Topic · 7 of 84 articles

Fundraising articles on cold outreach

No network? Cold outreach can still work, but only when it is precise. These articles cover cold emails that got funded, what makes investors actually open and reply, and when cold is a better play than a weak warm intro.

celinehh.com·2021 ·20 min read

How I raised a $5.1M seed as a first-time, female, solo founder for a biotech moonshot

Halioua details exactly how she raised $5.1M pre-product for a dog-longevity biotech as a solo, first-time, female founder: building the narrative for a moonshot, sequencing investors, and handling deep-tech skepticism.

Fundraising StrategyStorytellingSeedFirsthand Story
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Medium·2019 ·10 min read

Ban Warm Introductions!

Johnson's much-debated argument that the warm-intro requirement is not just exclusionary but bad investing: it selects for network proximity over merit, and firms serious about returns should build open top-of-funnel instead.

IntroductionsCold OutreachStage-AgnosticContrarian View
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Both Sides of the Table·2018 ·8 min read

I Know Everybody Told You to Send Your Fund-Raising Decks as a Link. Here's Why You Should Just Send the Deck

Suster argues against DocSend-style gated links from the receiving end: friction kills investor attention, deck-tracking paranoia is misplaced, and your deck's job is to travel inside the partnership without you.

Pitch DeckCold OutreachSeedContrarian View
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elizabethyin.com·December 2018 ·20 min read

How I Raised My $11.5M VC Fund

Yin documents raising Hustle Fund I with funnel numbers: hundreds of LP conversations, conversion rates, and tactics. Fundraising for a fund mirrors a startup raise, and she shows the whole pipeline including the rejections.

Fundraising StrategyCold OutreachStage-AgnosticFirsthand Story
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elizabethyin.com·February 2024 ·5 min read

Introducing Raise Millions

Launch post for Raise Millions, Hustle Fund's free book-length compilation of tactical fundraising guidance drawn from thousands of pre-seed pitches; the post links the full free resource.

Fundraising StrategyCold OutreachPre-SeedHow-To
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Substack·2023 ·15 min read

Founder Toolkit: How to raise your seed round from top VCs & Angels

A repeat founder and angel condenses his raising experience into a toolkit: list-building, sequencing angels and funds, materials, and close mechanics, with templates.

Fundraising StrategyTarget ListPre-SeedHow-To
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Substack·2023 ·10 min read

Fundraising 101: I'm currently in NY! *Buys Flight to NY*

A young founder's candid, funny account of the performative side of fundraising: manufacturing 'I happen to be in town' moments, reading investor signals, and the theater everyone pretends isn't happening.

Investor MeetingsMomentum & SignalingPre-SeedFirsthand Story
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