Fundraising

Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. The cloud computing industry is a rapidly growing and innovative space attracting significant investment from venture capital firms worldwide. VCs are often attracted to cloud computing startups due to their potential for high returns, driven by factors such as the growing demand for cloud computing services and the scalability and innovation of the industry. Accel estimates, “there is around $770 billion available to buy cloud companies, with $440 billion of cash on the balance sheets of strategic investors and $330 billion of dry powder from technology-focused private equity funds” Reuters reports. Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz has also stated that the shift to cloud computing has created new opportunities for investment and innovation, similar to the shift from centralized mainframe computers to the current distributed model with the advent of personal computers. He predicts that cloud computing will result in a significant wave of technological innovation in areas such as networking infrastructure, storage, and servers. Gartner has forecasted that end-user spending on public cloud services will grow by 20.7% to reach $591.8 billion in 2023, up from $490.3 billion in 2022. The forecast indicates that infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) will experience the highest growth rate of 29.8% in 2023. Other segments like platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS) are also expected to see growth, with Gartner forecasting growth rates of 23.2% and 16.8% respectively for 2023. The forecast suggests that inflationary pressures and macroeconomic conditions will have a push and pull effect on cloud spending, while organizations will only spend what they have and cloud spending could decrease if overall IT budgets shrink. Source: Gartner (October 2022) What Makes Cloud Computing Interesting for Investors Cloud computing startups are an attractive option for venture capitalists (VCs) due to their many advantages. One of the most significant advantages is their ability to scale services up or down as needed, which allows them to handle large amounts of traffic and data while also quickly adapting to changes in customer demand. Another advantage is the high gross margin of cloud startups, which is driven by the low variable costs and high demand for cloud services. This means that a cloud startup can generate a high-profit margin even with a relatively small customer base, and with a subscription-based revenue model that provides a predictable and recurring revenue stream. Cloud startups have a global reach, as they can serve customers all over the world, and can offer a wide range of services such as software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which allows them to target a diverse range of customers with different needs. The exit opportunities for cloud startups are also quite attractive, including strategic acquisition and IPOs. Overall, the barrier to entry and operational costs for cloud startups are much lower than traditional software companies, making it relatively easy for them to get started with a small amount of capital and have a high earning potential. Metrics Specific to Cloud Companies That Startups Should Be Tracking Tracking vital metrics specific to cloud computing is crucial to ensure its success and growth. These metrics provide insight into the performance, scalability, and efficiency of your cloud services, and can help identify areas for improvement. For example, tracking metrics such as network traffic, storage usage, and server utilization can help a cloud company optimize their infrastructure and reduce costs. Monitoring customer engagement metrics such as sign-ups, retention, and customer lifetime value can provide valuable insight into customer behavior and help inform product development and marketing strategies. Additionally, tracking metrics related to security and compliance, such as data breaches and regulatory compliance, can help a cloud company ensure that they are meeting industry standards and protecting their customers’ data. By tracking these vital metrics, cloud companies can make data-driven decisions, improve their services, and ultimately drive growth and profitability Network traffic: Measuring the amount of data that is transferred in and out of the cloud environment can help identify bottlenecks and optimize infrastructure. Throughput: The number of requests or data transfer per second that a cloud service can handle. Storage usage: Tracking how much storage space is being used can help identify areas where capacity needs to be increased or optimized. Server utilization: Measuring the utilization of servers can help identify underutilized resources and optimize the allocation of resources. Cloud resource costs: Monitoring the cost of resources such as compute, storage, and network can help cloud companies optimize their resource usage and reduce costs. Sign-ups and retention: Measuring the number of customers signing up for services and the rate of customer retention can provide valuable insight into customer behavior and help inform product development and marketing strategies. Customer lifetime value: Tracking the revenue generated by each customer over time can help cloud companies identify their most valuable customers and target their marketing efforts. Data breaches: Tracking incidents of data breaches can help cloud companies identify vulnerabilities in their security systems and take appropriate measures to protect customer data. The number of security incidents and the response time to them. Regulatory compliance: Monitoring compliance with industry regulations such as HIPAA, SOC2, and PCI-DSS can help cloud companies ensure that they are meeting industry standards and protecting customer data. As well as the number of compliance requirements that the company’s cloud service meets. Service availability: Measuring the availability of cloud services can help cloud companies identify and resolve issues affecting service uptime and availability to customers. Latency: The time it takes for data to be transferred to and from the cloud. Painless Metric Tracking with Visible, try for free for 14 days here! Future of Cloud Computing The cloud computing industry is constantly evolving and the future is expected to bring some significant changes. One of the major trends that is expected to shape the cloud industry in the coming years is the increased adoption of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of using a combination of public and private clouds to meet their specific needs. Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies allow organizations to take advantage of the benefits of different cloud providers and to build more resilient and flexible IT infrastructure. This approach enables organizations to choose the right cloud for the right workload and to avoid vendor lock-in. Another trend that is expected to shape the future of cloud computing is the emergence of edge computing. Edge computing is the practice of bringing computing power closer to the edge of the network, in order to reduce latency and improve performance. As organizations look to support new use cases such as IoT and real-time analytics, edge computing will become more prevalent. As the adoption of cloud services continues to grow, there will be an increased emphasis on security and compliance. Organizations will be looking to protect their data and comply with industry regulations, which will drive innovation in areas such as identity and access management, data encryption, and threat detection and response. Finally, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will continue to shape the cloud industry in the future. Cloud providers will continue to invest in these technologies, making them more accessible and affordable for organizations. This will enable organizations to leverage these technologies to improve their operations, automate repetitive tasks and gain insights from data. Resources for Cloud Startups Cloud industry groups like the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) provide information, resources, and networking opportunities for cloud startups. These groups offer information on industry standards, best practices, and regulatory compliance, and host events and webinars to connect startups with other industry professionals. Cloud-focused communities and forums: Cloud-focused communities and forums like Stack Overflow and Quora provide a platform for cloud startups to connect with other industry professionals and share information and resources. Professional services: Professional service providers like Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG offer advisory services and cloud computing consulting to startups. They can help startups with cloud strategy, cloud migration, and cloud optimization. Cloud providers: Cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) offer a wide range of services, tools, and resources for cloud startups. These providers offer various services such as storage, computing power, and databases that startups can use to build and run their applications. VCs Investing in the Cloud Computing Space Ignition Partners Location: Washington, United States About: Ignition Partners, a dedicated early-stage enterprise software venture capital firm, invests based on decades of operating experience and enterprise relationships. We have lived through the transitions from mainframe to mini to PC to cloud. We are the only firm operating with significant footprints in both Seattle and Silicon Valley, and our network has a global reach. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Recent Investments: Snaplogic Archipelago Aviatrix New Enterprise Associates Location: Menlo Park, California, United States About: New Enterprise Associates is a global venture capital firm investing in technology and healthcare. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth Recent Investments: Regression Games PixieBrix Timescale Intel Capital Location: Santa Clara, California, United States About: Intel Capital is a force multiplier for early-stage startups – inspiring and investing in the future of compute via investments in Cloud, Silicon, Devices, and Frontier. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Recent Investments: SaVia Medical Informatics Astera Labs Mohr Davidow Ventures Location: San Mateo, California, United States About: For 30 years the Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV) team has invested in early-stage technology-based startups that redefine or create large new markets. The firm partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build companies where big data, applied analytics, and the reach and power of the web/mobile cloud can be leveraged to drive emerging opportunities in verticals ranging from social commerce to finance to online marketing to consumer-driven healthcare and cleantech IT. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Recent Investments: Kabbage Aryaka Webscale Battery Ventures Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States About: Battery Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on investing in technology companies at all stages of growth. With a team of over 30 experienced investment professionals, Battery leverages its people, expertise and capital to actively guide companies to category dominance. The firm has invested in over 160 technology companies worldwide across the communications, software, infrastructure, and media and content industries. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B Recent Investments: Seek AI Mews Galileo Aspect Ventures Location: San Francisco, California, United States About: Aspect Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in the emerging mobile marketplace. Investment Stages: Seed, Series B, Growth Recent Investments: Silverfort Future Family Vida Health F-Prime Capital Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States About: F-Prime grew from one of America’s great entrepreneurial success stories. Fidelity Investments was founded in 1946 and grew from a single mutual fund into one of the largest asset management firms in the world, with over $2 trillion under management. For the last fifty years, our independent venture capital group has had the privilege of backing other great entrepreneurs as they built ground-breaking companies, including Atari, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and MCI. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Recent Investments: Neumora Therapeutics Elicidata Ashby Formation 8 Location: San Francisco, California, United States About: Formation 8, a California-based technology investment firm, focuses on seed, early, and later stage venture investments. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Recent Investments: Aviatrix Ascus Biosciences Fieldwire Looking for Funding? We can help We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VCs and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like yours. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. Related Resource: All-Encompassing Startup Fundraising Guide After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.

Data rooms are the next step to help us on our mission of giving founders a better chance of success. Data rooms are the culmination of a fundraise, diligence, or M&A event. They combine all of the documents, data, and resources that an investor will use to evaluate a company. With data rooms, you can now manage all parts of your fundraising funnel with Visible. Find investors with Connect, our free investor database. Track your conversations in our Fundraising CRM. Share your pitch deck with potential investors. And communicate with current and potential investors with Updates. Learn more about Visible Data Rooms and how you can leverage them for your next raise below: Organize and Structure Key Fundraising Documents Build data rooms specific to your raise. Organize your data room with folders, upload files, and create pages directly in Visible. Segment and Share Specific Folders Securely share your data with investors. Segment their access by individual folders or give them access to the entire data room. Understand How Investors Are Engaging with Your Data Rooms View analytics to understand how individual investors are engaging with different documents and files in your data room. Data rooms are enabled for all Visible users. Log into Visible below to get started on your first data room below: Create a Data Room Check out a few of our other resources to help get you started: What should be in a data room? How to write a cover letter for your data room How to create a data room How to share your data room How to create a folder in your data room How to view the analytics in your data room Build and share your data room with Visible At Visible, we oftentimes compare a fundraise to a B2B sales and marketing funnel. At the top of your funnel, you are finding new investors. In the middle, you are nurturing and pitching potential investors. At the bottom of the funnel, you are working through diligence and ideally closing new investors. With the introduction of data rooms, you can now manage every aspect of your fundraising funnel with Visible. Find investors at the top of your funnel with our free investor database, Visible Connect Track your conversations and move them through your funnel with our Fundraising CRM Share your pitch deck and monthly updates with potential investors Organize and share your most vital fundraising documents with data rooms Manage your fundraise from start to finish with Visible. Give it a free try for 14 days here.

Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. 2022 has been a challenging year in the startup world. After a hot start to the year, funding and growth has slowed. As Tomasz Tunguz pointed out in the chart below, funding has collapsed since October. At Visible, we’ve spent 2022 building tools to help founders update investors, raise capital, and track key metrics. With the help of these 6 new features, founders will be able to level up their investor relations and strike when the funding iron is hot. Check them out below: Share and Comment on Fundraising Pipelines You can now share a fundraising pipeline via link. This allows you to ask current investors or peers for introductions or information about investors in your pipeline. In turn, your investors or peers can leave a quick comment to help make an introduction to investors they know. Customize Fundraising Columns and Properties Our fundraising pipelines have become more flexible so you can further tailor your pipeline to match your fundraise. With customizable fundraising columns and properties, you will be able to select the properties you would like to see at the pipeline level. Check out some of the most popular custom fundraising properties below: Min & max check size Who can make/made a connection? Data room shared? Investor type Will they lead? Log Emails with Potential Investors in Visible With our BCC tool, founders will be able to simply copy & paste their unique BCC email address into any email. From here, the email will automatically be tracked with the corresponding contact in Visible. This is great for cold emailing investors, nurturing investors, and staying in touch with current investors. To learn how to get BCC set up with your Visible account, head here. Automatic Fundraising Follow-up Reminders Over the course of a fundraise, most founders should expect to communicate with 50-100+ investors. In order to best help you stay on top of their ongoing conversations, you can now set email reminders for when to follow up with potential investors. This is a great way to speed up the fundraising process and get back to what matters most — building your business. Pitch Deck Branding and Custom Domains Control your fundraise from start to finish. With Visible Decks, you can share your deck using your own domain. Plus you can customize the color palette of your deck viewer to match your brand. You can check out an example here. Include Pitch Decks in Updates Keeping current and potential investors in the loop is a great way to speed up the process when you are ready to raise capital. In order to best help nurture current and potential investors, you can now include your Visible Decks directly in Updates. This can help when kicking off a raise, nurturing potential investors, or sharing a board deck with your board members. Custom Properties as Merge Tags in Updates As we mentioned above, updating current investors and nurturing potential investors is a great way to speed up a fundraise when the time is right. To best help you customize your Visible Updates, you can now use custom properties as merge tags in Updates. For example, if you’re tracking the city in which your investors live you can use that in an Update. Improved Dashboard Layout and Widgets If you’re sharing Visible Dashboards with your team or more involved investors, you can now customize the layout and include additional widgets (like text, tables, and variance reports). This will allow you to give additional context to any of the data your key stakeholders might be looking at regularly. Our mission at Visible is to help more founders succeed. Over the next 12 months, we’ll be building more tools to help you do just that. Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days.

Tomasz Tunguz, VC at Redpoint Ventures, recently shared a chart (above) detailing the best time of the year to raise capital. 2022 looks a lot different than 2021 (and the previous 10 years). After a hot start, the # of deals has collapsed since October. As fundraising slows and the holidays/New Year approach, founders might want to consider re-grouping and putting together a plan for raising in 2023. Check out 3 ways to get a head start on your 2023 fundraising efforts below: 1. Build the right audience As we mentioned in a previous Visible Weekly, most founders should expect to communicate with 50-100 investors over the course of a raise. When balancing 50+ conversations it is important to make sure you are spending time on the right investors. Use Visible Connect, our free investor database, to filter and sort investors by the fields that matter (sweet spot check size, investment geography, fund size, etc.). 2. Track ongoing conversations 50+ conversations is a lot. If you’re running a fundraising process off the cuff, using the last few weeks of the year to set up a pipeline and outreach process will allow you to spend more time on what matters most — building your business. Check out some tips for setting up a Fundraising Pipeline here. 3. Keep investors engaged with updates If you’re planning on sending an investor update to your current investors at the end of the year, you can use a “lite version” to engage with potential investors (think big wins, fundraising status, high growth metrics, etc). Check out an example here. Reading List The Best Time of Year to Raise for Your Startup Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures studies recent funding data to understand the best month to raise venture capital. Read more 3 Tips for Cold Emailing Potential Investors + Outreach Email Template On the Visible Blog, we share a template to help you craft cold emails for potential investors. Read more Founder How-To: Writing Forwardable Emails Stephanie Rich of Bread & Butter Ventures breaks down how founders can best write a “forwardable email” for fundraising. Read more

What is a Community-driven Company? A community-driven business is a company that puts community at its core. This can be a case where the community is the product (e g. Reddit) or where the community is central to the business’s identity and success (e.g. Peloton). A community-driven company is one whose value is its members and its success depends on them. The value that is derived from the community benefits both its members and the company. The community can either be the company’s product or its community is built around its product. These companies are often founded by individuals who believe they can solve problems better through collaboration and are built around a specific mission, problem, or just simply the community itself. Lolita Taub of Ganas Ventures points out that there are various takes on what community-driven companies are but it’s part of what makes this model so special. At Ganas, they focus on companies whose, customers identify as members members are able to create value for other members members start the marketing and sales flywheel She also believes that companies with the community at the core will become unicorns and produce outsized returns. What Makes a Community-driven Company Valuable and Successful? Community-driven companies are becoming increasingly common in today’s competitive environment. In order to survive and thrive, organizations need to adapt to changing customer demands and expectations. Community-driven companies are able to respond faster to these changes because their users are directly involved in decision-making processes. This new way of thinking about customer relationships means that companies no longer focus solely on selling products or services. Instead, they create value for their customers through the experience of the community- redefining the relationship between consumers and businesses. Companies that are driven by their customer base and community are growing at a faster rate than other companies. They also tend to outperform competitors because they focus on solving real problems instead of chasing trends. Which is why community-based businesses are becoming increasingly popular. Some of the other community-driven benefits include: Less marketing spend Brand Loyalty and LTV Lower operating and sales costs (companies can be leaner and small) Retention Referrals Defensible business model (difficult to replicate) What’s a Community-Led Company’s Secret Sauce? Community-led growth (CLG) is a type of go- to market strategy that these companies are using to leverage their communities to sell. The important thing to note here which Lolita points out, is that “community-led growth should not be confused with marketing. Community-led growth companies focus on creating a safe space for their community to come together, share value, create relationships, and best use their products/services to solve a problem or help achieve a goal.”. As a result of nurturing this space, “your community acts as a multiplier for company growth”. Community-driven companies are also often considered more innovative because they focus on solving problems or sharing information, and they get the answers from the people that matter most- their customers as well as enthusiasts on the topic. This approach has become known as ‘community-based innovation’ (CBI). They rely heavily on their customers or consumers to create new ideas, develop new products, and even provide feedback. This also tends to make running a community-driven company less expensive to start and run. Taking feedback or observing what the community is saying gives you the best understanding of customer needs and wants. When you then use this information to shape future decisions you have a competitive advantage and can deliver exactly what is wanted and needed. This also helps build trust between the company and its customers. In addition, it allows the company to stay relevant and responsive to changes in the marketplace. What Might the Future of Communities Look Like? With social media platforms becoming more powerful than ever before, communities are booming. People are creating their own networks, sharing information, and collaborating together. This has led to the rise of the Creator Economy, which has allowed people to monetize their following. According to CMX Community Industry Report, “Communities are cautiously dipping their toes into Web 3.0- 15% of communities are actively working on Web 3.0 focused projects and an additional 17% are considering it. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are the most common form of Web 3.0 project that community teams are working on.” Web 3 is not only allowing companies to monetize on their community but their members can now also benefit as well through NFTs and DAOs. What is the Difference Between a Web2 and Web3 Community-driven Company? Ganas Ventures highlights two pain points for each: “Web2 companies – People create content, products, and services – Companies earn money Web3 companies – People/communities create content, products, and services – People/communities earn money” Related Resource: 10 VC Firms Investing in Web3 Companies Additional Resources and Tools for Startups Community-Driven Companies: What They Are and Why We’re Investing in Them CMX Community Industry Report Ganas Ventures Resources Follow Lolita Taub for updates in the space Origami– helps Web3 communities launch and grow their DAOs Paragraph– Paragraph turns your subscribers into members through NFTs which gives your audience ownership in your community. VCs Investing in Community-Driven Companies Flybridge About: Flybridge is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm whose mission is to assist entrepreneurs in growing innovative, global companies. With more than $625 million under management, the firm is focused on seed and early-stage investing in technology markets and is led by a team with domain expertise and more than half a century of combined experience in venture capital. Thesis: We see a vibrant community as a source of competitive advantage and we are excited to invest in companies and entrepreneurs who share our vision for the power of community across a range of sectors. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Dame Products Trend Teal Ganas Ventures About: Ganas Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed Web 2 and Web 3 community-driven startups in the US and Latin America. Thesis: Ganas Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed Web 2 and Web 3 community-driven startups in the US and Latin America. It’s run by solo-GP Lolita Taub. ​​ Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed SV Angel About: SV Angel is a San Francisco-based angel firm that helps startups with business development, financing, M&A, and other strategic advice. Investment Stages: Seed Recent Investments: Kiln Payload FlowForge Lerer Hippeau About: Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital firm founded and operated in New York City. Since 2010, we have invested in entrepreneurs with great ideas who aren’t afraid to do hard things. Our portfolio includes more than 350 leading enterprise and consumer businesses including Guideline, MIRROR, Blockdaemon, K Health, Allbirds, ZenBusiness, and Thrive. We’re experienced operators who invest early and stay in our founders’ corners as they build iconic companies. Thesis: We seek entrepreneurs with product vision, consumer insight, focused execution, and unwavering ambition. When we are lucky enough to meet such people, our hope is that they will choose us as a long-term partner. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C Recent Investments: Anode Labs Onward Bookkeep The Community Fund About: A $5 million early-stage fund that invests in community-driven companies through an investment partner team. Thesis: We’re an early-stage fund that invests in community-driven companies. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Elektra Health Kindra Founders Fund About: Founders Fund is a San Francisco based venture capital firm investing in companies building revolutionary technologies. Thesis: We invest in smart people solving difficult problems. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Recent Investments: Namecoach Speak Elemental Machines General Catalyst About: General Catalyst backs exceptional entrepreneurs who are building innovative technology companies and market leading businesses, including Airbnb, BigCommerce, ClassPass, Datalogix, Datto, Demandware, Gusto (fka ZenPayroll), The Honest Company, HubSpot, KAYAK, Oscar, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker. Thesis: General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that makes early-stage and growth equity investments. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Recent Investments: Guild OneSchema Buildkite K50 Ventures About: K50 Ventures is the most trusted first-check investor for mission-driven founders building a better future for the 99%. We invest up to $2M in pre-seed and seed stage companies in the US and LATAM that are prioritizing access, affordability, and wellbeing across the categories of Health, Finance, and Work. K50 partners with those who refuse to accept the status quo; those who have a vision for how to radically improve daily life for everyone – in our local communities, and around the globe. Since 2016, we have invested in 170+ companies including Groww, Mammoth Biosciences, Self, Tul, Frubana, Kueski, Fintual, Valon, Real, Osana Salud, June Homes, among others. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: June Homes HoneyBee Osana Salud Halogen Ventures About: Halogen Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund focused on consumer technologies prioritizing a female in the founding team.Thesis: Halogen Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund focused on female led consumer technology companies. Investment Stages: Early Stage Recent Investments: Ellevest Vivoo Live Tinted Graph Ventures About: We are a group of founders & operators with experience starting and scaling technology co’s globally. 300+ investments. Investment Stages: Pre-seed, Seed Recent Investments: Tract Comm Technologies Disclo Founder Collective About: Founder Collective is a seed-stage venture capital firm that has invested in over 300 startups, including Uber, Airtable, PillPack, SeatGeek, The Trade Desk, Whoop, and Cruise. Founder Collective’s mission is to be the most aligned fund for founders at the seed stage. FC has offices in NYC and Cambridge, MA and has been the top-rated seed fund on the Forbes Midas list for four of the last five years. Investment Stages: Seed Recent Investments: Kapu Odyssey Energy Solutions Gigasheet Looking for Funding? We can help We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VC’s and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like yours. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here. Related Resource: All-Encompassing Startup Fundraising Guide Related resource: Top 10 Growing Tech Hubs Transforming Latin America in 2025

