Matan Hazanov talks with a founder about raising money when conditions are tough. The advice: ask yourself if you actually need capital, look at grants and debt first, stretch what you have, and if you do fundraise, raise only enough to hit the next milestone.
What about fundraising? What kind of advice would you give to founders fundraising, and what is a difficult fundraising environment?
I would tell them to ask themselves, like, do they actually have to fundraise? Can they do something else in their business that would allow them to use their resources more wisely and just kind of stretch the resources that they have right now to a later date? Look at government grants, look at debt financing, look at anything else that could potentially cushion their financial plan for the next 12 months. And if they have to fundraise, try to fundraise just a little. Just enough to get you to the next phase, to prove your numbers yourself in the model a little bit more before going right into it. I think fundraising in the startup world has just become a badge of honor where it really shouldn't be that, because it's. You're running a business.
