraising module
• Rapportive is great to find investor social profiles

Be Agile - Financial Modeling

Financial modeling can be a major distraction

• Do not spend > 30 hours on a pro forma
• Unless it is a project (building, energy etc.), a new business should not s
• Reason? There is a lot of room for error
• Consumes too much of an entrepreneurs time
• Spend time proving the model - like getting revenue

#4

Borrowing reputation

2 things move money: trust and emotion

emotion trumps logic

• Set the trends - don't follow them
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UW64o3pJFE
• Create a reason for something
• Find early adopters that can bring you up
• Raising money is about finding these people

DealTeams = Win

Failure point of most small businesses

• Leader tries to take on too much alone
• Devastating when it comes to critical finance activities
• Befriend other entrepreneurs for advice

#1 People invest in People

People are the most valuable asset

• Ideas and IP are worthless without the right people
• Why seasoned investors bet on the jockey
• David Rose TED Talk: 

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