The General Partner (GP) and Limited Partner (LP) relationship is built on trust. The best way to establish trust with LPs is through transparency, authenticity, and regular communication. When LP reporting is done well, LPs should easily be able to understand how both the fund and the fund manager are performing and be able to use this information to inform their investment strategies in the future. The best GPs view sending LP Updates as a relationship-building activity and as a fundraising tool — not as a way to simply check off a requirement from their LPA’s. For emerging managers, your relationships with initial LPs are of critical importance for your reputation as a fund manager and future fundraising. This rapport forms the basis of the fund manager’s credibility and will surface again when future LPs are doing diligence on the emerging manager. First-time fund managers will need to have clean data to support their track record and positive relationships with current LPs to set themselves up for success in raising additional funds. The Weekend Fund recently wrote a thoughtful article on How to Write LP Updates with four main takeaways: Send LP updates consistently Go beyond the basics Be authentic Don’t share sensitive information without portfolio founders’ sign-off We’ve translated this guidance into actionable steps that can be streamlined with Visible’s Portfolio Monitoring and Reporting tools below. 1. Send LP updates consistently. Weekend Fund Advice — “One of the biggest mistakes new fund managers can make is not sending LP updates consistently. Most send quarterly updates. At Weekend Fund we send updates approximately every two months. Regular, detailed, and transparent updates builds trust with your LPs, which is particularly important if you want them to write a check into your next fund.” Visible provides fund managers with tools to make sending updates to LPs on a regular basis easier. To start, you can Upload Your LP Contacts (including custom contact fields) via CSV within seconds. Then you can create Custom Lists to organize your contacts. We suggest organizing your LPs by Fund and also by whether they’re a current LP or a potential LP. This means within minutes you have all your contacts organized into custom segments that are useful to you. You can then simply choose which list you want to send an Update to in the future. Visible also streamlines the creation of your LP Update content by letting you choose from an Update Template Library. You can easily pull a template into your account, further customize it as needed, and save it as your own template to use for future updates. 2. Go beyond the basics. Weekend Fund Advice — “Of course, you should introduce new investments, share updates from the portfolio, report performance metrics, and other key updates from the fund, but the best updates go a step further to educate and inform LPs. This might include your analysis on the market, perspective on emerging trends, or learnings from experiments.” Visible’s LP Update editor supports rich text, videos, images, files, and perhaps best of all — custom data visualizations. This means you can visualize your custom fund analytics that will resonate with your LPs and embed them directly into your Update. The data is derived from data hosted within your Visible account and updates your charts in real time. It’s also a great idea to include a market overview section at the top of your update to shed light on how you’re evaluating and staying ahead of the curve in the markets in which you invest. This is a great way to continue to instill LP confidence in you as the steward of their capital. On top of that, it’s important to remember that “many LPs invest in funds as a learning opportunity. The updates are the primary artifact to support that learning.” (Source) You can also stand out to LPs by getting creative and embedding a video recording of your recent portfolio updates directly into your Updates. Open the update below to view an example of how a Visible customer incorporates video into their updates — —> View Update Example with Video Embed 3. Be authentic. Weekend Fund Advice — In general, people gravitate toward authenticity. Writing with personality is more engaging and magnetic. LP updates are an opportunity to share your unique voice and build your fund’s brand. The Weekend Fund incorporates authenticity in their updates through their narrative updates and transparency, but also by including personal photos. Visible lets you embed personal photos directly into your Update in two clicks. —> View the Weekend Fund’s Update Template 4. Don’t share sensitive information without portfolio founders’ sign-off. Weekend Fund Advice — “Fund managers often have inside knowledge into how a company is doing. Some founders are extremely sensitive to information shared about their company, even when the news is positive. It’s prudent to get approval for any non-public information shared with LPs.” Visible recommends explicitly asking for portfolio company’s permission to share information with LPs. One way to do this is by incorporating it into the descriptions of your Request blocks. (How to Build a Request in Visible). Here’s an example below — It’s important to remember that as a GP you’re not only competing with other GPs for LP capital but also with every other asset class. So it’s to your advantage to use every tool in your toolkit to stand out and impress LPs. Over 400+ VC funds are using Visible to streamline their portfolio monitoring and reporting processes.

For a bonus episode of the Founders Forward Podcast, we are joined by Mike Evans. Mike is the founder of GrubHub and the current CEO of Fixer — Fixer provides skilled experts, solving a variety of home problems in one visit. About Mike Evans Mike shares the ins and outs of his time building GrubHub — from humble beginnings in his Chicago apartment to the IPO 10+ years later. We cover everything from the difference between quitting and giving up, to building a valuable board, to raising capital, and more. Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Mike Evans. You can give the full episode a listen below: What you can expect to learn from Mike Evans: The difference between quitting and giving up Why Mike doesn’t like NPS as a metric How a board can be valuable How to build a list of potential investors Why cash doesn’t fix problems How to turn problems into resolutions Related Resources: Hangry: A Startup Journey Mike Evan’s personal website Building Your Ideal Investor Persona

Last week we covered how many investors founders need in their fundraising pipeline. When communicating with 50+ investors during a fundraise, founders need a system to track and manage their ongoing investor conversations. Default Properties At Visible, we help founders do just this with our Fundraising CRM. Like any CRM, we offer default properties for investor contacts (e.g. potential investment amount, star rating, contact date, follow up date, etc). Popular Custom Properties In addition to the default properties, founders are using custom properties to match their fundraising efforts — check out the most common custom properties below to see how other founders are keeping tabs on their pipeline: Min & Max Check Size — In addition to our default check size property, we are seeing founders track min and max check size amount to get a more accurate look at where their round stands. Connection — Warm introductions are valuable when fundraising. Founders are tracking who made/can make an introduction. Data Room Shared — If a founder is moving an investor down their fundraising funnel, chances are a data room will be shared. In order to keep track of who has access, founders are creating a yes/no property to track who has access. Investor Type — We are seeing founders track the type of investor to have a better look at the mix of investors in their pipeline — e.g. strategic, existing, lead, etc. Will They Lead — Finding a lead investor is a must for a fundraise. Keeping an eye on lead investors is a surefire way to help founders stay focused on the right investors. Of course, these are just a few of the custom properties founders are using — we’ve even seen a few founders track an investor’s favorite sports team or personal interests. Learn more about our Fundraising CRM and give it a try below: Learn More Reading List Level up Your Fundraising Process with Email Syncing In order to best help founders stay on top of their raise, we recently launched a BCC tool to help founders sync emails from outside Visible to the respective investor record in Visible. Read more A Guide to Seed Fundraising The team at Y Combinator shares an in-depth guide covering the ins and outs of raising a seed round. Read more Seamlessly Manage Relationships with an Investor CRM On the Visible blog, we break down what founders should look for in an investor CRM and fundraising tracking tool. Read more

