Guglielmo Vaccaro’s Post

These past two weeks I've been bogged down reading some longer books that were high on my dad's recommendation list. Those will come through in later weeks as I wrap them up, but #ReadingLikeLee must continue! Despite these longer books, I am one of those people who reads multiple books at a time, depending on my mood. I was able to focus in and read the entirety of Raise Millions by Hustle Fund VC during my travel to NYC. Simply, if you are in the founder space and haven't read this book, go download it and get to it. I'll leave the link at the bottom. I loved the opportunity to read an alternative viewpoint to fundraising and managing capital. Coming from the founder / operator side, it's easy to be blinded by your own views and miss the original intentions of your investors. Also -- if you're currently raising, don't stop with Raise Millions. In the book they link out to their guide for curating the best pitch deck and it might be even more valuable than Raise Millions. #startupecosystem #foundersjourney #fractionalcfo #readingforpleasure #2024goals

Ever wondered why some founders nail fundraising while you don’t? Here’s the secret: 👉🏾 Your narrative ISN'T about your pitch deck. But I see this thinking time and time again, "I've built my deck so I'm ready to raise". It is wrong on so many levels. And a big reason why you are going to fail your fundraise. And then shut down your company. You pitch deck is 5% of your narrative, MAX. There's so much more to it than that if you want to be succesful. Check out the video below to see what that looks like. 👇

When preparing for fundraising, there are 5 different elements you need to know that will give you the confidence you need when entering a round of fundraising. The first is to know your investor by doing research ahead of time so you have an understanding of the overall investment thesis. This will enable you to ask educated questions that will impress your potential investors. Join us on August 6th at 2pm ET for a deeper dive into this tip and to learn the four others! ✏️ Register Here: https://lnkd.in/eH9GG48b #StartupFounders #Workshop #FundraisingJourney

Remember the “buddy system” from childhood? Every fundraising founder should follow it… 🤝 I share lots of tactical fundraising tips. But the hardest part? The emotions. → Long hours → Countless meetings → Very unfriendly investors But the worst bit of all? The no’s come first. Lots of them. So how do you feel? Like you’ll never raise. Like you’re completely alone. That’s why you need a buddy. 🙌 It could be anyone who: 1️⃣ Has raised capital before 2️⃣ That you absolutely trust 100% 3️⃣ No other incentives (not a current investor) They’re half-coach, half-superfan. Just schedule a recurring 30 min meeting every week while you’re fundraising. I promise it’ll make you both happier and more effective. __ Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders!

Seeking investors to fuel your vision? Let's make your fundraising journey a success. Let's embark on this fundraising journey together! #raisemoney #investmentopportunity #businessexpansion

The Secret Power of Stopping Fundraising Even if your company is doing really well, you may still struggle to raise all the money you'd like. If that's your situation, it's usually best to stop fundraising completely and not continue conversations at a slower pace. Here's why: 1. Excitement. You'd be amazed how much excitement drives investment decisions and you can generate the most excitement when it's a new conversation, or they haven't heard from you in a while, and you've grown significantly. Fundraising perpetually destroys the excitement. 2. Your Focus. Fundraising is a big distraction. Even a few meetings a week will be enough to divert your attention, along with your co-founders and team. However, focusing on growing your business is much more likely to generate future investor interest. 3. Optics. A long fundraising process just looks terrible. Investors will assume you both desperately need money and other investors are seeing a problem. Taking the feedback and going back to building looks way better. #fundraising #founders

Early-stage founders are, by necessity, strongly identified with their company (who they are and who the company is = one). This serves as an advantage in many ways: -> They are sensitive to the heartbeat of their company, and, almost intuitively know if something is wrong (or right). -> Use human survival instinct as a source of energy. If there is a threat, they will often do anything they can to avoid perceived 'death.' However, when #fundraising at the early-stage, it is often helpful to momentarily dis-identify from their company so they can effectively articulate their opportunity to investors. Especially on important points such as: -> Differentiation (or unique POV). -> Natural strengths and unfair advantage. We are often blind to our own excellence because it can feel so natural and seem so obvious that we don't think it special. The same thing can be said about our glaring blindspots and weaknesses. So for #founders gearing up for a fundraise, I always suggesting working with some great sounding boards and advisors who can help you step out of your business and honestly assess it: - Strengths - Weaknesses/gaps - Can narrative, networks, and salesmanship actually compensate for those gaps? - If not, what needs to change (product, gtm, etc.) materially to even have a baseline shot at raising your next round? https://lnkd.in/grZ6_ehe

📌 Did I try everything possible to launch my business without funding? This is the question you should ask yourself BEFORE approaching investors. Maybe you're just one step away from a breakthrough idea. But instead, you've decided to dedicate time and efforts to fundraising. Don't rush things. There are a lot of places to raise money from. So grab a coffee, pen and paper, and a financial model template, and start brainstorming.

Raising your first funding round is a whole different game—I learned that the hard way! When I was just starting out, we had to piece together the fundraising process from scratch, and let me tell you, it was a grind. If only Jon Low's book, "Raising Your Institutional Round", had been around back then! It’s like a blueprint for navigating the VC landscape without all the trial and error. Jon has helped founders secure over $500 million in venture capital, and he’s distilled those insights into this playbook so you don’t have to go it alone. If you're gearing up to fundraise, grab this book and skip some of those painful (and expensive) rookie mistakes! Check it out here 👇

When people ask me what I do, I tell them I eat breakfast and dinner. Breakfast with founders. Dinner with angels. Check out my profile for more on those two. But since the Squared refresh, Domenico and I have been working with select number of founders to help coach them into becoming better fundraisers. You see. Although investors are back from summer and VCs have started to steam their gilets, it doesn't magically help your fundraising efforts. There still needs to be a narrative that makes it easy for investors to understand to want to make them invest in your business. And it's likely that the narrative isn't a million miles away from where you are. But it's where we come in to help you. £750 one-off (no equity!) Two weeks of intense time Five 1:1 sessions with both of us A shared slack channel to stay on top of things Right now, you're probably too confusing and not clear enough. We empower you to simplify your proposition and make it more investable Spoiler: it's not about giving you an email list of investors. That's the easy part.