How Startup Fundraising Works | Startup School
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- YC Group Partner Brad Flora has seen startup fundraising from every angle: as a founder, as one of the most prolific angel investors in Silicon Valley, and now as a YC Group Partner. Brad has coached hundreds of companies on fundraising. In this talk, he shares stories and advice on how modern startup fundraising works.
Paul Graham Fundraising Essays:
www.paulgraham.com/fundraising...
www.paulgraham.com/startupfund...
www.paulgraham.com/convince.html
www.paulgraham.com/herd.html
Geoff Ralston's Fundraising Guides:
www.ycombinator.com/library/4...
• Fundraising Fundamenta...
YC Fundraising Resources:
www.ycombinator.com/library/2...
www.ycombinator.com/library/6...
www.ycombinator.com/library/7...
www.ycombinator.com/library/4...
www.ycombinator.com/library/3...
Apply to Y Combinator: yc.link/SUS-apply
Work at a startup: yc.link/SUS-jobs
Chapters (Powered by bit.ly/chapterme-yc) -
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Fundraising resources
02:13 - 7 fundraising myths
04:06 - Raising money is glamorous
06:51 - The need to raise money before starting a startup
10:10 - My startup need to be impressive to raise money
13:56 - Raising money is complicated, slow, and expensive.
18:04 - I am going to lose control of my company
21:58 - I need a fancy network to raise money
23:43 - If investors reject my startup its a bad startup
26:35 - Wrap up - This isn't for you - Věda a technologie
For detailed advice on how to actually get in touch with investors and set up meetings, check out this video:
www.ycombinator.com/library/71-how-to-get-meetings-with-investors-and-raise-money
For YC's comprehensive guide to seed fundraising, check out this guide: www.ycombinator.com/library/4A-a-guide-to-seed-fundraising
thank you 🙏🏽
Do people still invest in hardware startups.... I feel like funding for hardware startups is rare and nearly non-existent now?
I was about to ask this question! Good pin.
I'm currently 23, live in Southeast Asia, not from a rich family, and I just started out my career. Never in my life before thinking about building a startup. But in the past few weeks, I have watched several YC videos and get inspired to build my own startup! Sure I still have a lot of work to do, but learning from all of these great videos, I get assured that it's not impossible. Thank you YC for the great inspirations.
Fellow southeast asian here, good luck 🍀
Do you have a technical background? I’m looking for a co-founder.
Hi @wumbo2421 want to connect?
I'm from a similar place. It's amazing when you focus and just build what people want!
Atta go SEA!
"Coin-operated lizard people" ... I will forever remember this when approaching investors. Lol. And Thank You!
This is some kind of different reality which i guess works in US only. I think i`ve spoken to 100+ investors, spending 1.5-2 years and raising 0 before i realized that all those investors are not interested in you or your team or your product. All they ask is what is your revenue and growth rate. Thats it. At first they will say "oh you are too early for us, but please let us know when you will reach X MRR" then "or you are too late for us, there is too much competition". Even though in your pitch deck it is clearly explained why you are different. Long story short, after we stopped chasing investors and focused on business, we managed to make it work organically without investors. Now we have entities in US, Europe, Asia and continue to grow.
I'm building an assistive technology company and had an investor tell me during a meeting HE asked for, "This is a great idea. Someone can do this, but I don't think it's you." So I stopped fundraising, dialed back my vision to the first, smallest, most accessible piece and it's working!
While almost everyone around me is trying to stop me, it's great to have videos like this that prove what I'm doing is exactly how founders win. Thanks!
Yea don't listen to those people. Would probably just as easily take your idea and have someone else fulfill it. It's a tactic meant to discourage. I hope it's going well!!
Thank you. This is a fresh breath amidst all the negativity.
Why don’t we have a world where builders get more air to experiment and find something people want. I have spent countless hours on my own to come to that stage. Now I have a business which is generating revenues.
Still fighting and will keep fighting.
I'm 1 year into my business of agricultural products trading and talking to different investors and pitching for additional capital. I'm really glad I was able to stumble upon YC videos. My goal is to build my own feedmill to supply premium quality feeds at a reasonable cost for Filipino livestock and poultry farmers! I'm now planning to apply for YC's funding.
Love from the Philippines, YC!
His last phrase: "You can do this. You can do this." 😢❤
Proudly bootstrapping but love the content!
Thank you, Brad. I learn a lot each time I watch a Y Combinator video. The journey is not for the faint of hearts.