Raising venture capital is a numbers game. The Fundraising Funnel At the top of your funnel, you are identifying potential investors through research, direct outreach, and intros from your peers. In the middle of the funnel, you are sharing your pitch deck, meeting with GPs, and perhaps the entire partnership. At the end of the funnel, there are (hopefully) multiple term sheets and negotiations ahead of closing. This process is full of “nos”, “maybes”, and “ghosts.” Inevitably, different investors will pass for different reasons so it is important to have a thorough list to keep the momentum going. Between our own product, the Founders Forward Podcast, and online resources, we’ve found the following benchmarks for how many investors you need in your funnel: How Many Investors Should You Expect to Target 40+ — Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures, “Ideally, you want to have 40–50 qualified and interested investors in your funnel.” Learn more here. 48 — The average # of investors a Visible user has in a Fundraising Pipeline. Learn more about our Fundraising tools here. 50+ — Gale Wilkinson of Vitalize Ventures, “If you don’t have a list and you’re raising now, don’t worry. Spend a weekend and write down who are your top, you know, 50 to 75 that you want to target?” Learn more here. 60+ — Brett Brohl of Bread & Butter Ventures, “You’re going to have to reach out to probably about 60 funds and have about that many meetings to close a round.” Learn more here. 100+ — Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund, “I made up a rule of thumb: 5-100-500. Over 5 weeks, meet with 100 investors to close $500k in your seed round. If you want to close $1m, double all of these numbers.” Learn more here. Before building your list of investors it is important to understand your ideal investor. Once you have an understanding of your ideal investor, check out free databases, like Visible Connect, to find investors for your startup. Give it a try and filter through our 5,000+ early-stage investors below: Find Investors P.S. If you filter by “Verified” that means these investors have personally verified the data in their profile is correct. Related Reads How to Build an Investor List with Gale Wilkinson of Vitalize On the Founders Forward Podcast, Gale Wilkinson of Vitalize Ventures offers countless takeaways to help early-stage founders fundraise — covering everything from list building to ownership benchmarks. Listen now The Fundraising Wisdom That Helped Our Founders Raise $18B in Follow-On Capital The team at First Round Review shares an in-depth guide for running a fundraising process using best practices from their portfolio companies. Read more Building Your Ideal Investor Persona On the Visible Blog, we break down the attributes that a founder should consider when identifying their ideal investor. Read more

Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. Being a startup founder is hard. On top of finding customers, hiring top talent, building a product, and managing an acquisition funnel — founders need to secure funding for their business. At a high level, most funding options for early-stage startups are similar. However, there are some nuanced differences based on a company’s vertical or market. Over the last 2 decades, SaaS (software as a service) companies have risen in prominence. At the same time so has the venture capital industry and the funding options available to startups. Learn more about this data from Silicon Valley Bank here. Related Resource: The SaaS Business Model: How and Why it Works Learn more about SaaS financing and funding options below: What is SaaS startup financing and how is it unique? Over the last 2 decades, SaaS startups have become a popular investment vertical for venture capitalists and investors in general. As put by the team at Salesforce, one of the original SaaS companies, “Software as a service (or SaaS) is a way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management.” SaaS companies can increase margins and build at scale with a smaller team due to the ease of access for their customers. Naturally, monthly or annual pricing (subscriptions) has become the norm for SaaS companies. These areas combine to fuel investor interest as SaaS companies can efficiently grow and become large, profitable companies. As SaaS is still relatively new, so are the funding options. Over the past few years, the funding options available to SaaS startups have been improved and expanded. Learn more about the common types of SaaS funders below: Types of SaaS startup funders As we mentioned above, the funding options available to SaaS startups have improved and expanded over the last 2 decades. The innovation has led SaaS startups to a plethora of funding options fit for any stage. Related Resource: Valuing Startups: 10 Popular Methods Learn more about the most common SaaS funders below: Venture capital As put by the team at Investopedia, “Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential.” Venture capital has been integral in the funding of SaaS companies. VCs are generally willing to take risks and fund startups with little to no revenue in the hopes the company will create long-term value. However, this comes with a set of pros and cons — learn more below: Pros Venture capital certainly comes with its list of pros. We boiled down the list into a few key points below: No personal capital of the founding team. Getting a SaaS startup off the ground requires some form of capital investment. To help get things started, VC can be a popular option as it does not require capital (or free time) from a founder. VC requires little traction or data. Traditional funding methods (like bank loans) require collateral or some type of traction. VC investors are buying equity in the hopes that your company will grow into a large company. Lastly, VCs offer extensive networks and resources. VC funds need resources and tools to help founders succeed to stand out among their peers. This can be everything from helping with hiring to helping with product strategy. Related Resource: All Encompassing Startup Fundraising Guide Cons Of course, venture capital comes with its own set of cons. We boiled the list down to a few key points below: Giving up equity. In order to secure venture capital, startup founders need to give up equity in their businesses. This can be costly in the long run. VC pressure. A VC fund’s duty is to generate returns for their LPs (limited partners) with the hopes of raising another fund in 10-12 years. Because of this, some of the pressure to exit or change business strategy might fall on the shoulders of portfolio founders as GPs look to generate returns for their own investors. Notable venture capital funders As SaaS has become a hot commodity in the VC funding space, there are thousands of investors out there. Below are a few of our favorites (check out our free investor database, Visible Connect, to find more SaaS investors): High Alpha OpenView Ventures Harlem Capital Bessemer Venture Partners M25 Related Resource: 23 Top VC Investors Actively Funding SaaS Startups Angel Investors As put by the team at Investopedia, “An angel investor is a high-net-worth individual who provides financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for ownership equity in the company.” Related Resource: ​​Venture Capitalist vs. Angel Investor Angel investors invest in a similar style as VCs — buying equity in a business with cash. However, they are often single individuals that write smaller checks and are investing to diversify their assets. Pros Like venture capitalists, angel investors come with their own sets of pros and cons. We laid out a few of the main pros of raising capital from an angel investor below: Like VC, angel investors require founders to spend zero personal capital. This can help alleviate the financial stress of startup and building a SaaS business. Occasionally, angel investors can be strategic investors. Some angels might have expertise in your space or direct experience building a company in your space. This can be incredibly helpful when it comes to developing products, go-to-market strategy, and hiring leaders in the space. Angel investors can be integral in building momentum during a fundraise. Due to their smaller check size and an investment committee, angel investors can make investments quickly. This will help when building momentum in a fundraise. As an added bonus, angel investors often know other investors that can make introductions. Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund makes the case for smaller angel checks below: Cons Of course, angel investors come with their own set of cons as well. We laid out a few of the main cons of raising capital from an angel investor below: Lack of experience. Some angel investors might be new to investing which can create a burden for some founders as they might have more frequent questions and asks for founders. Smaller checks. While we mentioned smaller checks can be a pro of angel investing, it can also be a con. With newer funding instruments, these small checks can be rolled into 1 investment there are instances where many angel investors can create a headache on a cap table. Notable angel investors Angel investors are all around you. Angel investors can be anyone from your dentist to a former boss. However, there are a few angel investors that have made a name in the space: Keith Rabois Kim Perell Chris Sacca Reid Hoffman Accelerators and incubators As put by the team at Investopedia, “An incubator firm is an organization engaged in the business of fostering early-stage companies through the different developmental phases until the companies have sufficient financial, human, and physical resources to function on their own.” Related Resource: What is an Incubator? Accelerators and incubators have made a name in the startup space as a valuable resource for companies just getting started with limited to no customers or revenue. Learn more about the pros & cons of incubators and accelerators below: Pros Accelerators and incubators come with their own set of pros and cons. We laid out a few of the key pros below: Peer networking. One of the major pros of going through an accelerator is the networking opportunities with the other founders. By going through an accelerator you’ll be linked to other founders and have peers to learn from and lean on as you build your business. Investment. Many times, accelerators make the first investment in many startups. Over the course of your time in an accelerator, chances are they will help with introductions to potential investors (or even make follow-on investments themselves). Education. Education and programming is built into most accelerators. Over the course of a program, many accelerators will bring in thought leaders and experts to help hone different skills. Cons Of course, accelerators and incubators come with cons as well. We laid out a few of the key cons below: Equity. In turn for investment and resources during an accelerator, you will need to give them equity in your business. Do your research and talk to past founders to make sure trading equity is worth it. Time. Most accelerator programs take place between 10 and 14 weeks. Traditionally they have been in person but there are various virtual programs. For most founders, this is a serious time commitment and could require moving or relocating. Notable incubators and business accelerator programs Since Y Combinators’ inception in 2005, accelerators and incubators have become well-known in the startup space. Check out a few of the most popular accelerators and incubators below: Y Combinator Techstars Expa To find more accelerators, check out our saved list in Visible Connect, our free investor database. Revenue-based financing As put by the team at Investopedia, “Revenue-based financing is a method of raising capital for a business from investors who receive a percentage of the enterprise’s ongoing gross revenues in exchange for the money they invested. In a revenue-based financing investment, investors receive a regular share of the business’s income until a predetermined amount has been paid.” Pros Revenue-based financing comes with its own set of pros. Check out a few of the key pros below: Maintain ownership. Revenue-based financing does not require giving any equity to investors. This means all existing members on the cap table will not be diluted. Faster funding. As we mentioned above, raising venture capital is very much a process. Due to this, it can take months to receive capital. Revenue-based financing can be procured in a matter of days or weeks. Cons Of course, revenue-based financing comes with its own set of cons too. We laid out a few of the key cons below: Requires revenue. Most early-stage companies likely have little to no revenue (and when they do, it is largely unpredictable). This can make revenue-based financing not viable until later stages. Future payments. Revenue-based financing requires a monthly payment. Most early-stage startups are generally cash conscious and would prefer to make monthly payments. Venture debt As put by the team at Silicon Valley Bank, “​​Venture debt is a type of loan offered by banks and nonbank lenders that is designed specifically for early-stage, high-growth companies with venture capital backing. The vast majority of venture-backed companies raise venture debt at some point in their lives from specialized banks such as Silicon Valley Bank.” Pros Venture debt comes with its own set of pros and cons. We laid out a list of the key pros of venture debt below: Debt over equity. As we’ve mentioned previously, equity is the most expensive asset a startup has. Venture debt allows you to avoid giving up any additional equity. Timeline. Venture debt is commonly tagged on at the end of a venture capital round. Because of this it can move quickly and offer an extended runway for startups Cons Of course, venture debt comes with cons too. Check out a few key cons of venture debt below: Financial covenants. Venture debt comes with a set of required performance metrics. The penalties for missing the required financials can be large for startups. Future funding. Having debt on a balance sheet can be a negative signal for future funders. Alternative types of funding The SaaS funding options above are a few of the most common. However, SaaS funding options have continued to evolve over the last decade. Check out a few different alternative SaaS financing options below: Crowdfunding As put by the team at Investopedia, “Crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture. Crowdfunding makes use of the easy accessibility of vast networks of people through social media and crowdfunding websites to bring investors and entrepreneurs together, with the potential to increase entrepreneurship by expanding the pool of investors beyond the traditional circle of owners, relatives, and venture capitalists.” Bootstrapping Bootstrapping is when a founder (or founding team) starts a company by using their own capital and taking no outside capital. From here, bootstrapped companies generally use company revenue to fuel the growth of their business. Related Resource: Bootstrapping 101: Pros & Cons of Bootstrapping Your Startup Nondilutive Options Over the last few years more nondilutive funding options have been created for SaaS companies. One of the most popular is Pipe. As they put it, “Pipe transforms recurring revenue into up-front capital for growth without dilution or restrictive debt.” Related Resource: Checking Out Venture Capital Funding Alternatives Which is the most popular funding source for SaaS startups? Traditionally, raising venture capital or bootstrapping a SaaS startup has been the most popular funding source. As the options available to SaaS startups, the most popular options will ebb and flow. However, venture capital will likely always find itself as the most popular option as more SaaS companies create outsized returns for VCs (fueling more VC investment into SaaS companies). At Visible, we like to compare a venture fundraise to a traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel. At the top of the funnel, you are adding new investors, nurturing them with meetings and updates in the middle, and ideally closing them as new investors at the bottom of the funnel. Just as a sales and marketing team have dedicated tools — we believe founders should have the same to manage their most expensive asset, their equity. Find investors for your startup, share your pitch deck, nurture them with updates, and track your conversations all from one platform — give Visible a free try for 14 days here. Succeed in your venture capital efforts with Visible Determining the right funding option for your startup is only half the battle. If you’re raising venture capital — finding the right investors and having a game plan to manage your fundraise will allow you to spend time on what matters most, building your business. Find investors for your startup, share your pitch deck, nurture them with updates, and track your conversations all from one platform — give Visible a free try for 14 days here.

