Fund Your Idea
12 Things You Need to Know About Fundraising for Your Social Enterprise
The tips and tricks you must know for a successful funding series
August 24, 2017

Last month Acumen joined forces with global business software leader SAP to offer a two-week leadership development program in Silicon Valley for CEOs from nine Acumen-backed companies. This fellowship included a closed-door session hosted at First Round Capital, a seed-stage venture firm that is a giant in Silicon Valley, having been among the first to invest in the likes of Uber, Taskrabbit and Blue Apron. Acumen CEOs learned from Phin Barnes, a partner at First Round Capital about key tips for fundraising. They also spoke with four experts in the impact investing and social enterprise space: Morgan Simon from Pi Investments, Greg Neichin, Director of Ceniarth LLC, Justina Lai of Sonen Capital and Allen Taylor from Endeavor.
1. DON’T ACCEPT EVERY CHECK YOU’RE OFFERED
2. WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO RAISE FUNDS, PAY ATTENTION TO 2 THINGS: STORY AND DATA

3. CULTIVATING AN INVESTMENT IS ABOUT BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE INVESTOR AND THE INVESTOR’S NETWORK
4. TRY TO RAISE MONEY IN CHUNKS, RATHER THAN INCREMENTS
5. THINK ABOUT YOUR NEXT ROUND OF FUNDING AS SOON AS YOU CLOSE THE CURRENT ONE.

6. WHEN TRYING TO CLOSE A ROUND, THE SEQUENCE OF INVESTMENTS IS CRITICAL
7. LEADING A ROUND MIGHT ACTUALLY BE ABOUT PUTTING IN THE MOST LEGWORK RATHER THAN PUTTING IN THE MOST MONEY
8. INVESTORS CAN OFFER MORE THAN FINANCING
9. USE EVERY INTERACTION WITH AN INVESTOR AS A WAY TO MAKE A CONCRETE ASK
10. ONE OF THE BEST RESOURCES AN INVESTOR CAN OFFER IS ACCESS TO OTHER ENTREPRENEURS IN THEIR PORTFOLIO
