Jeff Wenzel explains why "raise from the crowd" is backwards. Fundraising portals don't attract investors; they handle paperwork. Founders must build their own investor relationships first, then use portals for compliance.
Here's why raising from the crowd is the most misleading statement in startup funding. Portals don't bring you investors. That is a misnomer, right? Now, maybe early on, 10 years ago, 12 years ago, yeah, being on a portal meant something and it was cool. Not anymore, right? You bring the crowd. You have the community. You have the investors. You've built the relationships. You've done a test of waters, whatever you've done to get excitement going. You're bringing those eyeballs to the table. The portal is literally taking the money and doing the compliance. That's it. So if you go to these portals with the expectation that they're, that they're doing the heavy lifting, you are absolutely out of your mind. So adjust that. You put the work in, you go build that crowd and community, and then you fundraise. Hey, if you're thinking about doing a raise, go to preipohype.com, book a call with me, and let's get in the weeds and figure out a plan to push you forward. Later.