At Visible, we are on a mission to help more founders connect with investors — one of our key tools to help do this is “Decks.” This helps founders share any PDF document with potential investors and colleagues. It enables founders to share documents with security and peace of mind, they know who is viewing their document and the amount of time spent. We are regularly asked how to construct a pitch deck by startup founders. While there is no silver bullet when it comes to building a pitch deck, we can share the data and best practices we have seen from other founders. We’ve collected thousands of data points related to pitch deck sharing. Learn more about best practices for crafting and sharing your pitch deck below: The Ideal Startup Pitch Deck Length The biggest theme we identified is that less is more. The ideal deck size for a stakeholder to view your entire slide deck is 12 slides or less. We took a look at all decks that had a 100% completion rate. We found across the data set the average length was 12.2 pages/slides. The average # of slides of a deck uploaded to Visible is 18 slides with a median of 16. Learn more about how the specific slides and content you should be creating in our pitch deck guides below: Tips for Creating an Investor Pitch Deck 18 Pitch Deck Examples for Any Startup How to Pitch a Series A Round (With Template) Sharing Your Pitch Deck A pitch deck can be a powerful tool to help founders tell their story during a fundraise. Check out a few of our tips for sharing your pitch deck below: When to Share a Pitch Deck? There is a popular debate about whether or not to share your pitch deck prior to a meeting with an investor. Generally, we find it best to share your entire pitch deck until after a meeting. This will enable the pitch deck to be a tool for you. It will be 10-13 slides, that can be a refresher for the investors as to what your company is about. The market you are looking to penetrate. Investors can then click through your slides after your meeting as they discuss and weigh the investment opportunity. The Teaser Pitch Deck However, we suggest sharing a short (or teaser) pitch deck with investors before a meeting. This should be around 5 slides and give investors the context they need about your company to have a material discussion about your business in the first meeting. Brett Brohl of Bread & Butter Ventures shares what he likes to see in a teaser pitch deck below: Related Resource: Our Teaser Pitch Deck Template No matter how you decide to share your pitch deck, remember to keep it at a reasonable length for investors to easily digest. As our data points out, early-stage startups should try to keep their pitch deck to 14-15 slides at most. Keep things simple. Be brief. Be clear with your value proposition. The average minutes spent viewing a deck is 19.4 minutes. Make that 20 minutes count. As always, it is important to create the pitch deck that is right for your business. Some may require more or fewer slides than others! Share Your Pitch Deck with Visible Fundraising oftentimes mirrors a traditional B2B sales process. You are adding investors to the top of your fundraising funnel, nurturing them throughout with meetings, email, and updates in the middle, and ideally closing them as new investors at the bottom. Just as sales & marketing teams have tools to understand how leads are engaging with their emails and content, the same should be true for a fundraise. By having a tool in place to understand how investors are engaging with your pitch deck, you’ll be able to spend time with the investors that are most interested in your business. Upload your pitch deck, track the progress of your fundraise with our Fundraising CRM, and share Updates along the way with potential investors using Visible. Give it a free try for 14 days here.

Founding and growing a startup is difficult. On top of developing a great product or experience, founders need to hone all aspects of their business — financing, hiring, etc. Founders are faced with countless funding decisions – none of which come easy. On the Visible Blog, we oftentimes talk about venture capital. However, there are other options that are better suited for some companies. One of which is bootstrapping. Related Resource: Alternatives to Venture Capital Learn more about bootstrapping and what it means for startup founders below: Defining Bootstrapping in the Startup World As defined by the team at Investopedia, “Bootstrapping describes a situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital, relying on money other than outside investments. An individual is said to be bootstrapping when they attempt to found and build a company from personal finances or the operating revenues of the new company.” Related Resource: Bootstrapping a Beauty Brand with Aishetu Dozie, CEO of Bossy On the VIsible Blog, we generally write about how founders can leverage outside financing (like venture capital and angel investors), to fund their business. Bootstrapping foregoes outside funding and requires a founder to leverage their personal savings, credit, time, and customer revenue. The Pros and Cons of Bootstrapping Bootstrapping can be extremely beneficial for founders. However, the benefits come with real risks. Learn more about the pros and cons of bootstrapping below. Related Resource: Building a Calm Company with Tyler Tringas Pros of Bootstrapping Bootstrapping is a huge bet for a founder to place on themself. By steering clear of outside funding, founders will need to leverage their own time and resources to build their business. However, a founder placing their own resources on the line does not come with the opportunities to benefit. Learn about the pros of bootstrapping below: It Allows Owners to Retain Full Ownership of Their Company One of the downsides of taking on venture funding is the loss of ownership and equity. One of the major upsides of choosing to bootstrap a business is the exact opposite. When choosing to bootstrap a business, founders retain full ownership of the business and will experience all of the upsides in the event of a successful exit or deal. It Makes Owners Create a Model That Works When bootstrapping a business there are no “safety nets.” While most founders do not need a forcing function to help them prove a model, bootstrapping heightens the stakes. Bootstrapped founders are risking their own resources so it is vital that they build a successful business. Path to Profitability A venture capitalist’s job is to create outsized returns for their limited partners. This means that VCs are in search of companies that can grow into huge companies to create returns. Chances are that outside investors will push for quick growth. When bootstrapping, founders will likely have a strict budget and need to grow within their own means. While it can possibly limit the possibility of hypergrowth, it can be a great way to grow sustainability and build a long-term company. Cons of Bootstrapping Just like any funding option, there are cons of bootstrapping as well. Weighing the pros and cons is a great way to help a founder determine what funding option is right for their business. Learn more about the cons of bootstrapping a business below: It Can Be Riskier As we laid out above, one of the biggest perks of bootstrapping a business is maintaining ownership and equity. On the flip side, this means there is no one else to share risk with a founder. When bootstrapping a business, a founder will put their own resources on the line. If something goes south, it not only impacts the business but has the ability to impact a bootstrapped founder’s personal finance as well. Bootstrapping Only Offers Limited Support Being a founder is difficult. There are very few individuals who understand what it takes to find and grow a business. Because of this, it is important for founders to learn from their peers, investors, and leaders in the space. This comes naturally with some funding options. For example, venture-backed companies can lean on investors for help and future capital. For bootstrapped founders, chances are they will have fewer natural networking opportunities with investors and other founders. It Requires Many Strengths When building a company, leaders need to have strengths across the board – they might be a technical founder or great marketer, etc. Many founders, they can lean on co-founders and their investors to help balance their weaknesses. For a solo founder or bootstrapped founder, they will need to rely on themselves across the board. Stages a Bootstrapped Company Goes Through Companies go through different stages and lifecycles. At their core, most startups follow a similar journey. For venture-backed and bootstrapped companies, this journey might look slightly different but is similar at their core. Learn about the basic stages a bootstrapped company goes through below: 1) Starting Stage When starting a bootstrapped business, it likely looks no different than starting any other business. The founder or founding team likely has an idea or big problem they’d like to solve. From here, there are the formalities of setting up a business. However, a bootstrapped founder will have the ability to pursue their new business on the side (or dedicate they full day-to-day). Because there are no outside stakeholders, the pace at which a bootstrapped founder launches is solely up to them. 2) Customer-Funded Stage Once a bootstrapped founder has built a product and determined channels for distributing their product, they can begin to bring in revenue from customers. While bootstrapped founders can work at their own pace, bringing in customer revenue is vital as it is the likely source of financing and future growth. 3) Profitability & Growth If a bootstrapped founder can build a product and find their first customers, the next step is profitability and growth. Because bootstrapped companies use their customer revenue to fuel their growth, it is incredibly important they are wise with their spending decisions as customers grow – they likely won’t have the cash cushion and safety net in the early days. Find Out More Information on Bootstrapping Bootstrapping can be a great way to fund and build a startup for many startup founders. At the end of the day, founders need to evaluate their funding options and determine what is right for their business. To learn more about bootstrapping and funding a business, subscribe to the Visible Weekly. We curate the best resources to help founders hire top talent, raise capital, and build great products. Sign up here.

