Learn from a founder who’s raised $39.9M.
By Poornima Vijayashanker (Founder, BizeeBee & Femgineer)
This post originally appeared on Femgineer.
You’ve probably noticed the ongoing debate about whether or not we’re in a tech bubble. Headlines are always gushing about the latest companies with billion dollar valuations.
There’s a lot of investment capital out there right now, and if you’re a startup founder who hopes to raise money, you might be wondering what it takes to attract some of that capital to you .
You have to figure out what to say to attract investors, but here’s the thing: Depending on whether it’s your first fundraise or a follow-on round, you have to take a different approach.
So, what do investors look for in a startup ripe for Series A versus Series B? When should you stop bootstrapping and search for seed funding?
To help us out with these questions, I’ve invited Melody McCloskey, the CEO and co-founder of StyleSeat, who has successfully raised $39.9 million for her company through four separate fundraising rounds, ranging from seed to Series B.
Each round was different, and it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Melody. Hear how she succeeded in her four rounds and learn:
- Why it’s important to start bootstrapping before you consider taking capital
- What investors are looking for at different stages, like seed, Series A and Series B
- How to pitch investors who know very little about your industry
This is a must-watch whether you’re thinking of raising capital for your startup one day or going through the fundraising process right now.
After you’ve watched the video, let us know what your favorite part was in the blog comments.
Want to hear the investor’s side of things? The next episode of FemgineerTV airs in October, and I’ll be hosting Shruti Gandhi, the Managing Partner of Array VC, to explore the other side of fundraising. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to know when it’s out!
About the guest blogger: Poornima Vijayashanker is the founder of BizeeBee, a platform that helps membership based business drive growth. Before acquisition she was the founding engineer at Mint.com, has launched Femgineer, a company that helps tech professionals and entrepreneurs level up their careers and has been one of Inc Magazine’s ’10 Women to Watch’ in tech.
