#172 How to Plan a Fundraise with Ashley Vukovits on the GrowCFO Show

Ashley Vukovits, joins Kevin Appleby on the GrowCFO Show ahead of the March GrowCFO Best Practice Accelerator that will give you practical tools and advice to plan a fundraise. She will be the guest in the first of three workshops in the accelerator. Ashley is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and is currently managing director of Liftbridge CXO. Liftbridge CXO specialises in placing fractional CFOs in start-up to scale-up stage technology companies to help them reach the next level of growth. Ashley has been involved in fundraising with many organisations and has experience across different types and sizes of deal. She brings this experience into the podcast conversation with Kevin. Ashley discusses various fundraising strategies for early-stage companies, including angel investors, venture capital, private equity, and debt financing. She emphasizes the importance of knowing cash runway and having a fundraising plan. Ashley explains that different fundraising stages involve different expectations, from a focus on leadership and vision at early stages to providing detailed financial data and substantiation when raising larger rounds. Cultivating long-term relationships with potential investors throughout a company's growth is key to fundraising success. Ashley highlights the importance of existing investors re-investing during her experience fundraising in a problematic 2021 market. Thorough preparation for private equity fundraising is especially important due to increased scrutiny of financial data and processes. Ashley has helped companies improve their readiness through practice diligence runs. Effective management of the fundraising process relies on clear communication and follow-up. The CFO often plays a central "glue" role in driving this while keeping the CEO focused on running business operations. Upcoming best practice accelerator workshops between Ashley and Kevin will provide deeper dives into preparation, relationship-building, due diligence, and other actionable fundraising strategies. https://youtu.be/PSDfMGDWzbw Links Best Practice Accelerator - Prepare for a Fundraising Process Mentoring at GrowCFO  Ashley Vukovits on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Timestamps Fundraising strategies for early-stage companies. (0:11) Fundraising stages and strategies for startups. (3:22) Fundraising strategies and best practices. (8:26) Due diligence in private equity investments. (15:02) AI's role in fundraising and due diligence processes. (18:59) Find out more about GrowCFO If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google Podcasts, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode. GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars.  Premium members can also access our extensive training centre and CFO Digital Toolkit. Here, you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes.  You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net