Montfort Ventures

Founders ❗ You’re not closing your round because your company doesn’t actually look investable. The reason you’re struggling to raise isn’t just because your pitch or vision isn’t compelling—it’s because your 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫. For each stage of fundraising—whether it’s pre-seed, seed, or Series A—investors are looking for very specific metrics, traction, and growth potential. Especially in today’s market, they’re not just betting on traction—they’re betting on businesses with 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. Traction alone isn’t enough to secure funding anymore. Investors need to ask: Can this business actually scale? Do you have the systems in place to grow beyond early wins? I’ve helped founders fix these exact issues by tearing apart their current approach, refining what matters, and building a strategy that shows investors why your business is worth betting on. If you’re pitching but still not closing, it’s because you haven’t shown investors that your business is fundamentally ready for their stage of investment. DM me & let's fix that before your next meeting. #startups #fundraising #VC #scalability #growthstrategy

For entrepreneurs & investors interested in the "Future of Work" industry, join Petar Kralev and Kate Hagen for an interactive session exploring the emerging trends shaping workplace collaboration!" 🧠 PopUpThinkTank and Mirror 360 present: For a Better Workplace™ 📅 Friday, October 18 {Tomorrow} | 1:00 - 2:30 PM CT // 11:00 AM PST

✨ Join BELWEST - Chamber of Commerce for an inspiring evening at their 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗮 on November 9, 2024, at the exclusive The Aster Club in Hollywood! 🌟 This event will bring together top C-level business leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to celebrate transatlantic connections and foster new business relationships. It's the perfect opportunity to network and drive innovation across borders. 💫 The evening will feature a live performance by Grammy Award-winning composer and performer, Nathalie Bonin    📅 When: November 9, 2024, 6:30 PM   📍 Where: The Aster Club, 1717 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA   ℹ️ For more information and tickets: https://lnkd.in/eeBgYeXv  ⚠️ Early bird tickets and packages are available until October 9th! Prices increase after. 🤝 BELWEST - Chamber of Commerce is the Belgian-Luxembourg American Chamber of Commerce representing 13 western U.S. states. It fosters a dynamic business community, offering networking, advocacy, and expansion services for companies of all sizes. BELWEST supports a wide range of sectors, including aerospace, gaming, entertainment, healthcare, greentech, transportation, and food & beverage. BELWEST - Chamber of Commerce, Consulate General of Belgium in Los Angeles, Alain Charbonnier, Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), Wallonia Export & Investment Agency, hub.brussels, Flanders Investment & Trade - USA, AWEX USA #BusinessNetworking #TransatlanticPartnerships #BelwestGala #Belwest #NathalieBonin

Founders: planning to fundraise every 18-24 months is planning to fail these days. The 18-24 months tagline has been standard VC wisdom in the US for many years. And our data from 2018 through 2021 shows that it was actually good advice! But things have radically shifted over the past 2 years. The median time between primary round fundraises so far in 2024 is 2.18 years (or ~26 months). Lines on the chart below show the median time between primary round fundraises by quarter. We included Seed to Series A (in black), Series A to Series B (in blue), and Series B to Series C (in orange). The green dots indicate the median for the year. From 2018 through 2021, the data lined up pretty neatly with the standard advice zone. In fact, time between rounds actually drifted down a little, starting at 1.72 years and ending 2021 around 1.62 years. Of course then we hit the major fundraising downturn, interest rates changed, the VC world flipped - and timelines extended rapidly. 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 • Expect the money you raise today will need to last you for 2.5 years at minimum.    • The biggest factor in company spending has traditionally been payroll - and we've seen founders cut back sharply on new hiring in response to this new reality. Be specific about your team size.    • Yes, there are bridge rounds happening and they are not shown in the chart below. But you don't want to rely on the possibility of bridges or extensions when building your fundraising plans.    • Certain sectors (like AI) are raising at a higher frequency, but even the hottest industries are well above the old medians for time between rounds. AI companies need to be default alive as well. Does this mean that many more startups should aim for profitability off the bat? Perhaps. Becoming a free-cash flow generating business is an amazing feat - but focusing too much on that early on can leave potential investors cold on your growth prospects. Tricky balancing act. The data is clear: getting new dollars in the door is taking longer than it has in 7 years. Adjust accordingly! #startups #fundraising #founders #venturecapital #runway Fresh startup data hand-delivered to your inbox—subscribe at the link in graphic below.

Montfort Ventures: Helping guide your fundraising & AI integration efforts!

Need a financial model for your startup? Fear not. We have extensively compared the top 12 templates, free and paid, so you don't have to do it. Read now at https://lnkd.in/eAW3MSs3 👀

Congratulations to our partners at OpenVC on their latest product launch: OpenVC Decks: a free DocSend alternative to share your deck with investors. Please follow us in supporting their #ProductHunt campaign below: https://lnkd.in/gZZzAbHt

There, we said it 🤩 Massive update released on OpenVC today

If you're a fund manager raising right now, I can almost guarantee you're not closing your round because 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐋𝐏 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. Having a thesis focused on "underrepresented founders" or similar themes isn't enough anymore. LPs need to understand how your unique approach will lead to higher returns and, more critically, liquidity. They want to know how your thesis translates into tangible financial outcomes. That's where most fund managers miss the mark. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐏𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞. This means demonstrating how your strategies will navigate market challenges and lead to successful exits. Many LPs aren't seeing this in the current venture landscape, with only 9% of seed-funded companies making it to Series A. This makes LPs wary of putting more capital into a space that seemingly has no liquidity options. I work with fund managers to ensure their thesis is truly differentiated and use the lens of an LP to help you navigate exactly what they need to see and hear in order to confidently invest. If you want support refining your fundraising collateral and approach, my DMs are open. #emergingmanager #VC #fundraising #LP #fundmanager

ChatGPT is a watershed moment for artificial intelligence (AI) and its adoption. While we are just in the early innings, we are witnessing the start of a major investment boom and technological advance that may fundamentally affect all economic sectors. We break down our investment framework to identify AI opportunities and where we think investors should focus. https://ubs.gv6.co/l4Z52K