Constructing Fundraising Roadmaps

If you're an entrepreneur seeking capital, you'll know the fundraising process is stressful and time consuming. I raised a small pre-seed back in 2021 within a couple of months but decided not to raise again last year. I've found that the fundraising process is usually always the same though, so I've laid out my step-by-step guide to help you in your investment journey: 1. Build relationships with investors years before you start raising. ➡️ I built my network from scratch by engaging without an ask. 2. Decide to build and launch a venture. Engage with investors that you may be approaching soon. ➡️ Gauge enthusiasm for the space and understand investability. 3. Build prototypes from your own funds. ➡️ Entrepreneurs are risk takers. If you don't like risk, don't be an entrepreneur. 4. Get interest from potential customers to validate your venture need. ➡️ The more the better; but one is better than none. 5. Build your deck and model - iterate, refine and design. ➡️ They are the intro to your business and first impressions matter. Don't waste them. You are in control. 6. Reach out to investors with a deck. ➡️ Give context and explain what you've done and are going to do in depth. But remember investors are time poor and have other businesses chasing their attention. 7. Speak to those that want to speak and thank those that don't. ➡️ Be courteous always. You don't know what's going on in the background. A 'no' today might be a 'yes' tomorrow. 8. Follow up with deep answers to any questions they have. ➡️ Show you have given consideration to their questions and are internalising what they have to say. 9. Thank them, whether they choose to invest or not. Ask if they think there's any other way they could support you. ➡️ Some investors may say no, and others may say not now. But they could add value elsewhere, so make them advocates. 10. Have sub agreement, articles and resolutions ready to go. ➡️ Keeping records and getting your paperwork sorted early is essential. It will save time and money in the future. 11. Take money, issue shares and keep building. ➡️ This is a process, not an event. Keep momentum up and tackle the most important things first. 12. Provide regular updates with asks when needed. ➡️ Investors have an interest in your success. Info is key here: the good, bad and ugly. 13. Treat their money as if it were your own and focus on the goal. ➡️ Be conscious that this is other people's money. Spend wisely, look for returns and measure. 14. You may need to raise again, so burning bridges is self defeating. ➡️ Don't think transactionally. Relationships matter. 15. Fundraising is a means, not an end. ➡️ The goal is not a TechCrunch editorial, it's to have the fuel to build something great. What do you think is the most important step in the fundraising process? Would you add anything else? 💭 #tech #startups #finance #venturecapital #fundraising

2 years ago, I watched a founder friend try to raise in November. He had a great product. Real traction. But no plan. He spent the summer “heads down building.” Pushed investor outreach to “after Labor Day.” Did a few calls in October, lots of polite interest, no firm yes. By Thanksgiving, the polite interest turned into holiday OOO replies. By December, he was sweating runway and telling the team, “We’ll just close in January.” He didn’t. The round dragged until March, on worse terms. Here’s what he wishes he’d done instead and what smart founders do right now if they want money in the bank by year-end: → Use the summer to fix the pitch. Not just slides, the whole story. The why now, why us, why this works. → Build a real target list. 50–100 investors who actually write checks at your stage. No wishlists, just fit. → Map warm intros: founders, angels, Slack groups, LinkedIn connections. → Start soft outreach in August. Not pitching, just sharing the vision, getting feedback, warming up. → Close new customers, pilots, or partnerships to show traction. Lock in the proof. → Send updates. Keep investors looped in before you need to ask for money. If you do that, here’s what your timeline looks like: July–August: Deck tight. Target list built. Warm intros mapped. Early chats happening. September: First investor calls. 5–10 a week. Funnel filling up. October: Second meetings. Partner calls. Diligence. November: Term sheet. Signed. Wire incoming. December: Celebrate. Rest. Get ready for the new year! Most founders don’t fail because they can’t raise. They fail because they don’t prepare to raise. At Capwave AI, we help founders get investor-ready before the clock runs out. We automate from prep to close. Your dream close date is December 15th. Your real start date is today. Are you ready? Or are you like all other founders scrambling by YE? #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital

