How to Raise Money
Paul Graham’s 2013 essay explains how early startup fundraising really works: why investors stall and then rush, how to run parallel conversations, how much to ask for, how to think about price and dilution, and when to accept an offer or stop raising.
3 sections · 8 lessons
Course outline
Before You Raise
- Investors Caught Between Two Fears
- Raise Only When It Wants You
Working the Investors
- Fundraising Mode and One Founder
- Hear No Till You Hear Yes
- Breadth-First Search by Expected Value
- Two Weeks Into a Raise
Amount, Price, and Endgame
- Have Multiple Plans, Ask Low
- Valuation Is at Best Third
- Accept Greedily, Stop at Air
- Planning and Closing a Seed Raise