How do you know when your startup is ready for Fund Raising? Here are our 10 reasons!

A few things happened in the last 2 quarters that convinced us that we are now ready to raise a proper round that will help to fast track our growth to the next big milestones.

1. We successfully launched our product – the next-generation Social Intelligence Platform – 20/Twenty! This was born out of our own frustrations of using other ‘first generation’ listening platforms that are simply too difficult to use and of limited value.
2. Slowly but surely we added to our roster of impressive clients– ranging from global brands like Coca-Cola and Audi and local brands like Comfort DelGro and National Library Board. In the process we also forged successful agency partnerships with the likes of Ogilvy & Mather, Zeno, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, and TBWA.
3. We were able go through the initial teething troubles (with live clients on board) with flying colors – and resulted in a much improved and stabilized product.
4. We were selected for the prestigious SPH Plug and Play Accelerator program backed by IDA.
5. In independent tests by the social experts from a leading communication agency, we were rated as being ahead of the pack, on a range of criteria. 
6. Our order book has been growing steadily and we are on track to hitting half a million dollars worth of orders by the end of the year.
7. Our core team is in place. We have fantastic people in place in all the crucial areas – business development, account management, technology and product development. We have identified additional skills required in the next 12 months.
8. The road ahead looks exciting and clear. We have a clear list of to do’s that will help us get to $3 Million in annualized revenue by the end of 2016. A robust roadmap for the product will help us secure a large gap between us and other key competitors.
9. We pivoted successfully from a ‘custom experiences’ company to a ‘product-focused’ company.
10. We even had the balls to say NO to non-core, non-product revenue opportunities worth over 500k in the last 3 months!

First published here!