Recommended viewing! Brad has a knack for simplification. This video is worth the time of every founder just starting (or struggling through) the early fundraising journey.
Brad, I'm 47, a senior technical product manager who coded before. I'm building an app that solves the problem of trust between people. Your video was a soothing balm to my heart :) Being very conscientious in everything I do I tend to over engineer and worry too much. Very thankful for your video. Cheers from Vancouver! :)
By YouSum
00:05:01 Raising money is not glamorous; it's about quiet conversations.
00:07:01 Start working on your startup before raising money.
00:10:12 Investors are convinced by progress, not impressive pitches.
00:14:02 Fundraising can be quick, simple, and inexpensive with safes.
00:17:28 Implementing safes can change power dynamics when talking to investors.
00:18:06 Seed rounds today offer founders more control than ever before.
00:20:30 Bootstrapping a company forever is challenging and not recommended.
00:22:00 Investors prioritize profitable ideas over fancy networks when investing.
00:23:46 Rejection from investors doesn't signify a bad startup idea.
By YouSum
This was just the video i needed for my confidence to manifest my start up. Thank You for this!!
I really thank you for this video. I always wanted to know that. And you took away my fears because now I understand that everything is so simple. You always imagine everything to be so difficult when you read about start-ups in the media. Thank you very much
The last bit is the biggest challenge for me, “you can do this”, thank you Brad.
I'm currently building my MVP. I'm more on the technical side of things so these videos are absolutely informative. I'm still going through a couple of books as well, just to name a few.:
- The Startup Owner's Manual
- The Lean Product Playbook
- The Lean Startup
- The Founders Dilemma
Keep up the great educative videos.
Don't leave out Rework!
do you happen by chance looking for a startup partner?
I am looking for a technical partner, I am also technical.
@@realmuzfi Can we sync to brainstorm and know more?
@@dennisorbison7318 Hey man, you've got to be more relevant in your approach here. You should ask what type of engineer the person is and gauge their interest in working on your product by presenting a high level about what you're aiming to build and what validation you've already done and why you're looking for a technical partner instead of continuing to contract/outsource etc. Your odds of finding someone go up by 100x+.
Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) -
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Fundraising resources
00:50 - Paul Graham Essays
01:27 - Tactical guides
02:13 - 7 fundraising myths
02:28 - About
04:06 - Raising money is glamorous
06:51 - The need to raise money before starting a startup
08:19 - Example - Solugen
10:10 - My startup need to be impressive to raise money
12:49 - Example - Retool
13:56 - Raising money is complicated, slow, and expensive.
15:33 - SAFE - Simple agreement for equity
17:05 - Example - Asher Bio
18:04 - I am going to lose control of my company
19:17 - Example - Zapier
20:29 - Bootstrapping forever sucks
21:58 - I need a fancy network to raise money
23:18 - Best for Founder to talk to investors
23:43 - If investors reject my startup its a bad startup
24:00 - Example - nVision
25:09 - WhatNot
26:35 - Wrap up - This isn't for you
Thank you.
2:01
15:33
I'm about to start up my business!Thank you so much yc for all this videos, actually fund raising is very hard.
One of the best video on fundraising and Investors… this will give strength to many entrepreneurs 🤟🏻🙏
Great video Brad!
#2 depends on your market. Medical Device development is somewhat different, although some of these ´fail fast´ procedures can be used.
One of the best videos I watched about Start-ups. Thank you!
Thank you so much Brad. I neededdd to hear the last part. "I def can do this". Much Love
Simply an amazing video. I learned so much from it that I had no idea about. So many misconceptions addressed and debunked. Thank you!
Extremely transformational and inspiring! Thank you so much!
Thanks, fam. The last 2 links under "YC Fundraising Resources" are 404s
Thanks YC. You gave me courage to dream big with Loodio!
Great video, full of top-level advice
Such concise and helpful advice. Especially at 1,75 speed. It’s a deluge.
Amazing video!
Simple and to the point 🎉
Excellent presentation ! Very straightforward
Thanks Brad. Loved the energy!
Thanks very much. Great and enlightening information...Keep up the great work YC🙌🙏
“You don’t need every investor to like what you’re building, you just need a few of them to believe.”
This was great information, thank you for sharing!
Thanks man. This was exactly the video I needed to watch. And I mean it. 💯
Thanks for the video, you definitely can motivate people 😊
Great content! What makes bootstrapped startups not make enough money? Isn't it a reflection of how valuable your product is to the customers?
Such a great video and content. Thanks Brad!
Excellent advice, practical and executable.
