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This course was created by experienced fundraiser Julia Pimsleur (CEO of Little Pim and Founder of Double Digit Academy) to help entrepreneurs raise Angel and Venture Capital (VC). The owner of one of the few women-run Venture Capital-backed companies in the U.S., Julia teaches how to effectively raise Angel and Venture Capital with her first-hand experience, moxie and enthusiasm. Learn from Julia. Part 1: Structured around three live presentations by Julia given to a room of entrepreneurs, students will learn what kinds of deck, pitch, investor language and financials will drastically increase their chances of success, as well as how and at what point to approach Angels and VCs. Part 2: Top Tier Public Speaking Coach In addition to learning from Julia, you will get valuable pitching tips from acclaimed public speaking coach, Bill Smartt. His engaging presentation demonstrates why Bill is known in New York and San Francisco as one of the most effective communication coaches practicing today. He’s led workshops at Spotify, Facebook, Foursquare, Time Warner, American Express, Credit Suisse, and a host of Fortune 500 companies. He regularly provides customized individual coaching to business leaders in the fields of finance, advertising and technology. And he is active in the U.S. startup scene as a regular instructor at General Assembly, Brooklyn Brainery and other entrepreneurial campuses around the country. Part 3: Learn to speak VC with VC Guest Speaker Mark Peter Davis, who compellingly breaks down the nuts and bolts of the VC and entrepreneur relationship, terminology, and the often unspoken etiquette that exists. With welcome candor and clarity, he tackles frequent and often complicated questions facing entrepreneurs from the perspective of a veteran serial investor. Mark is the Founder of Interplay Ventures, a co-founder of DevSpark, Founder Shield, Nomad Financial, TwentyPine, Venwise and a Venture Partner at High Peaks Venture Partners. Mark received his BA in Economics and History from Duke University and his MBA in Venture Finance from Columbia University. He is the author of The Fundraising Rules, an essential book included on this course's Recommend Reading List. His highly-influential blog, mpd.me, has been featured in Business Insider, which listed him as one of the 100 Most Influential Digital NYers. His blog has been syndicated or cited on Inc.com, Mashable, Business Insider, OPENForum, AlwaysOn, PEHub, ReadWriteWeb, The Wall Street Journal and others. You will do exercises personalized to your business in this course. The first will help you identify resources you have and how to make the best use of them. The second will help you research the fundraising landscape and the third is an Action Plan so you can get started right away on raising funds. The majority of the documents available in the Additional Materials section are actual documents used during a high-dollar investment including: a Due Diligence List, Sample Lawyer Email, and a Term sheet. Further. Faster. Funded. will increase your chances of successful fundraising, improve your presentation skills and save you months and months of research. Learn from experienced professionals and get further, faster, and get funded. Fortes Fortuna Juvat. (Fortune Favors the Brave) About Julia: Dynamic and high-energy, Julia is the founder and CEO of Little Pim, the leading language teaching series for young children and the Double Digit Academy, an “off line” fundraising bootcamp for women entrepreneurs in New York City. Julia's Further. Faster. Funded. can help you break through barriers, have the right language for your investors and get funded faster. A former filmmaker with no formal finance background, Julia herself faced a steep learning curve. With just $30K in seed money, she turned her idea into the Little Pim series, which has gone on to garner 25 awards and become a multi-million dollar business. Little Pim products can be found in Toys ‘R’ Us, on iTunes, on Leapfrog tablets, and on smartphones and tablets the world over. Julia has been featured on The TODAY Show, Fox News, Business Week, and NBC Weekend Today. Julia is also a regular blogger for the Entrepreneur section of Forbes.com.
When starting out, knowing what you don't know is extremely valuable.
The difference between Angel and VC is as different as a sprint or a marathon.
Julia's background, from filmmaker to CEO, and the learning curve she faced.
Describing the difference between Angel and VC funding.
Finding your investor is often a pure numbers game, but "every pot finds it's lid."
The challenges facing women running businesses, scaling and how the future looks.
There is an art and science to fundraising.
"Who can I spend time with that will help me get to the next level?"
The Beginner's Mind.
Learning to speak VC.
Rally your team, get support, and implement an investor tracking system.
Know when to keep pushing yourself, whether it's being tired at a networking event or just feeling like you've heard too many 'no's.
On having the right deck, a good lawyer, different fundraising instruments and the value of coaches, mentors and advisors.
Explanation of a natural partner.
Have a good understanding of your team and of your own public image.
The value of being coachable and having a good working relationship with an investor.
How to come up with a clear plan to fundraise, including delegation and managing being out of the office more frequently.
Reasons why having a strong financial officer in place is key.
Introduction to Exercise 1: Getting Ready
Developing a story around your raise, especially a time-sensitive one can help to motivate a potential investor.
How important it is to know how to walk into a room and say your name.
Common physical responses to public speaking, and how to work with it.
Breakdown of communication by content, body language and tone invoice. Shift thinking on relationship leverage.
Importance of breathe, volume, speed and eye contact on the impression and the connection you make.
Aiming for perfection may have negative side effects. Challenge: record your own voice, to find a lot about your own voice.
The number one thing you should think about is what are your audience needs.
Use great visuals.
Great resource: Steal this Presentation!
Practice speaking it out loud, difference between rehearsing and memorization and tips on taking questions.
Brief recap of main points.
How a VC determines a valuation.
Types of investors look for specific factors unique to them.
Variety of methods to interact with potential investors.
The complicated hierarchy and dynamics that operate inside a common firm.
How effective is pre-marketing and what is best method to gain early investor interest and stay on their radar.
Three buckets of companies described and compared. The fundamentals of a good business usually don't vary too widely. Total addressable market explained in detail.
How to build a financial operating model that will explain how you will build your business within realisitic constraint toggles.
Top-Down vs Bottom-Up models explained to figure a company's addressable market. Explains the level of accuracy a VC is looking for.
Which job functions are more acceptable to outsource.
Julia details a lesson she learned while searching for someone to fill a VP of Finance position at her company.
Describes the three modes of outsourcing and what could possibly raise flags to an investor.
A lesson learned from an investor's perspective.
On developing mechanisms to get the first investor, which can generate the fear of missing out, and get other investors involved.
An in-depth explanation of a convertible note.
Understanding how location and proximity play a part in the VC landscape.
Introduction to Exercise 2: VC Landscape
Tips on negotiating including: learning important terms, understanding control, in-depth research of the investor, and being on the same page as your lawyer before going into negotiation.
Various terms to understand prior to negotiation.
On the importance of determining the valuation and the variables involved.
Reasons it is important to over-raise during the fundraising period.
The difference between being pre-revenue and revenue when approaching Angels and VCs.
Q&A
Recaps main points of the course.
Introduction to Exercise 3: Action Plan
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