117. Commanding the Fundraising Process, Mistakes & Storytelling feat. Josh Sanchez, CEO @ FloatMe

The biggest mistake in fundraising is not commanding the fundraising process.And what that means is,making the mistake of fundraising be a bit more ambiguous when it shouldn't be ambiguous.It should be truly a process.There's a lot of pre-work that has to happen before you think you're about to fundraise.Build a running list of things that you think people are gonna ask questions about and have answers and consistent answers to some of those questions.It's having the data room really,really prepared for fundraising process.It's being able to segment who you want to talk with first and why you want to talk with them first.It might mean talking to investors that you can afford to make mistakes with,right?Because that's gonna help solicit some of the questions that you want to have better answers to for when you're talking with a tier one,tier two investor.It's having that level of organization.I'd add to that,in running a true process,it's the follow up that happens.It's knowing that it's not a one way conversation.It's a,two-sided conversation.It's having questions for them and being explicit about what you need help with.I've always found that to be really helpful.The other thing I would share is leverage your existing investors much more.Ask for those intros.At the end of the day it's a team process.Your investors are a part of your team.Leverage them.That's the only way you're gonna win a championship.I'd say the other mistake would be don't be afraid to make mistakes.As dumb as that sounds the other mistake is,yeah,don't be afraid to make mistakes.It's okay.You're not perfect.No one's perfect.Approach every conversation with you know,being genuine transparent I think people appreciate that.The other thing I would add is being a great storyteller.Going through the whole fundraising journey it was different being able to raise money when you're communicating that traction,you're communicating how that North Star KPI is always growing.And then what I realized is when you get to the later stage conversations,I don't wanna sound bad in saying this,but it's not entirely about the traction.It's,what is the big vision that you're pursuing and,and why are you headed that way?What is the opportunity behind it?Especially when you're dealing with institutional investors,that's what they're making a big bet on is that vision and the team that's gonna help drive that,the founder that's gonna help push towards that vision.You have to be a good storyteller.