Jon Low’s Post

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 👇

Why Raising Money Isn’t Always the Best Move for Early-Stage Founders It’s easy to get caught up in the allure of Silicon Valley success stories or headlines about YC companies closing $3M rounds in just two weeks. But for most founders, raising money may not be the best move—especially right now. Here’s why: In today’s market, raising capital is harder than ever. Rounds are taking twice as long to close (6-8 months), and valuations have dropped by 20-30% in the last year. I’d argue that there are smarter ways to extend your runway without depending on outside funding. Consider this: • Reduce your burn rate. • Increase your sales. • Launch new products or services. Instead of spending 6-8 months pitching to 200 investors, imagine how many potential customers you could connect with in that same period. How many sales could you close? What invaluable feedback could you receive? How much could you grow your MRR by focusing on building your business instead? Remember, traction, revenue, and growth are key factors in attracting investment. Why not spend this time strengthening your company’s fundamentals, positioning yourself for a much better shot at funding down the road? Keep building. Your future investors will thank you. #keepbuilding #founders #funders Want more tips like this, check out this free resource 👇 https://lnkd.in/ezTSYP5e

Can You See What Others Don't? A trait that successful early-stage founders have Founders have to be bold, brash and at times take chances They see markets that others don't, Build products that don't exist yet and at times throw caution to the wind by going against the trends That is what it takes - to do what others can't Sign up for The Funding Accelerator today to receive 20% off. https://lnkd.in/eGBrr8DY #Vision #Bold #Build #TFA

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!

How can you make a difference in a broken system, where you have little control? I’ve found that the answer is simpler than you think, even in a complex industry like healthcare. Gotcare’s track record of adapting to a challenging landscape was recently highlighted by the Globe and Mail, where we were recognized as one of Canada’s top growing companies. So what did we do? Focus on relationships. 🤝 Relationships with patients. Co-create solutions with your clients to help them to regain control of their lives, and foster trust. A shared background is important to building strong relationships, so 87% of clients work with a care worker who shares the same language or cultural background. 🏥 Relationships with care professionals. Build relationships by helping to make someone else’s life easier, especially in healthcare where we’re often doing very much with very little. For Gotcare, this looks like paying our care workers 20% more than industry standards, meeting care teams where they’re at and asking ‘how can we help’, and up-skilling care workers. 🏦 Relationships with investors. Invest in your investor relationships so that when it comes time to fundraise, the relationships are already there and closing the deal is that much easier. If you're a fellow founder who wants to make a change in a system that’s out of your control - happy to chat anytime!

Read this post to get clear guidance on how to manage your fundraising timeline. 5 easy steps with rationale and common sense wisdom. #StartupLeadership #startupadvice #startupfunding  #vcfunding #Startups #StartupEquity

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? 😫 Some of you have already received (and read?!) our book on fundraising negotiations. If not, send us a text! 🐦 Some of you may have a more auditory learning style. No worries, we've got you covered with a brand new workshop. 🤩 What: 𝐍𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭. Why: 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞. When: 19 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 9 𝐚𝐦. Where: 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐬 88, 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐍𝐨. 18). Who (let the dogs out?): Maxim Van Eeckhout 𝐚𝐧𝐝 Ruben Schoenmaekers (𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥), Ben De Smet (Conveo (YC S24)) (𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 Glenn Gezels (𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥). Some testimonials: "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴" - E. Musk "𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮." - M. Zuckerberg "𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘦𝘧𝘧" - Jeff #venturecapital #fundraising #termsheets #bettercallMace

After raising funds for Chronicler over the last several months, I have learned a ton! I enjoy pitch meetings, which I admit was a surprise. There are a few reasons for this, though. There's the obvious chance to land an investor, but a good pitch meeting offers a lot more value than that, even if you walk away "empty handed". For one, if your pitch didn't land, you'll hopefully have some idea as to why - and you can address that before the next pitch. Even if you did well, you were likely asked questions you'd never heard before. There is incredible value in these questions - especially the ones that are really difficult but that you DO have an answer for. A fresh point of view can show you where you need additional clarity. I enjoy the iterative process of pitching, learning what matters to the people we are pitching to, then improving and perfecting as we go. Research is important and something I enjoy as well. Everyone is different and will hear your pitch with their own frame of reference. Understanding that frame of reference is an advantage. Finally, I have met and talked to a lot of very interesting people while doing this. So, even for an introvert like me, it's an amazing way to network. At Chronicler, we are incredibly close to fully kicking into production mode (in large parts thanks to Derek's tenacity), and I couldn't be more excited!

🚀 Ready to Take Your Business to the Next Level? Discover the secrets to securing funding for your startup or expansion with our FREE "GET FUNDED" Guide! 📈 Unlock the key steps to success, including: ✅ What it takes to convince funders ✅ Where to apply to raise your funding ✅ Essential document checklist ✅ Avoiding common fundraising pitfalls ✅ Exclusive tips from our Funding Strategist, Dagmar Breiling Don't miss out on this invaluable resource. Get started on your journey to business growth today! 💼 🔓 Secure your FREE guide here: https://bit.ly/3NZQDhK #StartupSuccess #GetFunded #BusinessExpansion #SecureYourFuture

I see it every single day: Fundraising founders drowning. Stuck with a failed fundraise lasting months. All the while never actually building your business. But it doesn’t have to be this way, you know. If you have the right systems? You can do both. All it takes is building out your own fundraising operating system. That way you can fundraise more effectively. And spend more time actually building the business of your dreams. You can see more about how to do that in the comments below. ♻️ Repost to help other founders with this. — P.S. Building these systems is not a quick-fix. It takes time. But these can be used for every single fundraise you do after, so its always worth it.