Note: this is written primarily for founders I have invested in. Hopefully it's helpful to you as well! There are many ways to finance a company, the best one being by raising money from your customers (also known as revenue). There's also crowdfunding, alternative "VC" options like Earnest Capital, revenue-based financing from Pipe and Clearbanc, non-dilutive grants, and more.

It's a big deal to sell a piece of your company to someone like me, so please do your research before saying "yes." My story is one filled with ups and downs related to raising money.

The number one reason to raise money is if you need that money to do something you currently can't do (e.g. to hire more people to build a certain product).


If you've taken money from me, it means you have a portion of your round accounted for. My primary goal is to get you the rest of the money from other great people (co-investors), if you need it, as quickly as possible, so you can get back to building.

What to look for in investors

Investors can help with a variety of things:

But ultimately**, the goal should be to raise money from well-known investors who won't bug you too much and look good to other investors, prospective candidates, and potential customers.** The best way to ascertain this is to talk to founders they have invested in. Or ask me! I can backchannel.

I recommend and can make intros to everyone listed below. Firms have my preferred contact listed; everyone is a decision-maker. I've also sprinkled thoughts about each round, including future rounds for your information.

Rounds

The rounds a company can raise (benchmarked in πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ):