The Funding Accelerator is a unique 10-week online program to help fundraising Founders raise money with Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists.
My objective is to help you produce all the required deliverables, so your fundraising efforts go as smoothly as possible; and help you understand terms and instruments, so you conduct a successful negotiation with Investors.
We’ll achieve this goal together thanks to a mix of self-learning and live e-mentoring sessions with me. Every week, you will progress through our e-mentoring platform to produce the required deliverables (see below). We will then discuss your deliverables during our live weekly sessions, which last for two hours and take place on Zoom.
What Does The Program Look Like?
Every week you’ll address one of the topics listed below. The format is quick and simple: all you need to know is packed in a recorded webinar (plus additional links to go further.)
You will also produce deliverables that Investors need to make their investment decision. We will then review your deliverables together to make them market-ready.
I built a separate e-mentoring platform to host all the content and interact with program participants. You can view the associated online module of the Funding Accelerator here.
Here’s the detail.
Week 0 – Am I Eligible For Venture Capital?
A surprisingly large proportion of fundraising Founders fail to get the money they seek because they are not “VC-bankable”.
Before you join the program, you’ll fill out my proprietary VC-Bankability Audit. I developed this tool to assess how likely you are to raise funds with Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists.
Deliverable: Draft a 40-word introductory email to VCs explaining why they should look at your investment opportunity.
> Watch the webinar The 3 Reasons Why VCs Will NOT Invest In Your Startup
Week 1 – How Much Can I Raise?
The second reason why most funding efforts fail is the inadequation of your funding ask (how much you want to raise) compared to your development stage (pre-revenue, POC, Product/Market Fit, etc.).
In this session, you will learn how to calculate your optimal funding ask.
Deliverable: Describe (in 40 words) how much money you need, how you will spend the funds, and which milestone(s) you target to reach with that money.
> Watch the webinar Don’t Ask Venture Capitalists Too Much Money – Here’s How To Size Your Funding Round
Week 2 – What’s My Startup’s Valuation?
Learn which elements VCs will analyze to value your startup and how you can optimize that valuation.
Deliverable: Assess your startup’s valuation using our proprietary Valuation Model and the Venture Capital Method.
> Watch the webinar Optimizing Your Startup Valuation
Week 3 – Building My Financial Projections
A review of the basic and not-so-basic financial concepts and terms you need to master, as well as the format expected by VCs to make an informed investment decision.
Deliverable: Using our proprietary Startup Cash Flow Forecast & Valuation Model, you’ll present your cash flow curve showing your cash need, the expected cash break-even point, and how you will spend the money.
> Watch the webinar: Building Financial Projections For Startups
Week 4 – Which Investors Shall I Target, And How?
Now that you know how much you need to raise and your short-term growth plan, you can target the right Investor for your startup. We’ll cover the 3 effective methods to contact investors, even when you don’t know any in your network.
Deliverable: Using our Investors List template, build a coherent, tiered fundraising strategy.
> Watch the webinar: Startup Funding: How To Find Investors
Week 5 – Elevator Pitch Practice
Before you meet extensively with Investors, you need to convince them to give you more time. Whether your first contact occurs at an event, by email, or any other means, your first 30 seconds need to hammer one point, and one point only in the VC’s mind: “This is promising, I need to spend more time with that team.” The Elevator Pitch is another critical element of your fundraising arsenal.
Deliverable: You will present your Elevator Pitch in the corresponding Bait-Core-Ask format (30 seconds max).
Week 6 – How Can I Pitch Investors Optimally?
I share best practices from the field to pitch like a god. Make sure you attract Investors’ interest and get a second meeting.
Deliverable: You will pitch the following pages of your pitch deck: Cover (including the tagline), Team, Problem, Solution, Market (TAM-SAM-SOM format) & Competition, Business Model & Go-to-Market, Financials, and Transaction Ask.
> We will use material from our online module: VC Pitch Decks
Week 7 – How To Accelerate Fundraising?
Avoid the 7 mistakes that considerably slow down or entirely derail the majority of funding roadshows. It’s also a good reminder of the process Investors follow to make investment decisions.
Deliverable: Using our proprietary Fundraising Checklist, map out your progress to date and the timing of your next steps until Closing.
> Watch the webinar: 7 Startup Funding Mistakes You Should Avoid
Week 8 – How Can I Best Negotiate The Term Sheet?
Understand the major clauses of the VC term sheet, which ones you can negotiate, and how. I first present the context and objectives of term sheets for both parties. We then dive into the most important clause regarding Founders’ Obligations, Governance (who decides), and Liquidity (who sells).
Deliverable: Adapt the Y Combinator Term Sheet template to your contemplated fundraising.
Week 9 – What Do I Need To Know About Preferred Shares & SAFES?
Excel-based workshop to help you understand how the instruments VCs use all the time will impact your dilution and exit outcomes.
Deliverable: Simulate your cap table in different scenarios of subsequent rounds or exits.
Week 10 – Pitch Practice
One-to-one session to pitch your full deck and discuss your Investors’ List, Fundraising strategy, and all other funding-related questions you may have.
How Much Does The Program Cost?
This program has different access points depending on who you are.
Startup Accelerators pay a price per startup enrolled, depending on how many startups participate. Just pick the “Startup Accelerator” category below and specify how many startups you want to include. You’ll receive a link to book a slot and discuss your needs.
Individual Founders get access to the Funding Accelerator when they take a mentoring plan (Gold or Platinum Access). See the details here.
Please note that we regularly offer scholarships to underrepresented Founders who are exceptionally motivated.