Introduction
In this module, we're going to focus on raising money from investors to fund the growth of your startup.
We'll start off by discussing why some startups choose to raise money from investors versus growing organically by using either the founders' savings or revenues from customers as their source of funding.
We'll review some practical considerations to help you decide whether it makes sense to raise external funding for your startup.
We're then going to discuss different types of investors and what each is looking for in a potential investment. By working through a hypothetical example, we'll unpack the perspective of an early-stage investor and look at how they might approach investment decision-making.
Finally, we'll cover some practical aspects of how to raise a funding round and discuss some of the pitfalls that you should avoid.
One aspect of fundraising is the ability to pitch your company to investors, but that subject is outside the scope of this module.
Note
This module aims to cover high-level concepts only. There are significant variations in the investor landscape, funding availability, and deal structures in different regions. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with your local funding environment before you set out to raise external funding.
Learning objectives
By the end of the module, you'll know:
- Why you might need to raise money for your startup.
- How to evaluate the pros and cons of raising money from investors versus organic growth.
- What investors are looking for when they consider investing in startups.
- How and when to raise money.
- Tips for getting a funding round closed in a reasonable time frame and on fair terms.