Fundraising is a challenge. We find that the most successful founders treat a fundraise like a traditional B2B sales process. It is a game of relationships and is important that you are connecting with and finding the most qualified investors for your business — just as a sales and marketing team finds the best leads for their product. Related Resource: 9 Tips for Effective Investor Networking In order to help you better connect and find the right investors for your business, we’ve put together a quick guide below: Understanding the Different Types of Investors First things first, you need to understand who you are talking to. At the highest level, there are different types of investors that are willing to fund privately held companies. From here, you’ll be able to take things a level deeper and identify the specific investor and firms that are best suited for your business. Related Resource: How To Find Private Investors For Startups Check out some of our tips for connecting with different types of investors below: Angel Investors A common type of startup investor is the angel investor. As we put in our post, How to Effectively Find + Secure Angel Investors for Your Startup, “An angel investor is generally a wealthy individual who is looking to invest spare cash in an alternative investment.” A few tips when it comes to connecting with angel investors: Warm introductions — find if anyone in your network can make an introduction Social media — some angel investors might have an online presence. Check out Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. to see if there are any in your network VC Firms The most common type of startup investor is a venture capital firm. As defined by Investopedia, “A venture capitalist (VC) is a private equity investor that provides capital to companies with high growth potential in exchange for an equity stake.” VCs are professional investors so it is important to have a strategy when finding and pitching them. A few tips below: Warm introductions — like angel investors, use your immediate network to find introductions to VCs in your network. Existing investors, other founders, and customers can be great sources of warm introductions Cold outreach — If you do not have any connections to a VC fund, you can use cold outreach. To learn more, 3 Tips for Cold Emailing Potential Investors + Outreach Email Template. Events — Many VC funds host events dedicated to founders, or attend larger startup events. Leverage these as an opportunity to meet and connect with targeted funds. Related Resource: Investor Relationship Management 101: How to Manage Your Startups Interactions with Investors Banks Traditionally, banks are a source of capital for businesses. With early-stage startups, bank loans have become less common as they are not able to take the risk on early-stage companies. However, for later-stage and proven startups, bank loans can be a strong funding option. A few things to keep in mind: Strong performance — your business needs to demonstrate a strong track record and predictability that you can pay back the bank Collateral & cash — having high-value collateral and a strong cash position will increase the likelihood that a bank approves your leone. Alternative Investors New funding options have taken the startup world by storm over the last few years. Depending on your business and model, some of the newer funding options can be an option. Check out a few of the common options below (from our post, Checking Out Venture Capital Funding Alternatives) Pipe — As their website puts it, “Pipe turns MRR into ARR.” So how does it work? Pipe looks at your monthly contracts and offers a cash advance on the annual value of those contracts. In turn, they will take a small % of that contract for offering the cash advance. Calm Company Fund — Calm Fund uses their own financing instrument called a Shared Earnings Agreement (SEAL). Essentially, SEALs are geared towards bootstrapped companies that are profitable or approaching profitability. Corl — Rather than explaining it ourselves we’ll let the Corl website explain what they do. “Corl uses machine learning to analyze your business and expedite the funding process. No need to wait 3-9 months for approval. Find out if you qualify in 10 minutes.” 6 Helpful Tips for Connecting with Investors No matter the type of investor, there are common tips and strategies that you can use to connect with investors. Making warm introductions, or connections through people in your network, is typically the best way to get an introduction to an investor. However, attending events, networking with peers, cold outreach, and your current investors are great opportunities. Check out some tips below. Related resource: How to Get Into Venture Capital: A Beginner’s Guide 1) Use the Right Tools or Platform Just as sales and marketing teams have dedicated tools for their process, so do founders that are fundraising. By using a tool to find and connect with qualified investors, you’ll set yourself up for success and smoother fundraise. At Visible, we offer a free investor database, Visible Connect, that allows you to filter by the fields and properties that are most relevant to your business. For example, you can search by their investment geography, stage, market, and more. Give it a try here. From here, you can add your investors directly to a Fundraising Pipeline in Visible. This is the headquarters of your fundraise and allows you to keep tabs on the status of conversations and pitches throughout your fundraise. Give it a free try for 14 days here. Related Resource: A Step-By-Step Guide for Building Your Investor Pipeline 2) Target the Right Investors Spending time on the right investors is a vital part of a successful fundraise. Just as a sales team would only spend time on the most qualified leads, the same is true of a fundraise. By building out a profile of what your ideal investor looks like, you’ll be able to focus on the investors that truly matter to your business. Learn more about determining your ideal investor profile in our post, Building Your Ideal Investor Persona. 3) Build a List Once you’ve determined who the right investors are for your business, you need to build a list. Over the course of a fundraise, you will hear countless “Nos” so it is important to have a list of investors to speak with. For an early-stage company, we generally suggest having somewhere around 50 investors to speak with. Brett Brohl of Bread & Butter Ventures recommends talking with at least 60: 4) Tell a Data-Backed Story At the end of the day, investors want to fund companies that have the ability to turn into huge exits and create returns for them and their LPs. In order to help paint the picture of your potential for growth, you need to use data that helps supplement the story. When discussing with potential investors, you do not need to go overboard with the data you are sharing. Stick to a metric or 2 from your own business that demonstrates traction. You can even share compelling data from the market that shows why you are set up for success. Related Resource: How to Model Total Addressable Market (Template Included) 5) Reach Out Having your assets in place is only half the battle. Having a concise plan and tone for reaching out to potential investors is a must. Generally, finding warm introductions to your ideal investors should be the first line of defense. If you are unable to find warm introductions, don’t be afraid to use cold outreach. Related Resource: 3 Tips for Cold Emailing Potential Investors + Outreach Email Template Learn about what Ezra Galston of Starting Line Ventures likes to see in cold outreach below: As we previously mentioned, chances are you will be talking to 50+ investors over the course of a fundraise. It is important to have a game plan and process in place to track conversations and the status of your raise. With Visible, you can find investors, add them to your pipeline, and track the status of your fundraise all from 1 tool. Give it a free try for 14 days here. Related Resource: How To Write the Perfect Investor Update (Tips and Templates) Visible Can Help You Connect With The Right Investors Fundraising is comparable to a traditional B2B sales and marketing process. Just as any sales process starts by finding the right leads, so should a fundraise. Use Visible Connect, our free investor database, to find the right investors for your business. Give it a try and start searching for investors for your business here.

