A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

1st-time founder meets 120 VCs— closes $2.7M in 5 weeks, 10x oversubscribed. Here's the step-by-step guide to close a round. | Andrew Rea, Founder of Taxwire

Jun 24, 2024

1st-time founder Andrew Rea raised $2.7M in weeks after meeting 120 VCs. Tips on fundraising faster by engaging more investors, creating an investment memo, warm intros to VCs, controlling investor meetings, and deciding on accepting funds. Discusses strategic approach to closing a round, attracting investors with a strong product, team, and market, managing energy during back-to-back meetings, and making dilution decisions for better partnerships.

51:53

Episode guests

Andrew Rea

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Utilize warm introductions and aim for oversubscription to select better investors and maintain control.

Validate and refine the pitch through investor conversations to address concerns and align with interests.

Qualify investors during pitch meetings, proactively set agendas, and prioritize working with favorable investors for long-term success.

Deep dives

Raising Funds Strategically

Strategic fund-raising involves finessing the process by creating momentum and offering term sheets. Utilizing warm introductions mainly and aiming for oversubscription, allows for better investor selection and control over the process. Detailed planning for different fundraising scenarios helps manage investor expectations.

Intro

4min

Timeline of Company Development and Fundraising Journey

2min

Fundraising Strategies for First-Time Founders

12min

Navigating the Fundraising Journey as a First-Time Founder

16min

Effective Communication and Transparency in Fundraising

6min

Strategies for Maintaining Energy and Efficiently Scheduling Investor Meetings

2min

Navigating Pre-Seed Fundraising Rounds

6min

Strategic Dilution Decisions in Funding Rounds and Founder Advice

3min

Andrew spoke with 120+ VCs to raise a $1.5M pre-seed round. He closed $2.7M and had demand for many millions more. He devoted 90% of his time to fundraising, but only took weeks from the first meetings to close.

99% of founders I meet do not fundraise at this level. It takes them longer to close, they have fewer choices and raise less.

This is a specific, detailed and tactical guide to closing a round. If you're ever going to raise, you need to listen.

Why you should listen

Why talking to more investors will help you raise 10x faster.
How to use an investment memo to articulate your thoughts and as a base to build a pitch deck
How to get warm introductions to VCs
How to take control of investor meetings and put VCs on their heels

Keywords
fundraising, seed round, investors, memo, deck, pitch, negotiating terms, trust, conviction, dilution

Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:02:02)How Taxwire Thought About Fundraising
(00:04:02) The Start of Taxwire
(00:06:32) Making a Memo Before a Deck
(00:09:50) Reaching Out
(00:16:10) Wanting to Oversubscribe
(00:21:32) Keeping Control and Qualifying Investors
(00:31:10) The Basic Structure of the Pitch
(00:34:24) Target Close Day
(00:39:01) The Timeline for Fundraising and Meetings
(00:44:41) Deciding Who to Accept Funds From
(00:50:18) One Piece of Advice

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