A funding round is a sales process with high stakes and a long memory — your cap table and your investors stay with you for years. The founders who raise well treat it with the same discipline they bring to running the business.
1. Raise for a plan, not for the sake of it
Capital amplifies whatever you already have. Be clear on exactly what the money buys and what milestone it gets you to before you start.
Do
- Know precisely what the round funds and unlocks
- Raise enough to reach a clear, value-creating milestone
- Understand your numbers cold before any meeting
Don't
- Raise just because money is available
- Take more dilution than the plan needs
- Walk in unable to explain your own unit economics
2. Get investor-ready before you pitch
Investors back clarity. A tight story, clean data and a credible plan do more than any amount of polish on the deck.
Do
- Prepare a clear story, data room and realistic model
- Have your metrics, legals and cap table in order
- Practise the hard questions before you face them
Don't
- Start meetings with a messy data room
- Hide problems — investors find them anyway
- Over-engineer the deck and under-prepare the answers
3. Run a process, build leverage
A round closes faster when there's momentum. Line up conversations in parallel so you negotiate from strength, not desperation.
Do
- Create a real timeline and run meetings in parallel
- Build a pipeline so no single investor is your only option
- Be transparent that you're talking to others
Don't
- Pitch investors one at a time over months
- Let the process drift without urgency
- Signal that you're running out of cash
4. Choose the right money, not just the most
The cheapest capital can be the most expensive if it comes with the wrong partner. Investors are a long-term relationship — pick deliberately.
Do
- Reference-check investors as hard as they check you
- Value useful, aligned partners over the highest number
- Agree expectations and terms clearly up front
Don't
- Optimise purely for valuation
- Take money from a partner you don't trust
- Gloss over board, control and follow-on terms
Raise like an operator: a clear plan, clean data, real process and the right partners. Capital should accelerate the business you're building — never define it.