5 Mental Models Of Top Founders In Fundraising

An article we liked from Thought Leader Gigi Levy-Weiss of NFX:

Before we get into the actual playbooks, there are a few foundational mental models that we’ve observed in top-performing Founders.

These will help you set your own expectations, be an exceptional communicator, and increase your chances of fundraising successfully.

1. Know What You’re Likely To Get Wrong

Fundraising is not a natural talent for most, and it’s easy to make mistakes in judgment along the way. Here is a list of the most common mistakes we see Founders make time and again in their understanding of fundraising:

Misjudging the level of a prospective investor’s interest.
Underestimating how long the fundraising process will actually take.
Not understanding or accurately predicting the terms that you’ll be offered.
Hearing a “yes” when the investor actually said “maybe”.
In general, misperceiving what the investor really thinks of you.

Chances are, one or all of these things will happen. Why? Because investors play this game all day, and you only do it occasionally.

So don’t trust your instincts too much. The more awareness you have about the limitations of your startup fundraising experience compared to those of VCs, the more empowered you will be throughout the fundraising process and beyond.

We recommend that at the end of every fundraising week, stop and reflect: What have I learned this week? What could I be interpreting wrong? Am I really seeing things the way they are?