Today, we’re talking about your inbox and fundraising leads. Don’t let your inbound leads govern your entire fundraising process.

Today, we’re talking about short term sales contracts. They are bad news for your company but potential customers will often ask for a short term contract on the premise that there’s a bigger, juicier, long term contract coming very soon.

Today, we’re talking about your market size.

Today, we’re talking about when to start hiring.

Today, we’re talking about fundraising in today’s environment.

When you begin seed fundraising, it’s often very difficult to know what price you should set for your “valuation cap” on a SAFE or convertible note. I often suggest founders start with a low valuation cap and then increase it over time, based on demand.

Today, we’re talking about pivots and your past work. When you’re pivoting don’t let past work govern your future.

Today, we’re talking about founder tactics that may work but your advisors have to push back on them.

Today, we’re talking about the importance of growth to investors.

Today, we’re talking about when to fire yourself. Founders have to wear many hats when getting a company started but that doesn’t mean you should keep doing everything forever.

Founders often report being frustrated by the vague criteria VCs claim to use when deciding on whether or not to invest in their startup. Investment criteria goes beyond the investment process, which we made public for Sterling Road in 2018.

Today, we’re talking about keeping it simple when you’re seed fundraising. Almost everybody goes through a rough patch when fundraising and it’s tempting to take investor feedback around your market, competition or similar issues and go straight down a deep research rabbit hole.

Today, we’re talking about The reality of B2B sales at this time of year. Late November and December are traditionally slow months for b2b sales. If your pipeline isn’t moving, don’t beat yourself up about it too much.

Today, we’re talking about founders making negative comments at the start of their pitch. There are no qualifiers in fundraising. Starting with a negative absolutely will not help.

Today, we’re talking about where to find angel investors. Angel investors are an important part of most seed rounds, as they make decisions quickly, helping you build momentum.

When an investor passes, most of the time, their answer will be some derivative of “not now”. This means you should keep them updated, as they may want to be an investor in a later round. Here’s a template to keep those investors updated on your startup’s progress — with the hopes of having them invest later.

Today, we’re talking about including fancy animations and multimedia in your pitch deck.

Today, we’re talking about getting help from your investors.