Zachary Drew

🚀 Stop chasing investors blindly. Here's the 5-step system that gets startups funded: Define financial needs (12-18 months) Research aligned investors Build a killer pitch deck Systematize outreach Prep due diligence docs Most founders skip steps 1 & 5. Don't be like most founders.

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This piece from Morgan Beller and Daniel Museles gets at something important — the social, emotional, and market forces that push founders to optimize for the present instead of building for the long term https://lnkd.in/dTVSd7-Q

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We used product-market fit framework from Sequoia Capital to design our go-to-market. TL;DR: PMF comes in different types- depending on the type of market. 1️⃣ 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (urgent, obvious pain) Customers feel a sharp pain now. They are actively looking for a fix. 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬: inbound leads name the problem unprompted. Budget exists. High “do you have this?” intent. Short sales cycles. Clear willingness to switch. 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭: fast relief, reliability, clear ROI, low implementation friction. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬: outcomes that feel meaningfully different, delivered on one focused beachhead workflow. Often, Distribution >> Product. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛: win one wedge end-to-end, then expand. 𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬: tight positioning, aggressive proof, fast iteration off objections. 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞: going broad too early, shipping “nice-to-have,” narrating the future instead of proving relief today. 2️⃣𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭 (status quo belief) [this is us] The market has normalized the pain. Buyers think it is “just how it is.” Not actively looking for a “solution” cos they think its unsolvable. 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬: buyers are not searching. They accept workarounds. They optimize around constraints. 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭: safety, legitimacy, and a path that does not make them look reckless. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬: reframe the “hard fact” as solvable, then make change feel inevitable and safe. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛: educate the market (👀), prove the shift with evidence, and de-risk adoption with pilot → rollout. 𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬: credible thought leadership (👀👀), references, data, internal champions, compliance-ready messaging. 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞: manufacturing urgency, or asking for a big leap before trust exists. 3️⃣ 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 (new paradigm) Buyers cannot fully imagine the new world yet, even if the value is real. 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬: high curiosity, slow decisions, “interesting,” unclear budgets, frequent “not now,” hard internal alignment. 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭: belief the future is real, plus proof you can get there without disruption, while solving something today 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬: endurance plus small “pit stops” that create real commercial traction. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛: turn the big vision into provable steps with clear milestones. 𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬: design partners, prototypes-in-production, narrow use cases that ladder up, narrative backed by demos. 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞: using Hair on Fire tactics before the market believes. Here’s what founders miss: 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭: education first. Aggressive selling backfires. 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: break the story into milestones that prove traction (often in adjacent segments first). 🎯 PMF is not one-size-fits-all. Which one are you in right now? PS: Follow-up post tomorrow ;) #founder #pmf #gtm

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Most startups die trying to get what an existing business already has — Customers Cash flow Systems Brand trust Why start from zero when you can buy from momentum? Buy a business doing $500K–$2M in revenue. Leverage seller financing, SBA, or private capital. Keep the team, fix the margins, and scale. It’s not about being an entrepreneur anymore. It’s about being an acquirer. Startups are hope. Acquisitions are math. And math wins. 🦈

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VC schedules, and thoughts on being a VC noob. -- VC schedules to know -- Most venture capital firms hold partner meetings on Mondays. This is typically when the investment committee votes on new investments and other key decisions. Savvy founders learn the exact timing and may need to provide additional data over the weekend to stay in motion. It is also well known that many venture capitalists observe a “European summer,” with August often being light or fully off. Similarly, the winter holidays reduce activity across much of December. That said, data from Carta shows a meaningful year-end push to close deals in December, followed by a flurry of activity in January. Founders should be cautious about kicking off fundraising during these slower periods. You do not want a raise to go stale and fall apart. VCs talk to each other, the industry is highly interconnected. -- I’m a mid career Noob! -- I am an “emerging manager,” effectively a new VC, less than three years in. In venture capital, the timeline is long. On my Linkedin you'll see I have two roles at Blitzscaling: Limited Partner means I put money into a fund, but have no decision making ability, and General Partner means I'm actively finding startups, bringing them to the partnership, and funding. As a General Partner, you are often considered an emerging manager for close to a decade, as it takes years for a fund to fully mature and establish a VC track record. Investing is a long game, but the upside can be extraordinary. Fortunately, I entered this role with a positive angel track record from my own bank account, which is often a good idea to have as a VC. When I learn a new VC concept or term, I’m an AI first, I’ll link to my post a few days ago in the comments, I totally live for constant growth and learning, if you’re not growing you’re dying. Fun fact: Many/most start their VC career in their 40s, as they need to have enough tech and biz cycles, a broad enough network, resources, and a platform to stand upon. As we end the year, I'm sharing more career thoughts, and productivity thoughts, rather than industry trends and market maps and frameworks and forecasts. I wrote all of this by hand myself, but used AI to edit some of it.