“Rolling funds, the rise of solo capitalists, crowd syndicates and team-based seed funds all scream one thing in unison: venture capital is growing and getting unbundled at the same time.” TechCrunch Emerging Managers are Venture Capital Fund Managers whose assets under management (AUM) range from $25 – $100M and have typically raised less than three funds. These types of managers are playing an important role in the ‘growing and unbundling’ of the Venture Capital landscape as they oftentimes focus on previously overlooked founders and markets. Emerging managers bring unique perspectives and experiences to the world of Venture Capital which is why startups should have a solid understanding of this type of investor as they start their fundraising journey. How are Emerging Managers Different Than More Established VCs If we compare established fund managers to emerging fund managers, a known investment claimer holds very true, “past results are not an indicator of future success,”– According to Pitchbook research “Nearly 18% of first-time funds nab an internal rate of return (IRR) of 25% while later funds only exceed that number about 12% of the time”. Many respected LPs have also reported that emerging managers tend to outperform more established funds that are larger scale. Other distinguishing attributes of Emerging Managers include: They generally write smaller checks They’re more hands-on with their fewer number of investments They’re focused on brand building They’re agile and less organizationally bureaucratic There has historically been a high-risk bias on emerging managers because of some constraints that they faced in the past with regards to limited partners, but as they “consistently outperform industry benchmarks” you can see that isn’t holding Emerging Managers back from growing rapidly year over year. Why Would You Want Emerging Managers On Your Cap Table Instead Emerging Managers usually come with years of experience from larger funds where they had the chance to learn and work with the big players. Since the IRR of their new funds are the key indicator of success for LPs, they are highly motivated to make their investments successful. As they are also more agile, they are able to bring more innovation and ideas to the table which allows them to recognize and jump on new trends which takes more time for established VCs to react to. The number of Micro VCs, which are also considered emerging managers, jumped 9x from 2012 to 2019, “The underpinning insight was that the “generalist” approach by legacy VC created an opportunity for bespoke firms that could better support founders at the early stage in their respective markets and that this would lead to improved outcomes.” Kaufman Fellows Other benefits of emerging managers include: They have more real-life experience that’s recent and relevant They’re more engaged investors and are more motivated to help you out as they’re establishing their brand “At the end of the day, LPs look for evidence that an emerging manager can, and will, identify the best companies in their area of focus, and be able to win those deals based on their approach, skills, and expertise. The best early-stage VCs bring tremendous value to their portfolio, creating a flywheel of entrepreneur referrals which in turn, fosters that GPs’ success, so they can build the next industry-leading franchise.” Crunchbase Ventures They have more specialized knowledge pertaining to the focus of your startup. “LPs typically look to avoid overfished ponds and overplayed deal channels, so you should make a compelling case for why they should follow you off the beaten path. The best EMs have a unique perspective within their area of focus. The prospective LPs you’re targeting need to agree that the approach and space you’re betting on is an exciting place to spend time.” Crunchbase Ventures They serve as a pathway that enables more diversity in venture. Emerging Managers include more women and racial minorities than in established VCs, which operate with “predominantly homogenous teams” that have been proven to yield poorer outcomes than in diverse teams. “Emerging managers are grinders, hungry for success the way a young underdog is against a perennial winner in the sports world. This tightly aligns their goals with LPs – a strong return means both the manager and their partners win.” Gridline How to Find Emerging Managers Filter investors by​​ AUM that are less than $100M and (pre) seed and Series A funding stage on our Connect Investor database Emerging manager training programs (Recast Capital, Strut Consulting, Kauffman Fellows, and the VCI Fellowship for BIPOC First-Time Fund Managers) Networking Events Emerging manager communities (Transact Global, Raise Global) VC Guide’s List of Emerging Managers Emerging Managers to Check-out Base Case Capital Location: San Francisco, California, United States About: base case capital is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on the next generation of enterprise software. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B Recent Investments: Ashby Supergrain Fiberplane Conscience Location: Miami, Florida, United States About: Conscience VC invests into early-stage, science-led consumer companies. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Aqua Cultured Foods Last Gameboard Wayfinder Biosciences Atman Location: New York, United States About: We partner with inevitable people. We provide leverage, access, and acumen through aligned principles. We partner with founders at the pre-seed and seed stages. At Atman Capital, every founder in our egregore is a partner of the fund. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Chico.ai Bamboo Pipefy NP-Hard Ventures Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands About: We support early teams in Europe and the US to build the infrastructure, tools, and decentralized platforms that simplify the way we work, by making technology more accessible and unlock creativity. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: tldraw Universe Energy eDRV Empath Ventures Location: Los Angeles, California, United States About: Empath Ventures is a venture capital firm that mainly invests in psychedelic medicine companies. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Freedom Biosciences MAPS Public Benefit Corporation Pangea Botanica Garuda Ventures Location: San Francisco, Bay Area, California, United States About: Garuda is an angel fund run by full-time operators Rishi Taparia and James Richards. We spend every day on the founder side of the table. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Paragon ConductorOne Arena Lorimer Ventures Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States About: We’re a Brooklyn-based investment firm made up of founders, operators, and financial professionals with experience building and operating businesses from pre-revenue to post-IPO. We bring a founder-first perspective to each startup we back, and strive to be on a speed-dial basis with the founding teams we back. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Recent Investments: Tyba Circuit Mind OatFi m]x[v Location: New York, United States About: m]x[v Capital is an up and coming early-stage venture fund building momentum for the next generation of cloud disruptors. We bring a founder and operator perspective to the cap table, helping our founders build their vision, product, and teams. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Epoch Mailmodo Postscript Brickyard Location: United States About: Brickyard is an early-stage capital and founder outpost backing builders. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Krepling Joon App IRON Acquired Wisdom Fund About: Acquired Wisdom Fund helps seasoned professionals create scalable technology products. We invest in early stage tech startups. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Achievable NOCAP Sports Angler AI True Wealth Ventures Location: Austin, Texas, United States About: We see value in the impact of women. True Wealth Ventures invests in smart female entrepreneurs, from health innovators to sustainable solution pioneers. Women-led companies have proven they deliver higher returns. It’s time to invest in new perspectives. Thesis: Women-led companies improving either human health or environmental health Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: De Oro Devices Reharvest Provisions Aeromutable CapitalX Location: San Francisco, California, United States About: CapitalX.vc – enterprise focused generalist with $100k – $500k initial checks in preseed/seed. Thesis: Women-led companies improving either human health or environmental health Investment Stages: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A Recent Investments: Simplifyber Impossible Mining Front Finance Overlooked Ventures About: We support founders who operate early-stage technology companies that are historically overlooked and provide them capital, resources, and connections to scale their business. We’ve been in your shoes. We’re tech founders with 10+ years of experience running companies and making deals. Now we’re authentically supporting entrepreneurs with capital and a founder-friendly focus. Recent Investments: Pipe Stagger West Tenth Chingona Ventures Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States About: Chingona Ventures invests in founders from backgrounds and industries that are not well understood by the traditional investor. Thesis: Focus on industries that are massively changing and founders whose backgrounds uniquely position them to create businesses in growth markets that are often overlooked. Focus areas are in financial technology, female technology, food technology, health/wellness, and future of learning. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Cartwheel Sigo Seguros Encantos Forum Ventures Location: New York City, San Francisco, and Toronto, United States Thesis: B2B SaaS; Future of Work, E-commerce enablement, Supply Chain & Logistics, Marketplace, Fintech, Healthcare Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Sandbox Banking Tusk Logistics Vergo Check out Forum Ventures profile on our Connect Investor Database Dream Machine Location: Palo Alto, California, United States About: Dream Machine is an opportunistic seed fund interested in consumer and frontier tech. It is founded by Alexia Bonatsos, the former co-editor-in-chief of Techcrunch and one of the earliest reporters to write about WhatsApp, Uber, Instagram, Airbnb and Pinterest. With Dream Machine, she hopes to help exceptional founders make science fiction non-fiction. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: TTYL BlockParty Powder VamosVentures Location: Los Angeles, California, United States Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Recent Investments: Miga Health Form Energy Zócalo Health Revent Location: Berlin, Germany Investment Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C Recent Investments: Resourcify Noscendo GmbH Sylvera Spark Growth Ventures Location: San Diego, California, United States About: Spark Growth Ventures is a community driven, early & mid stage, vertical-agnostic, technology venture capital firm. Our mission is to support gritty and exceptional founders in their missions by bringing forth the combined value of our strong community. We are fortunate to have a global network of entrepreneurs, C-level relationships, subject matter experts, world-class talent, institutional investors, high net worth individuals and family offices, many of who are investors in our platform. Our team has several decades of global experience in venture capital, entrepreneurship, innovation, executive & board management, functional leadership and advisory work. Thesis: Capital efficient and scalable business model rooted in tech enabled products and services solving real and large problems. Mission oriented and gritty founders are a must. Investment Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C Recent Investments: Redcliffe Labs Tab32 Placer.ai Nomad Ventures Location: Los Angeles, California, United States About: Nomad Ventures is an LA-based Venture Fund focused on Early-Stage Marketplace businesses. The GPs (Chris Taylor and James Mumma) are entrepreneurs who have helped build some of the fastest growing startups in recent history (Uber, Uber Eats, Opendoor) and they support founders by providing both expertise and capital to build the next big tech businesses. ???? ???? ???? Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Intro Minoan Lunch Climentum Capital About: Climentum Capital is a Venture Capital firm based out of Copenhagen, Berlin and Stockholm. We invest in European startups that can cut down megatons of CO2 emissions in a concrete and measurable way. The fund targets late Seed and Series A investments into the six sectors that demonstrate the largest CO2 reduction potential: – Industry & Manufacturing – NextGen Renewables – Food & Agriculture – Buildings & Architecture – Transportation & Mobility – Waste & Materials As one of the first Venture Capital funds with a double carry structure (with both financial and impact targets), Climentum is dedicated from day one to evaluate and only invest in companies that hold true carbon reduction potential. Investment Stages: Seed, Series A Recent Investments: Entocycle Qvantum Continuum Seed Club Ventures About: Seed Club Ventures is a Venture DAO backing early-stage founders building at the intersection of web3 and community. With a membership of 60+ leading innovators and investors in crypto, we are diverse in our ability to support projects throughout their life cycle. Launched in partnership with Seed Club, the leading network for DAO builders, our mission is to build a community-owned internet. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: Guild Stability AI Molecule Capchase Location: New York, New York, United States About:Capchase is the growth partner for ambitious software-as-a-service (SaaS) and comparable recurring-revenue companies. They help founders and CFOs grow their businesses faster through non-dilutive capital, market insights, and community support. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York City, Capchase provides financing by bringing future expected cash flows to the present day – thereby securing funding that is fast, flexible, and doesn’t dilute their ownership. Investment Stages: Series B Recent Investments: Fondo Enerex BlogTec Gold House Ventures About: Gold House Ventures is the definitive fund investing in Asian/Pacific Islander-founded companies. We back founders building industry-changing, culturally-compelling businesses by providing a singular suite of services that includes our accelerator, Gold Rush (whose alumni have collectively raised $500 million+); our talent placement vehicle, the Multicultural Leadership Coalition, which partners with leading multicultural funds to increase diversity in Board and Advisory pipelines; media marketing with every major film studio and streaming platform, and access to Gold House’s network of top Asian Pacific leaders across venture capital, media, entertainment, and tech. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B Recent Investments: CreatorDAO Xiao Chi Jie Blossom.team The Fintech Fund About: An early-stage venture fund supporting the best fintech and defi teams. Thesis: The Fintech Fund is a $25M venture fund investing in the top 1% of fintech and decentralized finance startups globally. Our focus is split between more established fintech markets in the US and Europe – for which picks-and-shovels SaaS and infrastructure builders will sell into a growing market of buyers – and emerging markets, where opportunities exist for consumer fintechs to dominate winner-take-all markets. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Recent Investments: TrueBiz GuruHotel Yave Vibe Capital About: Vibe Capital is a $10m Fund that invests in the Web3, AI, and Deep Science sectors at the Pre-Seed and Seed stage. We seek venture-scale returns by leaning in to the volatility caused by the exponential growth of the Web3, AI, and Deep Science sectors intertwining with demographic shifts and climate change. Thesis: Vibe Capital is a $10m Fund that invests in the Web3, AI, and Deep Science sectors at the Pre-Seed and Seed stage. We seek venture-scale returns by leaning in to the volatility caused by the exponential growth of the Web3, AI, and Deep Science sectors intertwining with demographic shifts and climate change. More here -> https://vibecap.co/thesis/ Investment Stages: Pre-Seed Recent Investments: Pipedream Labs Circle Labs Fauna Bio Origins About: We’re a new type of VC firm backing legendary consumer founders with an unfair advantage from pre-seed to seriesA. We invest $100k to $500k in consumer tech startups and also come with the power of influence of our LP’s and their 160,000,000 followers. You can reach us at hello@origins.fund Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Recent Investments: Matchday Stadium Live Upway Portfolio Ventures About: The PV Angel Fund is backed by a great mix of investors leading UK angels, successful founders, C-level execs, and corporate NEDs who co-invest alongside the fund and provide strategic support to our portfolio companies. Thesis: Co-investing tax-efficient capital in the best UK tech startups alongside lead investors. Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Punch Capital About: Punch Capital backs early-stage founders who break new ground. Thesis: Punch Capital backs courageous immigrants at the earliest stages. We are honored to be among Weekend Fund’s Emerging 50: signatureblock.co/emerging-50. Investment Stages: Angel, Pre-Seed, Seed Start Your Next Round with Visible We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VCs and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like you. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. After learning more about them with the profile information and resources given you can reach out to them with a tailored email. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.

Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. Building a startup is difficult. Being a founder can almost feel impossible. There are very few people that have been in the shoes of a startup founder. This means that there are very few people that know the difficulties that come along with building and leading a startup. As a startup founder, you are responsible for hiring and retaining employees, securing capital, developing a product, building culture, and more. Chances are you haven’t lead all of those things in the past. Because of this it is important for you to look to the founders and leaders that have been there before to uncover advice. Related Resource: 7 Essential Business Startup Resources Check out our 15 helpful tips for startup success below: 1) Be Persistent Leading a startup is full of ups and downs. Inevitably, things will not go as planned and will feel like everything is headed in the wrong direction. Paul Graham, Founder of YC, coined the term “trough of sorrow” to explain when your startup loses momentum and feels like things are all headed in the wrong direction. In order to navigate troughs of sorrow and down periods, startup founders need to stay persistent. You’ll need to focus on what truly matters to your business and stay the course. Related Resource: The 23 Best Books for Startup Founders at Any Stage 2) Always Be Solution Focused As we’ve alluded to earlier, founders are pulled in a hundred different directions. — whether it be with hiring, fundraising, or developing a product. It is easy to get distracted and spend your time (and your team’s time) working on projects or initiatives that are not core to your business. As a startup founder, it is important to stay focused on your solution and the problem you are solving. As Kyle Wong, the CEO of Pixlee, puts it, “Having a product that does a lot of things but doesn’t do anything well is useless. Your goal should be to definitively say that your product is the best at doing X for market Y. You should ask yourself, “Which customers do I care most about, and what can I do to make their experience better?” Determine what your company is uniquely good at and stay focused on that solution. 3) Invest in Yourself When managing a team, it can be difficult to put yourself aside and continue to invest in the team members around you. As a startup founder, it is important that you take the time and resources necessary to invest in yourself. This will differ from founder to founder depending on they do this. For some it might be setting time off from work to hone other skills, attending leadership conferences, etc. 4) Execution, Execution, Execution Forecasting growth and building a product roadmap is a task in itself. Executing those plans and roadmaps is vital, and difficult. In order for a startup to succeed, the leadership team needs to be focused on execution from day to day to make sure everyone is headed in the same direction. As the team at Basis Set Ventures puts it, “Execution is the only aspect that is consistently correlated with startup success. Across all archetypes, day-to-day effectiveness and whether the founder learns and adapts quickly are most correlated with success.” Check out the image from their Founder Superpowers report below: 5) Focus on Results Going hand in hand with execution is the ability to focus on results. It can be easy to get consumed by the inputs, but if the results are not there it is important to quickly pivot and try inputs and strategies that show real results. Because most startups have a limited runway (cash) it is important to move quickly and stay rallied behind results. If you find a marketing or acquisition channel is not moving the needle, it is important to quickly cut that channel and focus on what is driving results. 6) Build a Reliable Network The startup world is a tight-knit community. Different VC funds and corporations have made it incredibly easy for founders and startup employees to network and help one another. Having a reliable network is a great way to help in all aspects of business building. Connections will be able to make introductions to potential investors, ideal customers, and job candidates. It is important to be thoughtful about the relationships you are building and focus on building trust before pursuing business interests. As the team at Hustle Fund wrote, “Networking wasn’t about going to a bunch of conferences and exchanging business cards. Networking is simply about making friends.” 7) Protect Your Equity Equity is the most expensive asset a startup founder has. It is important to protect and manage your equity accordingly. At Visible, we believe that startup leaders should have dedicated tools for managing their equity — just as sales and marketing teams have dedicated tools to manage their day-to-day. Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. 8) Become a Storyteller Storytelling is a crucial part of building a successful startup. Sure there are more important aspects of business building but being a great storyteller will help immensely with fundraising, hiring, and messaging. As Steve Jobs puts it, “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation to come.” Kristian Andersen of High Alpha joined us to discuss how founders can leverage storytelling to craft their pitch deck for successful fundraise. Learn more here or check out a snippet below: 9) Embrace the Journey Building a startup is a journey. As we mentioned previously, there are many ups and downs when it comes to building a startup. While it can be easy to stay focused on the day-to-day it is important to take a step back and look at the journey. It is easy to focus on the lows but is rewarding to allow yourself and your team to celebrate the wins. 10) Don’t Let Yourself Get Burned Out Building a successful startup requires solving a lot of difficult problems. At times it might feel like you are banging your head against the wall. It is easy to get consumed by a problem and put everything you have into solving it day after day. However, this can lead to burnout and cost you, and your team, in the long run. In order to avoid burnout, it is important to make yourself, especially your physical and mental health, a priority. Learn more below. 11) Make Physical and Mental Health a Priority Launching a startup is an exhausting job and can take a toll on a founder’s physical and mental health. As the team at Starting Line VC puts it, “Building a startup is an exhausting process. It is terrifying, stressful, and confusing. It can also be exhilarating. The highs are higher than any other feeling; the lows depress similarly. As a founder remarked to us recently, “my mood is dictated daily by the performance of our Shopify revenue. If not managed and balanced, these volatile emotions can become unhealthy. Worse, they can affect performance.” Learn more about managing your physical and mental health with Ezra Galston of Starting Line Ventures here. 12) Strategically Plan Out Every Work Day If you’ve been following along, you have probably noticed that focus is a core aspect of startup success. Focus in everything from product development to your daily routine can help a company succeed. By having a strategic plan for each workday, you’ll be able to maintain that focus on the big problems you are solving. Of course, there is no one size fits all strategy to planning out a work day. Find what works best for you and stick to it. 13) Make Different Mistakes Things never go as planned when building a startup. Mistakes are inevitable. The only thing you can do is learn from your previous mistakes and do your best to make them again. Mistakes are a great way to learn, especially as an early stage startup. You can’t let the mistakes weigh you down and have to be viewed as a learning opportunity that won’t happen again. 14) Progress Not Perfection Many times it can be intimidating to put a product, pitch deck, email, blog post, etc. out before it is perfect. However, most startups are strapped for cash and need to balance speed with perfection. Of course, it would be ideal to have every aspect of your product be perfect, but that is not realistic. One of the differentiators of a startup is the ability to move quickly. In order to do so, you need to focus on the progress. Finding the right balance of progress and perfection is key to moving efficiently. 15) Know Your Customers Without customers, a business fails to exist. Having a voice of your customers and a true understanding of their needs is a surefire way to make sure you are building the right product, sending the right message, and hiring the right team members. In order to know your customers, you need to take the time to understand their needs and build relationships with individuals. Building relationships with customers will also reduce the likelihood of churn. Chances are your customers are working through the same things as you and will understand what you are going through. Scott Dorsey of High Alpha stresses that founders should be close to their customers than ever before when working through tough times. From our post, 4 Takeaways From Our Webinar with Scott Dorsey, “During uncertain times, it is more important than ever to be close to your customers. Your customers are going through the same things that you are going through. Establish and preserve your relationship so you can grow together on the other side of the downturn.” Learn Everything You Need to Know About Funding With Visible Boiling down what it takes to build a successful startup into 15 tips is unrealistic. Some things may work for one company and not the other. The only way to truly understand what works for you and your business is by getting out there and doing it. At Visible, we want to be there along the way to help you with all things related to fundraising, investor relations, and metric tracking. Learn more about how we can help with your fundraising efforts here. Related resource: Strategic Pivots in Startups: Deciding When, Understanding Why, and Executing How