Serbi's first round of funding for the company was only $500,000. She got it done and she got even though she got rejected over and over again. Since then, the company was acquired for $275 million. If you want to read more about Serbi's story, she actually has an awesome book coming out in the spring.
YC Group Partner Brad Flora has seen startup fundraising from every angle: as a founder, as one of the most prolific angel investors in Silicon Valley, and now as a YC Group Partner. Brad has coached hundreds of companies on fundraising. In this talk, he shares stories and advice on how modern startup fundraising works.
Paul Graham Fundraising Essays:
http://www.paulgraham.com/fundraising.html
http://www.paulgraham.com/startupfunding.html
http://www.paulgraham.com/convince.html
http://www.paulgraham.com/herd.html
Geoff Ralston's Fundraising Guides:
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4A-a-guide-to-seed-fundraising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcevHkNGrWQ
YC Fundraising Resources:
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/2u-how-to-build-your-seed-round-pitch-deck
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/6q-how-to-pitch-your-startup
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/71-how-to-get-meetings-with-investors-and-raise-money
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4O-raising-money-online-advice-for-startups
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/3u-different-types-of-investors-and-their-incentives
Apply to Y Combinator: https://yc.link/SUS-apply
Work at a startup: https://yc.link/SUS-jobs