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Elevate Your Startup Journey with YC’s Seed Fundraising Guide Are you a founder gearing up to raise your first round of funding? Dive into YC’s Guide to Seed Fundraising! Penned by Geoff Ralston, President of Y Combinator, this guide is a must-read for any ambitious entrepreneur looking to navigate the intricate waters of seed funding. What Makes It Stand Out? This all-encompassing playbook distills wisdom from icons of early-stage investing: - Paul Graham: Co-founder of Y Combinator, the brain behind many successful startups. - Fred Wilson: A veteran from Union Square Ventures with unmatched insights. - Babak Nivi: Co-founder of AngelList and Venture Hacks, a powerhouse in startup funding strategies. - Sal Khan: Visionary Founder of Khan Academy, reshaping education. - Carolynn Levy: The innovator behind SAFE notes, revolutionizing startup capital raising. Each contributor infuses their expertise into this guide, making it an indispensable resource. What’s Inside the Guide? If you’re on the verge of raising your seed round, this guide will empower you to: - Determine the Right Timing: Understand the perfect moment in your startup journey to start raising. - Quantify Your Needs: Learn how to decide exactly how much capital you should aim to raise. - Screen the Right Investors: Identify investors who are the right fit for your vision and strategy. - Sidestep Common Pitfalls: Avoid typical traps related to valuation that could cost you. - Negotiate with Confidence: Equip yourself with the tactics to negotiate deals like a pro. - Document Prep: Master the essential documentation needed to secure your round efficiently. It’s a mini-MBA in early-stage financing, but without the unnecessary theories or hefty tuition fees. Think of it as a concise, actionable toolkit tailored for founders like you who are ready to take the plunge into the funding world. Why You Should Read It Now: Seizing the right funding opportunity can be pivotal for your startup’s success. With direct insights from the industry’s best, this guide promises not just to demystify the process but to empower you at every step. It’s not just information; it’s a roadmap to your startup’s success story! Ready to transform your fundraising journey? Discover the full guide and let your startup soar to new heights! Credit : Rubén Domínguez Ibar Repost by : Salem Bagami #Startup #Fundraising #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #YCombinator**

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After raising $30M across two VC-backed startups, I’ve learned: “Yes” is just the beginning of a different kind of cost: → Less product momentum → More time on pitch decks than on user feedback → And a fog that creeps in when you start building for VCs, not customers We tell ourselves funding = fuel. But too often, it’s a detour disguised as progress. You start forecasting more than shipping. You impress investors more than learning from users. You look up 6 months later, and realize you’ve nailed your pitch, but lost your product gut. I’ve done that. Twice. Now with Otto, we’re bootstrapped: Small team. Fast loops. We’re not trying to raise, we’re trying to get better every week. Revenue is our runway. VC isn’t bad, but it’s just expensive, and not always in dollars. If you’re early, still figuring it out? You don’t need funding. You need signal. You need clarity. You need one real user who’ll pay you today. Everything else can wait.

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“I never understood the extent to which fundraising shapes everything in venture capital—until I was actually in it.” In our latest episode of High Stakes, Myrto Lalacos shares the one thing that truly surprised her about working in VC: how critical and far-reaching the skill of fundraising really is. It’s not just about raising capital for your first fund. It’s about showing LPs that you can do it—again and again. For new managers and aspiring VCs, this is a must-hear insight. Watch the full episode to hear more from Myrto: https://lnkd.in/eMFCvyt5

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