Tips for seed stage fundraising. Slides are from a talk given at a Caltech alumni lunch on Feb 19, 2015.

1. Fundraising Logistics
February 19, 2015
Leo Polovets
Partner at Susa Ventures
leo@susaventures.com
http://codingvc.com/fundraising-logistics-talk

2. Me
● BS Caltech, 2003
● Software Engineer at LinkedIn (2003-2005)
● Software Engineer at Google (2005-2009)
● Sr Software Engineer at Factual (2009-2012)
● Partner at Susa Ventures (2012-present)
http://codingvc.com

3. ● $25m fund; 4 partners; $300k-$500k checks
● Mostly seed stage, some series A
● Our core belief is that data is an incredibly
valuable asset. We invest in companies that
leverage data (as a barrier to entry, as a
resource for making superior products, etc.)
● http://www.susaventures.com/
Susa Ventures
http://codingvc.com

4. You need to raise $$$
… but where do you start?
http://codingvc.com

5. Here Are 10 Tips
http://codingvc.com

6. Tip #1 - Practice your pitch. A lot.
● Practice with your cofounder(s)
● Practice with your friends and family
● Practice with other founders who have
raised money
● Practice informally with investor friends
● Key is deliberate practice: get feedback and
incorporate it into your pitch. Don’t just
practice for the sake of practicing http://codingvc.com

7. Tip #2 - Make your pitch awesome
● Tailor the pitch (slightly) to each audience
● Tell a story, don’t just recite facts¹
● Prepare polished answers to FAQs
● Think about your company from investor’s
perspective and preempt their concerns
(Why are you the right team? How is your
idea defensible? Why now? etc.)
[1] - http://codingvc.com/demo-day-pitching-part-2-telling-a-story
http://codingvc.com

8. Tip #3 - Research Investors
● Who should you talk to? Ask other founders
to name their best investors
● Check if a fund has competitive investments
● Research each investor’s focus areas and
sweet spots (and tailor your pitch to those
sweet spots)
http://codingvc.com

9. Tip #4 - Pitch serially, then in parallel
● Beware of getting a single term sheet when
no one else is close to giving you one
● Meet investors one at a time as you hone
your pitch. Once your pitch feels good, start
meeting with as many investors as you can
● Goal is to have several term sheets come in
at approximately the same time
http://codingvc.com

10. Tip #5 - Be honest; don’t play games
Don’t misrepresent your startup or your
fundraising progress because:
● Lies/exaggerations undermine credibility
● These meetings are the foundations of long
relationships
● Investors talk to each other
● Being too “salesy” turns many investors off
http://codingvc.com

11. Tip #6 - Many ways to meet investors
● Warm intros
● Join a startup accelerator (YC, 500 Startups)
● Cold email (succinct; relevant; personalized)
● Make an awesome product (investors will
come to you)
● Publicity in the press, via Product Hunt, etc
(investors will come to you)
http://codingvc.com

12. Tip #7 - Leverage crowdfunding sites
● AngelList
● FundersClub
● Wefunder
You probably won’t use these to raise your
entire round, but they’re a good way to raise
$100k-$500k.
http://codingvc.com

13. Tip #8 - First pitch angels, then VCs
If you’re not well-connected, start your
fundraising with angels because:
1. They’re more likely to meet with you even
from a cold email
2. They’re often 5x-10x more likely to invest
3. Their $$ will give you confidence/momentum
4. They’ll intro you to VCs
http://codingvc.com

14. Tip #9 - Strong momentum is key
● Bad timing: 25% monthly growth for 6
months, then no growth for last 3 months
● Decent timing: 25% monthly growth for 6
months, about to release a big feature
● Great timing: 25% monthly growth for 6
months, released a big feature, then 35%
growth for last 3 months
http://codingvc.com

15. Tip #10 - Keep your foot on the gas
Corollary to the previous tip: don’t do things like
firing a weak salesperson or reducing
marketing spend in the 1-2 months before
fundraising. Those might be good decisions for
your company, but if they hurt growth, they’ll
really hurt your fundraising ability. Postpone
those decisions until you have $$ in the bank.
http://codingvc.com

16. Questions?

17. Good luck!
leo@susaventures.com
http://codingvc.com/fundraising-logistics-talk
http://codingvc.com