1 min read From the Fundraise Process Series: How to be successful at raising funding for your startup.
The key to raising funding is consistency and persistence.
Most startups spend time with investors and then fail to follow up and keep them informed.
In your fundraise, when you meet an investor and pitch him, you must have a plan for follow-up and keeping them informed.
It could be as simple as adding the investor to a list and sending a regular email update. From time to time you reach out to offer a call or meet up for coffee.
Investors are looking for team and traction so you need to find ways to demonstrate you have a great team and that you are achieving traction.
Traction will look different at each stage.
Seed: building an MVP, recruiting team members, raising family and friends funding, identifying customers who will buy a pre-sale version.
Series A: building a robust platform, raising funding from angels and early-stage VCs, and closing recurring revenue sales.
Series B: recruiting channel partners and scale partners, raising funding from later-stage VCs, and building out unit economic revenue models proving scalability of the business. Celebrate every win whether it be a customer, an investor, or product achievement.
It helps to recruit a big-name angel investor which signals to other investors that you have traction with investors. If you reach a milestone in product development, make note of it to the investors and customers.
If you reach a turning point with a customer, make sure investors know about it. It takes seven touches to close a sale so it takes seven touches to close an investor.
Take the investor “on the journey” with you and keep them informed. Consistent communication will show you are purposeful in your efforts to start and grow your business.
Read more from TEN Capital: https://tencapital.group/education/
Hall T. Martin is the founder and CEO of the TEN Capital Network. TEN Capital has been connecting startups with investors for over ten years. You can connect with Hall about fundraising, business growth, and emerging technologies via LinkedIn or email: hallmartin@tencapital.group
