Fundraising

Read this book at least 6 months before you start fundraising. This is the highest leverage book to get you funded by VCs.

I’m really not sure why or how this has such good reviews. If you are a founder, you are infinitely better off Venture Deals or Secrets of Sand Hill Road instead of this.The author has such a skewed and privileged point of view on fundraising. If you are not in the Bay Area at a top quartile company, this book is not for you and you may in fact be worse off after reading this.It is simply poor advice to suggest all early stage founders should NEVER do any deal that isn’t a SAFE note, should NEVER take money from an seed investor who wants a board seat, and should all target the same valuation. The author offers no methodologies behind these conclusions and no alternatives.Maybe this is fine advice for 1% of startups out there, but it’s pretty bad advice for everyone else.

Bolt founder Ryan Breslow’s Fundraising is a must read for founders. Full of insider techniques learned the hard way in his own journey and from mentoring founders. Ryan’s open sourced it so everyone can have access to the playbook used by the Stanford CS elite.Of course the business, team, market and many other aspects matter in fundraising. But what is less well understood is the game of fundraising strategy and tactics, of personalities, value of networks, and other nuances. On the one side are people who “sell” money all day. On the other side is the founder occasionally rising to “buy” money. This book helps founders get closer to being successful, on their terms.

What strikes you first when you hold the book is how thin it is. What wisdom could such a small book impart, you may wonder. You will be surprised.The first thing you notice about the book is that it comes from a place of authenticity and humility. First advice Ryan gives is - you have to let your authentic self shine and not take anything at face value including the advice given by him. The second thing that struck me was the focus on building relationship. Every action and outcome during the fundraising affects the relationships with the investors. Once the book sets up the foundation, it gets right into the details. The book has very practical tips on how to build the momentum, how to find prospects and most importantly which people to say no to. The book is targeted towards seed to early stage founders but some of the tips could be used by the later stage founder also (however, you should have become good at funds raising by now.) If you are on the fence of buying the book, consider the investment you are putting in it. Unlike most books that make you spend 6 hours reading a book for what could be conveyed in 10 minutes, this book will take hardly 30 minutes to finish and you can get back to specific chapter when you need to. Overall considering the ROIC, I found this book to be very useful.

This is a great playbook for any founder looking to raise money, especially in the technology landscape. Ryan’s philosophy of “no secrets” and “a rising tide floats all boats” is well encapsulated in this step-by-step guide and inside look into the fundraising process from seed stage to beyond. An easy, quick read that I’m sure to refer back to time and time again. From email snippets to suggestions online tools like notegenie, this book gives you a solid framework and resources that are sure to help any founder win. Thanks, Ryan!