As any budding entrepreneur should, I spent countless hours researching every detail of how to raise investment.
After absorbing all this knowledge, one thing was clear: it wasnt going to be easy.
Especially for a solo founder that wasnt an ex-senior employee at Google or Dropbox.
So I was prepared for the rejection, but decided to soldier on.
Out of thousands of applicants, how was mine going to stand out?
In fact, we know they do!
I then applied some business development thinking to the process and thought of it as a sales process.
But as someone who doesnt know any VCs or acquaintances of VCs, how would I get my in?
Who can I approach that has regular contact with investors and would be happy to make an introduction?
A small handful were happy to recommend me to VCs they knew and thought would be interested.
This backdoor approach is how I got my first few introductions to VCs which resulted in Zoom calls.
In that time I had contacted dozens of VC firms in the ways mentioned previously.
That particular response, by the way, came three months later!
The first actual meeting with a VC…
The day of the first Zoom meeting had arrived.
I felt prepared, but had a sleepless night beforehand and was very nervous.
In the end, the meeting was… awkward.
You know you shouldnt take it personally, but you do.
So here are the seven key lessons I learned which I hope will make your own journey much smoother.
Startup founders heed this advice!
Be prepared for the first Zoom or meeting to be brief.
Drive home the problem, and your unique, game-changing solution.
Why are you going to solve this problem better than anyone else?
VCs want a big market, but nottoobig.
Some of the tier one firms like to talk about creating your own market.
Still, you gotta know your market and users really well.
Warm introductions are definitely the most effective, if you might get them.
Fundraising is a full-time requirement to do it effectively.
Be prepared for the huge time commitment and a lot of rejection.
It happens to everyone!
Im not going to say dont take it personally, because I did, and you will too!
But get over it fast.
Learn, improve, and move forward.
And finally, a little bonus lesson, raising a VC round may not actually be right for you.
Story byJamil Anakkar
Jamil is on a mission to help small businesses reach their full potential online.
His startup, DigitalSupermarket, makes it easy to find and compare business technology.