I really needs to see this, thank you!
Awesome!! So helpful! Thanks a lot 👏🏻
Good day. Yc videos are the best out there. Can’t wait to have meeting with you
one of the best videos I've seen.
(V3) super helpful for me! thank you so much for those valuable resources and sharing🙏🏻
Great video. You are an exciting communicator.
Useful insights!
Thank you so much. I just wish I lived in the USA. Getting the visa is the hardest thing for me.
Lovely video. Do YC help company to raise apart from their batches/ selected company?
I like the enthusiasm
Thank you so much Brad
Great advice and one of the best videos on the subject I saw in a while. Just one note missing: What if you are not from the US? Do the SAFE’s logic still apply for an EU company?
Thank you for this seriously!
Thank you for this video.
Great video! Thank you.
Love the video and advice. One point that I wanted to ask with regards to pre-rev startups...isn't there a minimum bar you need to show investors at this stage? Ie...even if you have a well presented idea and SAFE agreement in place, isn't it still massively important to present investors with;
A. Well documented research to establish the product/market fit
B. Something that resembles an early-stage MVP
C. A team that looks (on paper at least) able to reach early commercialisation
You didn't seem to touch on these points...but maybe you did and I just missed it...I just seemed to hear you talking about various businesses where you or other investors invested, based simply on a well presented idea.
Surely an business idea...even one that makes total intuitive sense...isn't enough to secure investment pre-rev without the founder identifying - at the very least - a large body of potential customers who say they suffer from the problem that the potential product/service is being designed to solve? And moreover suffer enough to be willing to buy a solution to that problem?
Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!
Awesome video Brad!
I love you guys. Keep up the good work!
About to invest in my own App. Hopefully people love it.
Very insightful..!!
Thank you.
"Hundreds of thosands" :D
Great video through!
Thank you
love this guy
Good stuff, thank you.
15:15 typical seed round
15:35 agreement template drafted by YC combinator
22:16
very useful. thanks
thank you
It’s aha moment and great advices.
Thank You for the inspiring talk! Namaste $$$
This is great advice. It’s important to be practical and avoid following glorified stereotypes. Real life is nothing like the glorified stories on the internet.
thanks Brad for this awesome video, can you pls advise/suggest/guide, how I can talk to you for 10/15 mins only, I've my product/LIVE ready and its been used and liked too, just need a little of your time, pls advise or even YC can assist too, just need a little assistance here.
God bless y'all!
Question - how did early Zapier SAFE investors get return on their investment? How did they "cash out" ?
Great video!
Wow! Thanks man
So, I've got a question: Are SAFEs available for those startups outside of North America? (Can the company be formed in 🇺🇸, but the founders reside elsewhere? Say Britain, for instance).
Amazing video 🚀
The reference about zapier and how their first round was all SAFEs, how did those first investors get their money if that round was contingent on then next round which you said never actually happened?
actually there is written either max valuation or discount on stocks, if the next round happens or in 2 years (as an example) whichever comes first.
Great video. However, the hardest part is to line up the zoom calls. Which is not covered in this video
We appreciate the feedback! We understand this video focuses more on the broader fundraising process and mentality required, but we've published content in the past that provides detailed advice on how to actually get in touch with investors and set up meetings: www.ycombinator.com/library/71-how-to-get-meetings-with-investors-and-raise-money
Would this apply for service based start-ups as well?
Inspiring
🔥🔥🔥 THANK YOU SO MUCH
If I am selected after the interview, do I need to pay any fees to YC? Is there any fee for the next four months?
brilliant
thank you thank you thank you
I have a startup idea, The device u r using to switch camera angel , we should make a foot version for it
Nice Video 💯
Epic content
Someone needs to make a video about Lead Investors and Strategic Funds.
Hi , i am having over 100 user daily but without revenue because its beta tester version of AI startup . Does i need start charging them or no need , to get found raising ?Customer feedback is really great 100% 5 stars 🎉 . Now fine tuning of model starting to be really expensive and we really need investors .
Great thanks a lot
Wish I knew these earlier.
Do you know of any start up business grants for women who live in America but that can be used internationally to help obtain property and infrastructure?
How did founders find the angel investors to present to?
helpful thx
talking with an angel, got a term sheet, and having to do thousands in legal fees for my seed round. is this normal, and if not, should i search for a different angel?
By using a SAFE there should be no legal fees: czcams.com/video/zBUhQPPS9AY/video.html
Does YC take stakes of the company for the $500 investment?
This video was right on the money (pun intended).
I love you all.