It is no gainsaying that startups need seed funding to enhance their growth and become real companies.
It is not likely that any company can make money and grow without having to fundraise, neither can anyone get any benefits when the company’s growth is retarded.
It is an objective for Techstars and accelerators to get funding as it would enhance their growth, just as it is for many other companies to focus on the continuous growth of their business. It is definitely a good thing when companies do get funded.
There is a certain pattern that usually plagues companies that rush to get funds for their business too early.
The following are things to watch out for when considering seed funding in order to get it right.
Be prepared
Preparation is the father of success. No one sets out to work without knowing what obtains or does not.
Hence, it is important to have foreknowledge of what your business is all about. What problem have you identified that you are intending to procure a solution for?
Your customers, market opportunity, competitors, channel of distribution, pricing and burn rate.
Knowing all and more of this is you not being caught off guard when the need arises.
Investors are going to ask questions from all angles, responding with the perfect answer means you know your onions, but not knowing what to say could deprive you of the fundraise you desire.
Have a traction
Having top talents fit enough to work in your team is good, but it is important to also know your market.
There has to be evidence that the solution you are procuring to an already identified problem would be adequate and timely.
Don’t follow the crowd
Others may, but you don’t have to, if you do not need to. Just because you find that others rushing to get funds for their startups does not require you to follow suit, especially if you had no initial plan to do so.
Even if investors have approached you, be bold enough to say no. Saying no would not put you in their black book.
If at all you would be needing seed funding, be sure to have a plan and know when to take the leap.
Pitch Investors Correctly
There are different types of investors and it would be foul play not to pitch your business the way each of them would require.
Angel investors, micro VCs and VCs are all involved in investment and they all give out funds the way they deem fit, of which VCs give the most.
It is important to know your investors and what they require before pitching for funding, or you may be wasting your time.
Have an overall strategy
It is not enough to know your investors and how to go after them, a strategy, like a guide in your seed funding raise journey, is also very important.
Do not just go about raising seed funding without having a plan. Your plan is strategy, it tells you the process to take, it shows you the road to tread.
Do you go straight to VCs or start from angel investors to fundraise? Who are you to meet, how, where, and why? Are all important for your business to get seed funds that will enhance its growth.
Are you really that special?
Well, being special is not limited to just one individual. You just might need to look right beside you to know it is not just you. We all are special.
So do not go about thinking some are worthless and are not entitled to get seed funds for their startups, they are just as special as you may feel.
Having this at the ‘front of your mind’ will go a long way to help you in times you do not get the funds you need. Just like you, everyone is special in their different ways.
You are in a race
The sooner you realize that fundraising is a race, the better it is for you. The fundraising journey is not limited to alone, it is open to everyone who might find interest in it to grow their business.
Understand that it is not just you, there are others and you’re all running to get funds. He that gets it, whether early or later becomes a winner at the point.
Fire, but do not waste your bullets
When setting out on a journey, it looks interesting and definitely promising but if and when the journey begins to take too long, one may just become weary and tired.
In all your journey to fundraise, never get tired. Be very calculative when firing your bullets so you do not end up wasting them.
It is important to note that just in case you do not get a fundraising now, you can always get it some other time, just maybe not now. Just keep trying, but very tactical.
Being prepared and having traction is the fertile land to aid your success in the fundraising journey.
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