
Raising Capital—The Magician or Pickpocket
Are you a magician or pickpocket? Do you get in front of an investor audience, say abracadabra, wave your hands, and hope to transfer money from an investor’s pocket to yours? Well, most investors will get wise to your attempted sleight of hand before the end of your pitch. Will you be found out and get a “no”? Magician or Pickpocket? Many founders come across during investor meetings as magicians or pickpockets. They get excited, increase their speaking volume, speaking spee

Raising Capital—Strategic Financial Planning Model, Part One
Do you know how to create pro forma financial statements, key metrics, and calculate valuation, dilution, and ROI? How many strategic financial planning models have you created? One, two, none? Building a strategic financial planning model, determining cash flow, capital needs, founder dilution, and ROI is one of the most difficult parts of dealing with investors and raising capital. We’ll cover high-level issues related to financial modeling this week, breaking the model int