YC changed seed investing by creating more structure, programming, and competitive pressure. In today’s environment, Series A fundraising looks like seed fundraising 10 years ago. It requires much more diligence, time, and work. In addition, a Series A is usually contingent on securing a large commitment from a single investor, as opposed to a bunch of small commitments from multiple investors. This changes the dynamics of raising. We discuss what running a good Series A fundraising process looks like in the following sections:
- Strategy:
- Maximize process and leverage: why parallel fundraising tilts the market in favor of founders and how to use this to run a Series A process
- Avoid over-optimizing: which factors matter - and which don’t - in a fundraise
- Tactics:
- Preparing to pitch: what to do before you start your Series A process
- The Series A fundraising process: how the process works and what to expect at each stage
- How to run a good process: how to maintain momentum and maximize leverage by tightly scheduling meetings and controlling the flow of information
- Special cases: a discussion of specific factors that apply to hardtech/biotech and international founders