As part of the Founder Institute’s new series of free online startup events for entrepreneurs practicing social distancing, we were pleased to welcome Will Sacks of GetFunded on Tuesday, June 9th (11am PDT) for a live, interactive webinar.
COVID-19 has significantly changed the dynamics of startup funding, so what does the coronavirus pandemic mean for you as a startup founder raising money? How do you navigate this new landscape? Is funding drying up or are there new opportunities being created? What adjustments should you make to increase your chances of success? On this live and interactive event join entrepreneur and seed stage fundraising expert Will Sacks to learn what you can do as a founder to successfully raise seed financing in this environment. Will Sacks is a serial entrepreneur and founder of GetFunded, a fundraising accelerator for mission driven startups.
Full webinar replay
About the speaker
Will Sacks is a serial entrepreneur and founder of GetFunded, a fundraising accelerator for mission driven startups. Previously Will (a New York Founder Institute alumnus) founded Kindara, a hardware + software women's health startup and led it through 5 rounds of funding to an eventual acquisition in 2018. After Kindara Will founded GetFunded to help more early stage CEO's learn the strange art of fundraising and close their first million dollars in funding.
GetFunded is a fundraising accelerator for mission driven startups. We believe fundraising is a skill unto itself and that founders who learn to excel at fundraising can put a bigger dent in the universe. Learn more at www.foundersgetfunded.com.
Webinar Highlights
Investor relationships during COVID19
Aligning your interests to angels and "getting lucky"
Fundraising in a nutshell, and 8 success factors
A breakdown of what you CAN control during fundraising
Reasons why investors often choose not to invest
Why you should have a team or cofounder before fundraising
A hopeful future
Timestamps:
Presentation
6:10 - Crisis and opportunity
7:42 - How the landscape has shifted for many markets
9:23 - Successful startups from the last crisis
10:20 - Difference in investor availability / accessibility
12:17 - What is the same about fundraising
13:48 - Fundraising success factors
15:35 - What is the same pt 2
16:46 - How has COVID19 affected your ability to make angel investments?
17:15 - Has COVID19 prompted you to change your Investment Thesis or focus area?
17:51 - Founders that close up shop vs invest in themselves
19:29 - New normal, best time to start
21:00 - Presentation conclusions
22:01 - Free resources: email template, ebook, pitch evaluation Q+A section
Q+A section
23:23 - Will's fundraising experience
24:40 - Terminology: "friends and family" vs "angels"
26:20 - Changing your thesis, monthly updates, how investing is like dating
30:00 - Updates and founders' focus
31:07 - When was Will ready for an angel round?
32:42 - For a seed round, do you need cofounders?
35:09 - How to outreach to investors
38:30 - Get investors who align with your interests
40:00 - Time spent on fundraising?
41:31 - How many "no's" did you get, and how many meetings did you set up?
44:18 - Percentages / equity amounts with fundraising?
45:26 - Structure of friends and family round
48:50 - Fundraising OUTSIDE of the US
51:55 - Why do investors say "no"?
53:45 - On improving your pitch
58:15 - Traction, storytelling
1:00:40 - Final words
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Graduates of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $950M in funding, and building products people love across over 185 cities worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.
