Category Visionaries Nathan Beckord, CEO of Foundersuite: $13 Million Raised to Build the Go-To Platform for Startup Fundraising
Foundersuite has established itself as the leading platform for startups raising capital, with $13 million in funding and a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline the fundraising process. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Nathan Beckord, CEO of Foundersuite, to explore how his extensive background in investment banking and startup advisory evolved into building a specialized platform that's revolutionizing how founders approach fundraising. Nathan shares his journey from consultant to entrepreneur, and how Foundersuite has grown from a simple CRM into a robust platform serving startups from seed stage through Series B and beyond.
Topics Discussed:
- The evolution from an investment banking career to founding a startup focused on fundraising tools
- How Foundersuite narrowed its focus from a broad suite of founder tools to specialized fundraising solutions
- The strategic decision to target the seed through Series B segment as their primary market
- Building a sustainable marketing strategy through events, podcasting, and innovative guerrilla tactics
- The launch of Funding Stack, a new platform designed for VCs and fundraising consultants
- How AI is being integrated throughout the fundraising process to enhance efficiency and outcomes
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
- Start with your unique expertise: Nathan built Foundersuite based on his decade of fundraising experience, turning his specialized knowledge into product features. He explained, "I'm a one trick pony. The only thing I've done ever since college is raise capital for startups." B2B founders should leverage their deep industry expertise when defining their product category and value proposition.
- Be willing to kill good products for great focus: Despite positive user feedback on several products in their initial suite, Foundersuite made the difficult decision to eliminate tools that weren't core to their primary value proposition. Nathan recalls, "It was hard to kill something that people did love... but they weren't really paying as much for that." B2B founders should continuously evaluate their product portfolio against market traction and be willing to make tough decisions for greater focus.
- Define your "Goldilocks" customer segment: Foundersuite identified their ideal customer segment as seed through Series B companies—not too early (pre-seed) and not too mature (Series C+). Nathan explains, "Too early, you don't have any money, you can't pay us, you're not really fundable. Too late, you have a lot of other resources to help you raise capital." B2B founders should similarly identify where their product delivers maximum value and focus acquisition efforts accordingly.
- Use content marketing as a learning opportunity: Foundersuite's "How I Raised It" podcast not only serves as a marketing channel but also provides valuable market intelligence. Nathan shared, "I thought I knew everything about raising capital. And here I am just drinking from a fire hose... I'm learning more than my first six months of doing a podcast than I have in the last five years of actually doing the work." B2B founders should view content marketing as both a growth channel and a customer research tool.
- Implement annual marketing experiments: Foundersuite commits to trying one new marketing approach each year. Nathan explains, "One of the things I try and do every year... let's try a new, different marketing experiment." For 2025, they're implementing monthly webinars. B2B founders should similarly build experimentation into their marketing roadmap while maintaining their core channels.
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Sponsors:
Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.
The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.