Fundraising? You don′t need a pitch deck.

You have been told lies all along. This is what you need to know.

This week I spoke with a founder who is raising money.

He told me, a bit embarrassed, that he didn't have a pitch deck…

To which I replied: "I don't care".

Of course, I did not care:

• He has clients to serve.
• He launched 4 months ago.
• He is overwhelmed with requests.
• He needs funding to scale and hire people.
• He solves 1 big problem easy to understand.
• He delivers 1 single easy-to-understand solution.

I understand:

• His clients.
• His product.
• His industry.
• His activities.
• The market potential.
• The problem he solves.
• His Go-To-Market Strategies.

Plus:

• We have been following each other′s work since he launched?
• Our businesses are complementary and we can grow together?

This is a startup-investor fit.

When you have that in place, you realize a pitch deck isn't even necessary.

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My best startup investment so far has been www.chooose.today.

I invested when the company was valued at EUR 1.5M, back in 2018; they now have a EUR 50M+ valuation.

In January, they raised money from?Ashton Kutcher’s Venture Firm. Hello Ashton, we are co-investors! ??

I did not look at their pitch deck before investing.

In fact, I literally begged their CEO, Andreas Slettvoll, 3 times (!) to let me invest. They did not need my money.

• They had clients from the start!
• They understood the importance of relationship-building with investors and customers.
• They were fast executors.
• Their non-tech MVP was selling!
• I knew the founders and their reputation.
• They capitalized on branding, storytelling, and attracting the best talent out there.
• They were the startup with the recognizable cool pink monster cutting CO2 emissions.

Is that it to get investors to chase you? Of course not. Let's take a closer look at this.

February 10th, join us online to learn How to fundraise in 2023 and attract investors.

We will cover:

• How to find your startup-investor fit
• How to accelerate your fundraising DRASTICALLY
• What to do and not to do
• How to make investors chase you, instead of you chasing them ??
• Any questions you have related to the topic!

Grab your ticket ???here??? to join the event.

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Meanwhile, remember that investors hear pitches every day... Be different. Don′t pitch. Resist the urge to show them your pitch deck or to try to convince them. Focus on building relationships first. Talk to them like you would talk to your friends.?

See you at the event to cover more fundraising advice and your questions :).

Raja

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If you are interested in getting more content and actionable advice

check out Raja′s substack