Fundraising for First-Time Founders: A First-Principles Guide ($70M Raised from 1,500 Investors)
A first-principles walkthrough of how early fundraising actually works, synthesized from Biyani's experience raising roughly $70M from about 1,500 investors across three companies. Covers how to think about investor incentives, sequencing, and running a process.
Fundraising StrategyRaise ReadinessPre-Seed12 Questions Founders Should Ask VCs Before Taking Their Money
A Founder Collective GP flips the diligence table: twelve specific questions founders should ask potential investors (fund size, reserves, decision process, references) instead of only optimizing for getting to yes.
Investor ResearchInvestor MeetingsSeedHow to Raise a Seed Round: One Complete Process
A step-by-step seed fundraising process from a pre-seed VC: build a tiered investor list, gather external feedback on materials, and run the raise as a structured pipeline rather than ad-hoc meetings.
Fundraising StrategyTarget ListPre-SeedWho Writes $1K Angel Checks, and Why Founders Take Them
Yin unpacks the rise of tiny angel checks: who writes $1K checks, why they aren't a waste of cap table space, and how operators-turned-micro-angels change early round construction.
Alternative CapitalClosing the RoundPre-Seed25 Traits of the Ideal Early-Stage VC
A crowdsourced-and-curated list of 25 best-practice traits for early-stage VCs, cc'ing prominent investors who debated it in replies; a useful rubric for founders scoring prospective investors.
Investor ResearchInvestor MeetingsPre-Seed