A Story About Fundraising: How To Master It?

A story about fundraising:

I ran a Series A process at the beginning of 2021.

One of my super powers is storytelling.
Followed by script memorization. A side benefit of years of working in production.

This skill sets me apart as a founder and I lean on it. A lot.

If I pitched you, I NEVER follow my deck.

The deck is either a pre-meeting or a leave behind.

First meeting.
Second meeting.
Third meeting.
Partner pitch.

I run a script. Never pitch to deck, because I honestly think my pitch suffers when I try to follow that standard.

My script also includes interstitials where I expect questions.

Over time, you get smarter about how to weave these into your narrative and make it all seem flawless.

It’s all about running the script on “themes.”

Traction theme.
Customer theme.
Product theme.
Etc.

Once you memorize each theme, you can move backwards and forwards. Highlight customers when you get a customer Q andslide in market size if you get that question.

The point is: this is a way I have stood out over time.

I got to 7 partner meetings in my A with this approach.

And here’s the craziest thing: At one of these impressive partner meetings, I received the compliment of a lifetime.

I gave “the most perfect slides free pitch” that this particular industry vet had ever seen.

Huge compliment.

Guess what?

Their fund still didn’t invest.

Yet, here’s what I know: those folks won’t forget me. They won’t forget soona.

These processes aren’t just about term sheets and investments.

They are about leaving a lasting memory of my company wherever I go – in every context.

That’s really the work of being a founder.

Founders take thousands of meetings.

Pitch hundreds and hundreds of times.

Tell our story online.

And grow our network through our business and our customers.

Putting REAL TIME and EFFORT into mastering the story is like planting a seed with each one of those opportunities.

Go practice.

Then go plant seeds of visionary hope for your business.