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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.

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