I have been involved in over 60 follow-on rounds and have helped founders make important connections. Here are a few tips from how the best founders ran the process:
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The story and the vision really matter. Make an impressive deck as the first impression counts. If you do not have designs skills—use tools like Canva, Pitch, Notion.
Narratives sell better than numbers at the early stages. But for the later rounds, have a grip on the numbers.
Signal and momentum are key to early stage fundraising. Try to get names that will move the needle. Knowing how the round construct should look like will help save energy.
Valuations and reality will converge on a long enough timescale. Pre-emptive rounds, large raises and uncapped notes will all catch up.
Help yourself before asking others to help you. Research a list of investors you want to connect with and share this CRM with those helping you with introductions.
Remove any friction when asking for help. Craft a crisp forward-able email to leverage your network as double opt-ins take time and effort.
Have a small fantasy list of investors. Try your luck with cold emails and Twitter DMs. Best investors are on the lookout always.
Have a handy auditable trail of regular updates. This is your chance to make everyone on the cap-table involved with requests and asks.
Founders should always look to move on the value chain of money across rounds. The spectrum varies from knowledge, network to capital.
