We ended up closing a $15 million Series A without ever meeting an investor in person.
Heres what that process looked like, along with a week-by-week breakdown of how it progressed.
Lets start by setting the scene.
When I co-foundedStreamin 2014, I could never have guessed how 2020 would transform our business.
That fundraising push came much sooner than wed expected and it came amidst the chaos of the global pandemic.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Venture capital firms looking to beat their competition will still reach out to you before youre ready.
Now lets dive into the 12 pivotal weeks of my fundraising journey.
If there ever was a time to leverage your data pipe, this is it.
During these first couple of weeks, your hours of practice with the pitch deck will pay off.
Youll talk finance at a high level.
In the spring of 2020, I set a personal record of eight VC meetings in one day.
When the time comes for negotiations, one term sheet isnt enough.
Youll need at least two in front of you to get to have a competitive edge.
Not every conversationwill get results.
Dont get discouraged I see a lot of first-time founders bogged down by VC opinions.
We continued to have new intro calls all the way up to the signing of our term sheet.
Somewhere along the way, youll need to prioritize financial reporting systems.
Id suggest doing it sooner than we did so youre prepared to answer investors questions with less manual digging.
Youll find guides that recommend obsessing about formalities like attire, your Zoom background, and more.
Its not a bad idea, but it wasnt my experience.
Now, the relationships youve built with those customers become even more important.
As with in-person fundraising,your ability to connect investors with satisfied customers will be critical to your success.
Now, more than ever, is the time to slow down and ensure you get everything right.
We were impressed by this, as most larger VC firms have several founders who are upset with them.
This process took us about four weeks.
Story byThierry Schellenbach
Schellenbach co-founded Stream in Amsterdam, which is now headquartered in Boulder, Colo.
Stream is anenterprise-grade chatand activity feed provider that serves more than a billion end-users.
