fundraising is f'd up
TRANSCRIPT
Blake Commagere @commagere
Fundraising Is Fucked Up
Why it is so fucked up, and how to make it less fucked up.
Blake Commagere @commagere
Who the hell am I? It’s a fair question
●Started seven companiesoFive of those have been bought
●Raised over 12M Angel / VC●I build viral things
oPlaxooCausesoVampires
●I’m obsessed with human behavior
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Blake Commagere @commagere
My Fucking TalksAnalogies Rule
Dave McClure Blake Commagere
●Makes sailors blush with his swearing
●Occasionally uses hyperbole in his talks
●Is funny
●Makes Dave McClure blush with his swearing
●The most egregious abuse of hyperbole
●Thinks he’s funny
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Blake Commagere @commagere
This talk is for you.
Interrupt at any point. Don’t be shy.
If it sucks and you never say anything, I’m blaming you.
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Blake Commagere @commagere
What I’m covering
●How fundraising is so fucked up
●Why investors think the way they do
●How to mitigate the stress of fundraising
●Behaviors to increase your odds of success
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Blake Commagere @commagere
What I’m NOT covering AKA “Shit you should already know”
●What should be in your deck
●Deal termsoRead “Venture Deals” by Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson
●What to do if your deal is hotoIf your deal is hot, you don’t need help. No rules
apply. Congratulations, be a giant asshole, there’s no consequences for your behaviour. Until the next round.
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Blake Commagere @commagere
How fucked up is fundraising? What do you do when your job is to make it rain?
●It is inefficientoYou could spend 3 months on itoYou will likely spend 6-9 months on itoYou are not allowed to stop until the $ is in the bank
●It is stressful oIt is a distraction from building your companyoYou can NOT fuck this up. There is no second place.
●The skills you use in fundraising are the same skills you use to get a dateoIn high schooloIf you’re a dudeoWithout a car
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Blake Commagere @commagere
Investors. How do they work? What do you do when your job is to make it rain?
●Fund sizes necessitate huge returns ●Picking winners at the Series A stage is very hard oKnown quantities make this less very hardoFounder history oTractionoUnfair advantages are good
●If an investor says no 100% of the time, they will be correct 99% of the timeoIt’s hard to say yes. It’s also hard to say no.
Unfortunately.
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Blake Commagere @commagere
$20M is a lot of fucking money Especially if you don’t already have $20M
●If you build a company worth $20M after 8-12 yrs:oThat is an amazing accomplishmentoYou should be proud that you achieved such a rare
success
oThat doesn’t move the needle for a $300M fundoIt certainly doesn’t move the needle for a $1B fundoYou have created a lifestyle businessoYour company is a rounding error for them
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Blake Commagere @commagere
Opposites Attract You are not an investor
Entrepreneurs Investors
●Most have never been an investor
●Almost every decision has to be fast
●Most decisions are reversible
●Most have never been an entrepreneur
●Only some decisions have to be fast
●Most decisions are NOT reversible
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Blake Commagere @commagere
Money isn’t everything Well, it is, but there is other value derived from the process
●You become better at pitching●You learn about competitors
oPotential/ActualoPerceived
●You networkoYou’re becoming a known quantity
●Not convinced? LIE TO YOURSELF
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Blake Commagere @commagere
Falling in love takes time Don’t rush it
●Be ready to discuss everybody’s favorite topic
●Confidence ●Warm up the same way you would with interviews
●You are a beautiful and unique snowflakeoJust like everybody elseoBrilliant? Passionate? Hard-working? Congrats, so is
everybody else that is meeting with that investor.
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Blake Commagere @commagere
Use Active Voice Passive voice = weakness in your business
●You have a better chance of fundraising if you use active voice
●Using active voice makes you sound like an asshole
●Hooray Syllogisms
●Your competitors are assholesoOr at least you hope they are
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Blake Commagere @commagere
The Followup Be a better investment
●Maybe = No●Sometimes you have to play hard to getoThe answer to “Should I call again?” is NOoNever. Ever.
●Your email wasn’t lost ●The only update they want is the one where you are better than last time
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Blake Commagere @commagere
Want more swearing and/or advice?
@commagere
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