On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Waseem Daher, Founder and CEO at Pilot.com.

Fundraising is never easy, but the right preparation can make all the difference.

Waseem joins us to share the KPIs and questions that investors look at during various stages of investment.

Waseem is a three-time founder with two successful exits (Ksplice acquired by Oracle and Zulip acquired by Dropbox) and he has recently raised $100+ million from Jeff Bezos (and other notable funds) at a $1.2 billion valuation.

Today, Waseem covers:

1:42 - The backstory behind how he got started

7:35 - Metrics investors may look at during a seed round

10:35 - Determining product market fit

16:02 - What drove the decision-making that led to a $1.2 billion valuation

17:17 - The right time to start fundraising

20:13 - The average process of raising capital and getting money in the bank

23:32 - Top factors driving valuation in the market

28:31 - Most crucial items in your data room

32:37 - Top three reasons why investors decide to invest in a company

38:38 - How founders should think about dilution

43:15 - Building your executive team

45:04 - Making sure everyone is aligned with your vision and values when you're not in the room

47:21 - What the CEO should focus on when the right team is in place

Learn more at https://tractionconf.io

Connect with Waseem Daher: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wdaher/

Check out Waseem's substack at https://waseem.substack.com/

Learn more about Pilot at https://pilot.com/

This episode is brought to you by:

Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI.

Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca 

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