Blog posts, articles, books, and other resources that founders should review regarding key issues that arise when trying to raise funding for a startup.
Finding & Pitching Investors
- Ryan Spoon – How to create an early-stage pitch deck
- Information Arbitrage: VC Funding v. Crowdfunding
- Aaron Hall – A Primer for Raising Funds on AngelList
- Mark Suster – What I would look for in choosing a VC.
- Sam Altman – Fundraising Mistakes Founders Make
- Marc Andreessen – When the VC Says “No”
- SHL – Local v. Out of State VCs
Financing Structures & Valuation
- SHL – Trust, “Friendliness,” and Zero-Sum Startup Game
- Shockwave – Boosting Valuation Before You Have Revenue
- Venture Hacks – The Option Pool Shuffle
- Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson – Book – Venture Deals
- Mark Suster – Understanding how dilution affects you at a startup
- Mark Suster – Why raising too much money can hurt your startup.
- Mark Suster – How to talk about valuation when a VC asks.
- SHL – How Angels & Seed Funds compete with VCs
- SHL – The Problem with “Standard” Term Sheets (including YC’s)
Diligence & Cleanup
- Venture Alley – What is due diligence?
- Gust – 8 Questions You Can Expect from Investors in Due Diligence
- TechCrunch – Things entrepreneurs should avoid when raising capital
- Medium – Kirill Sheynkman – Getting Funded, Step 4: Due Diligence
- SHL – Startup Cap Tables