Asif Ahmed’s Post

You've got 12 months cash left Enough to breathe. Not enough to relax. You raised seed round. You now have 12 months to live. Or rather, 6 months, 3 months and 3 months 6️⃣ H1 -------> 🔵 split by a DECISION POINT 3️⃣ Q3 3️⃣ Q4 🔵 What is a Decision Point? → A clear, understood, calculated, set of action → Signed off by the Board → No approvals needed if triggered → A lifejacket A simple 'if' formula (for those who like Excel) E.g. If, by [July], we do not have: → £x of revenue → £x of cash → x paying customers Then we will: → make £x of cuts → change our strategy to Y → initiate a fundraising process for $x. Remember, most start-ups don't starve. They drown. Wear your lifejacket. ***** If you enjoyed this, repost it for others ♻ follow me Asif Ahmed for more in the future

There's a lot to internalise when you take angel investment as Tony E. Kula says. Let me add a few things to his list: 👉 most angels want to be treated as partners in your journey. They invest because they're interested in the idea, and you, as well as the return potential. Give them the opportunity to share their thoughts too. You're not obligated to do anything with them except acknowledge them. 👉 you're unlikely to have all the skills and attributes you need at the beginning to succeed, so make some committment to your own personal growth. 👉 investors didn't invest in a lifestyle business for you. You convinced them of what was possible. Try to deliver on it. 👉 neither they (nor you) want to be diluted out of existence. Be frugal and raise only what you need. 👉 make a big bet. Risk is OK. It's preferred to being too cautious. Hope that helps. #AngelThink

As usual great insights by Phil McSweeney on the investors mindset. Check him out . Please remember you/founder are the Alpha investor, you want to get a sizable return quickly, this is no different than an Angel or VC, the only difference is that they will expect an exit within 7 years while you need to be tied to the mast. When I approach VCs, early pre-seed, I will promise them a multiple of ten within seven years and an exit through acquisition. To do this I will have three goals achieved before l take their money: An MVP with recurring revenue, a team with complete product experience (CPE) and an actionable profitable business plan. Don't be phased by their questions, indeed as the CEO you should have all their questions and more answered. I will actually go in with 90 questions, from which we will go through them. Some I can answer some I'm working on and some, well they will have to wait. VCs and angels just want to know you have the questions in hand.

Angel investments are not donations! You don't know exactly where you'll be in 5-7 years. You don't know if you'll have the same customers. You don't know where your product is going. That's all okay! Nobody had it all figured out at the beginning. But once you start raising funds you should internalize that: - You are taking (taxed) money from strangers who worked hard for it! - You are ready to build a venture-scale business. - You are ready to work towards an exit. - You are absolutely committed to paying back your investors with good interest. Spend like it is your money. Happy fundraising 💰 ____________________________ Sharing my experience as an entrepreneur and angel investor. Investing in early stage B2B SaaS startups. Happy to connect 👋

Boards are hard to change If I was a founder I wouldn’t give a board for seed. I would meet regularly with my VC though to get to know them and see if they are useful to me Then I’d pick VCs I want the A from and I’d start meeting regularly ahead of the raise to test again if they are any good I’d give them at A the board seat and I’d bring the seed person unofficially as observer if I think they add value, so they are in the know and continue to add the value. Boards should not be free, or a waste of time or a tax that comes from raising money, boards should be useful. After the board meeting you should make some progress on the things that mattered for you and you wanted to take it to the board for discussion. Same with the other rounds, I’d try to spend the time with the people ahead of taking their check and entering a commitment. If the times you meet them ahead of the raise are a waste of time, then you have your answer. Survival of the fittest. Thank you. Next. What I can say with confidence is that there are some decent folks doing investing for the right reason, but you just have to put a bit of work into finding them and assessing the fit. DM if you have best practices. Too many founders get burdened by their boards and we should change that. If you can’t answer why is X on my board? How was X helpful in my last 2 board meetings, then X should be eliminated from the board. A lot easier to do it when it’s not inked. So give “trial board seats” by having these informal meetings. The bonus is, fundraising will take less time cuz they would have known you already ☺️ Performance based participation, if you don’t perform on my board, why should I have you here? Door is that way 🚪

Don't worry if you're hitting a wall with your fundraising efforts... At ALMFC LLC, we understand that finding the dough for your business can seem like climbing a mountain. But guess what? We've got the map to the peak! Our team offers personalized fundraising strategies that fit like a glove for both fresh startups and big leagues in need of a financial boost. We're all about creative solutions and a can-do spirit! Feeling stuck or just curious? Hit us up and let's make those money moves together. #Fundraising #StartupSupport #FinancialSolutions

Don't worry if you're hitting a wall with your fundraising efforts... At ALMFC LLC, we understand that finding the dough for your business can seem like climbing a mountain. But guess what? We've got the map to the peak! Our team offers personalized fundraising strategies that fit like a glove for both fresh startups and big leagues in need of a financial boost. We're all about creative solutions and a can-do spirit! Feeling stuck or just curious? Hit us up and let's make those money moves together. #Fundraising #StartupSupport #FinancialSolutions

Matic Jesenovec and I covered a lot of ground in this episode of The Founders Lounge. We talked about: - Robot Mascot’s journey from a branding agency to the UK's leading pitch agency and startup consultancy - Three key traits of an Investable Entrepreneur - Why only 1% of startups manage to raise funding - How anyone can become more resourceful - The craziest fundraising strategy that James has ever witnessed - What happens when you give £900k to an unprepared 18-year-old - Strategies to build trust with investors - Building a personal brand while building a business - Best London networking tips - One person who changed James’ life - Where are the biggest business opportunities today 📺 Video: https://lnkd.in/eDw4m_YF 🔊 Audio: https://kite.link/ENWwvS4

First-time founders maynot know when to raise funding: ⏱️ Earliest time: Problem/Solution Fit Investors today don’t fund product development but traction (aka paying customers). Problem/Solution fit is when you validate demand for your product and go from hoping people will buy to knowing they will. What they buy: Promising pipeline with tangible customer commitments 🚀 Optimal time: Product/Market Fit Before product/market fit, your goals and your investors' goals are misaligned. You need to learn, and they want growth. After product/market fit, you both need and want growth. What they buy: Repeatable and scalable business model with 10x growth potential. 👊 Ideal time: Almost never :) Bootstrap all the way and build a profitable and scalable business powered by happy customers. Rarer, but possible, if you prioritize building Camels over Unicorns. P.S. Camels can/do still raise money, but for strategic growth, not survival. Credits to Ash Mauria, Guillermo Flor #fundraising #fundwise #fundraisingtips #firsttimefoundertips

Here's a non-obvious take: Raising investment isn't a victory lap. It's more like an IOU note from your future self. 📝 Yes, you've convinced someone to believe in your vision. That's commendable. 👏 But remember, every dollar raised is a promise to deliver. A commitment to scale. It's a liability, not a trophy. 🏆 Investors are not your fans. They are your accountability partners. Their applause comes with expectations. 📈 Fundraising isn't a finish line. It's the starting gun. 🏁 So, next time the champagne corks pop, let it be a reminder. A reminder that the real work, the real celebration, starts now. 🚀 Here's a tip: Celebrate progress, not promises. 🎯 Now, go out there and make those dollars count. 💪 --- #design #marketing #startup #brand #connection #people #community #opportunity #product #tech #communication #strategy #personalbrand