Harmonic Finance Inc ™ | Certified B Corp’s Post

Earlier this week, we gathered some of Boston's best venture-backed founders and CFOs to discuss fundraising, equity management, and scaling a company. In collaboration with the amazing team at Harmonic Finance™ | Certified B Corp, we covered best practices, including - Building relationships with investors early - long in advance of a raise, in fact - so they can get to know you, and you can assess them for fit - Making sure that your cap table and data room are squeaky clean before you start fundraising conversations (this is where we come in at Fidelity Private Shares!) - Leaning in on the ecosystem and finding folks who will champion you and help you see around corners It was really fun, teaming up with experts like Chris Short from Harmonic Finance™ | Certified B Corp, James Orsillo, CFA from Underscore VC, and Prashant Kaitkay from Candex. We are so grateful! Here at Fidelity, we want to help founders get "transaction-ready" with our cap table and data room platform, Fidelity Private Shares: https://lnkd.in/gutXR5VZ We’re eager to support your journey, so reach out if you need a hand as you’re building & deploying your vision: kristen.craft@fmr.com

TWO Tuesday Thoughts: Before you 1) venture into unknown woods have a guide that does know 2) enter the complexities of raising capital have experienced advisors. You don't want to get lost, or take the wrong turn in either scenario. The results can be BAD. Reach out to learn more about Private Capital Coaching from Stony Hill Advisors, Inc.

“2023 has been a year to hang on—no exits, but all investments have been making it through a tough environment. Many existing rounds are getting reopened at flat valuations. Some sizzle—but that’s the exception.” - Elaine Gilde #angelinvestors #2023year #earlystageinvesting New York Angels reflect on the past year in angel investing.

What actually impresses investors? 🤔 In this free guide, you’ll find insights from a diverse panel of active UK investors - from experienced angels to top-tier VCs - on what it takes to get them to an enthusiastic yes on an early-stage deal. Get the free guide here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eVdGDEg3 Download the guide to learn 🧲 How to find and attract investors 🧠 What makes a founding team investable 🚩 Green and red flags in your pitch deck and business plan  💸 How to approach valuation negotiations 🚀 Exit strategy: to plan or not to plan? 🔐 The common due diligence pitfalls 📊 How to manage post-investment communication A huge thank you to the investors who generously shared their insights with us: Eamon Tuhami, Eva Dobrzanska, Edward Stevenson from SFC Capital, Jonny Clark, Katie Ramsey, Yana Abramova from Pretiosum Ventures and Marc Cohen from unbundled vc 🙏

"What are US investors looking for?" - 30th July - signup link in the comments. I just spent close to a month in San Francisco meeting VC funds. I met 38 funds. Why? - The US market is at least ten times the size of the UK. To get the biggest outcomes you need to go there. - When you go there it is very helpful to have a US VC on board. - To feed back what they are looking for to my portfolio so they can be on the right path and frame themselves correctly when they raise there. - To make warm intros for my founders because they make a difference. - To attract the most ambitious founders who know the US needs to be on their path. Come and hear what US investors are looking for on 30th July with me and Vasily Alekseenko as part of another amazing Rare Founders event. Link in the comments.

BOARD MEMBERS A founder with multiple VC partners on their board told me that their favorite board member is the one who doesn’t panic and start asking “omg what’s going to happen to the company” every time the company faced a challenge or crisis, but instead goes into problem solving mode and asks “how can I help you”. Ironically, this is the board member with the smallest fund size of the three. An example, this board member offered to backstop the company if a fundraise fell through, while the larger fund partners stayed silent. Board members: CEOs want you to (a) stay calm and not panic: after all, you have a portfolio; the founder just has this one company, (b) show you care about the CEO and the company, not just about your investment, and (c) problem solve alongside the CEO, bringing your capabilities and resources to bear at company-defining moments instead of shying away from the moment and hanging the CEO out to dry.

Thank goodness people are so confident about the “correct ways” to structure early-stage investments. Just in the last couple of days we’ve enjoyed on our feeds: - You have got to be kidding me with participating preferred. Who else has seen it recently? This makes me really angry. - There is a special place in VC hell for VCs who demand board seats at pre-seed. Founders, they do not need this. Maybe, maybe not. This quick blogpost weighs the issues, because we are much less certain... https://lnkd.in/gGtsRg72

In the current fundraising environment, VCs and LPs are adjusting their scrutiny of potential investments. 🔎 Sapphire Partners Partner Elizabeth "Beezer" Clarkson shared her perspective on how with The Wall Street Journal’s Brian Gormley in today’s WSJ Pro VC newsletter, highlighting that LPs have refined their focus to dive deeper into portfolio performance beyond just top-line numbers. Read more insights from Beezer below and the full newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eTMRWFhy  👇 #VentureCapital #InvestmentStrategies

I personally think an elevator pitch is more important to get right than a pitch deck! That very first point of contact. Can you clearly and succinctly describe your business in under 60 seconds? Ideally, 30 seconds? Too many founders I meet ramble on for too long and focus on their current product, opposed to the problem they are looking to solve. Top Tip: Practise your elevator pitch relentlessly. Practise it on everyone you meet. Even your family! Get your whole team to practice it. Focus on perfecting a short, impactful pitch. It’s your key to opening doors and sparking interest. Remember, you’re not trying to close the deal there and then; you’re only trying to get investors interested enough to want to learn more. It was a pleasure to be featured in SeedLegals latest e-book and give some thoughts about raising investment.

We recently closed a small angel round and are raising our Pre-seed at Assisterr. I want to share 2 situations just to illustrate quite a repetitive scenario I had several times recently: UK-based VC: - "Oh, your valuation is too high. Please send us more materials, but it looks too high." - Did you invest in companies in our vertical recently? - "Not really, but we have plans..."; US investors: VC: "You are too humble with this range for valuation and your traction. It should be much higher". - Thank you. We are open to discussing the exact valuation with the Lead investor. - Then, 4 hours later, I got the message from the attached screenshot.