You don't need to build a massive data room to start fundraising. It's a huge waste of your time and needlessly delays you getting started. Investors don't need to see your articles of incorporation on the first date. Giving them everything at once is overwhelming and needlessly leaks your info early. Here’s the systematic approach I teach: The Progressive Data Room. You drip-feed information based on investor engagement. These aren't set in stone below and will vary if the investor asks for some things earlier. The key is to protect your most important information until they have shown real signs of interest such as multiple meetings or a term sheet. → Stage 1 (Initial Interest): The Teaser Your teaser deck or executive summary. That's it. Think of it like a 30-second TV commercial. Your goal here is to get the first meeting. → Stage 2 (Post-First Meeting): The Validation They're interested and want more. Now you share core materials. • Financial model (3–5 year forecast) • Strategic roadmap • Product demo video • Team bios and roles • Detailed market analysis • User research or insight backing the problem • Competitor analysis • Testimonials, pilots, or case studies • LOIs, MOUs, pilot agreements • Anonymised customer list (only if requested) • Press coverage or PR (nice to have) • Risks and mitigations (nice to have) → Stage 3 (Deep Due Diligence): The Full Works They're serious and talking terms. Now, you open up or complete the full data room: • Cap table modelling spreadsheet (current and future rounds) • Term sheet (if applicable) • Corporate and legal documents: – Articles of Association – Shareholder Agreement – Share register – Previous investment documents such as SAFEs or convertibles • Historical profit and loss statements (management accounts) • Annual accounts • Key contracts and IP assignments • Registered patents (if any) • Customer lists Treat your data room like a conversation, not a document dump. It protects your company information and gives you more time  to pull together documents as momentum builds. 👋 I’m Sutin Yang, SeedLegals Angel Investor of the Year 2025, 5 years experience leading accelerators, former entrepreneur, and ex-JPMorgan investor with 12 years’ experience. 📌 Follow me for more useful fundraising tips and stories.

You've sent 200 cold emails and gotten 3 VC meetings. You've had 30 first meetings and zero second meetings. You can still raise, but you first need to get strategic about what you fix. Fundraising has a funnel, just like sales. First-time founders should think of that funnel in three stages: 1. Top of funnel - getting the meeting 2. Middle of funnel - going from first meeting → due diligence 3. Bottom of funnel - close (i.e., getting a check) When I raised for Chezie, I had challenges at each stage. Here's how to debug your fundraising process: TOP OF FUNNEL: Getting the meeting Common challenges: - You send hundreds of cold emails but can’t get investor meetings What's probably happening: → You aren’t prioritizing warm intros → You aren’t describing your company in a way that shows market size or urgency → You're targeting the wrong investors (wrong stage/sector) What to do instead: → Stop cold emailing; always try for a warm intro first. If you don’t have a direct contact, ask a friend of a friend. → Only contact investors that invest in AT LEAST two of the following: your geography, your industry, or your stage MIDDLE OF FUNNEL: Progressing to Due Diligence Common challenge: - Lots of first meetings, no second meetings What's probably happening: → You're not getting investors excited enough What to do instead: - Focus on the big vision; tell the investor what the world looks like if you’re successful. - Find ways to demonstrate that you’re building what COULD be a billion-dollar business - Ask directly: "Do you want to learn more, or are you passing?” Bonus pro tip: Never send more than two follow-ups to VCs. If they don’t respond after the second, it’s a pass. Keep it pushing. BOTTOM OF FUNNEL: Close Common challenges: - Investors seem interested but won't commit (e.g., "We like it but want to see more traction") - The process drags on for weeks without a firm ‘yes’ or ‘no’ What's probably happening: → There’s no lead investor to create momentum → You haven't built urgency around the round What to do instead: - If possible, get at least one check before you formally start raising (even if it’s from friends and family or an accelerator). This builds urgency. - Give investors a reasonable deadline for a decision Bonus protip 2: If the investor passes, ask for reasons. Usually, at this stage in the funnel, they will share feedback that you can use to improve your pitch for future investors. - - - Each stage of your fundraising funnel tells you exactly what to fix, but 95% of founders try to brute force it by simply sending more emails. Your fundraising challenges aren't random. They're predictable (and fixable). Which stage is giving you the most trouble? Drop it in the comments and I'll help you debug it 🤝🏾

Most founders underestimate not just how long it takes to raise - but how long it takes to prep to raise. By the time you “need” capital, it’s already too late to start preparing. That’s why I walk founders through this simple Fundraising Readiness Timeline: ✔ 12 months out → refine your pitch & start investor convos ✔ 6 months out → build your data room, update forecasts, build pipeline ✔ 3 months out → run a pre-raise review, create an FAQ doc ✔ 1 month out → finalize materials, practice, lock in meetings Fundraising isn’t just about the pitch. It’s about the prep. And the founders who start early build the most momentum. 💡 Save this for when you’re planning your next round. 👉 See carousel for the full timeline. #Fundraising #Startups #VentureCapital #FounderFundamentals #DataRoom