Fundraising for any startup is hard, but for hardware startups, it can be a soul destroying process, In this brief talk, we explore the basic stages of funding, look at a few examples, and discuss how to make sure you are targeting the right investors who will find your venture intriguing.

1. MIT Entrepreneurship and
Maker Skills Integrator
Fundraising 101 for hardware startups
January 16, 2017

2. Stages: Angel, Seed, A/B/C…
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Source: Funders and Founders

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SOUL DESTROYING PROCESS

4. Do’s and Dont’s
DO
• When you raise, you raise.
When you are done raising,
focus on the biz.
• Practice milestone based
fund raising.
• Raise more than you think
you need.
• Choose your investors
carefully. Have they invested
in companies like yours?
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DON’T
• Trickle fund-raise (your soul
will be destroyed)
• Take coffee with VCs when
you are not ready to pitch
(you are new once)
• Ask for $15M in your first 60s
elevator pitch with a VC
• 1 min >> 15 min >> 45 min >>
partner meeting etc

5. Example fund raising history: Fitbit
(Consumer electronics in health and wellness)
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Source: Crunchbase
Founded in 2007
$66M total in 7y
IPO 2015

6. Example fund raising history: Rethink Robotics
(Industrial Automation)
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Source: Crunchbase
Founded in 2008
$131.52M total in 9y
Too soon to tell

7. Is this a good seed stage VC for you?
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8. How about this other one?
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9. Or this one?
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10. The role of crowdfunding: Cynthia’s story
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$2.6M+

11. Resources
• Rob go on how to raise a seed round
http://nextviewventures.com/blog/how-to-raise-seed-
capital/
• Donna Levin’s January 2016 talk on fund raising (see
Google Drive)
• Trust Center: FAQ section on fund raising
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12. End
Questions?
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