Topic · 6 of 84 articles

Fundraising articles on objections & rejection

Every raise is mostly nos. This shelf covers what the nos really mean: the objections behind polite passes, which feedback to act on versus ignore, and how founders turned early rejections into later checks.

paulgraham.com·August 2008 ·25 min read

A Fundraising Survival Guide

Graham on the emotional reality of raising: why fundraising is demoralizing by design, why investors herd and stall, and how to keep morale and the company alive through the process. Written mid-financial-crisis.

Fundraising PsychologyObjections & RejectionPre-SeedHow-To
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NFX·2020 ·25 min read

The Non-Obvious Guide to Fundraising

A 4x founder turned VC lays out what actually drives fundraising outcomes beneath the standard advice: psychology, sequencing, the 'ladder of proof', and how VCs really talk about deals internally.

Fundraising StrategyInvestor MeetingsPre-SeedHow-To
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preethikasireddy.com·2018 ·15 min read

What I Wish I Knew About Fundraising as a First-Time Founder

A former a16z partner turned founder describes how different fundraising looks from the founder's chair: what she got wrong despite knowing the investor side, and the gap between VC theory and founder practice.

Fundraising StrategyInvestor MeetingsSeedFirsthand Story
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Bessemer Venture Partners ·8 min read

The Anti-Portfolio: Honoring the companies we missed

Bessemer's famous public list of the legendary companies it passed on, with self-deprecating explanations ('friend rented her garage to Google's founders; David asked how he could leave the house without going near it').

Objections & RejectionFundraising PsychologyStage-AgnosticFunny / Unusual
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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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The Startup (Medium)·2019 ·20 min read

A Seed Round Manual for Founders: Strategies, Pitch Prep, Valuation, Traps, Tips and More

A founder who raised $1.5M+ across UK and US investors documents the whole process as a manual: what worked, the traps she fell into, and differences between London and Valley investor behavior.

Fundraising StrategyPitch DeckPre-SeedFirsthand Story
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