Raising Money Suggestions

Travis party
Image by pescatello via Flickr

This is a great post done by my boy Travis Kalanick who is one of the most kick-ass entreprenuers out there. He kept RedSwoosh alive from 2001-2008 before he sold to Akamai.  There are quite a few tough years in there but he completely scrapped it out and rocked it.  His post outlines what every entreprenuer needs to know when raising money.  Check it out here.

One part i liked talks about bringing the passion, saying:

Passion/Chrisma is the X-factor. It separates the men from the boys in fundraising. If you’re doing a startup, you’re trying to change the world, you’ve kicked your cushy job to the curb, you’ve had Ramen noodles for breakfast lunch and dinner as far as you can remember, and maybe you’ve moved back in with the ‘rents. You’ve definitely got the passion…why else would you be doing this? Don’t be afraid to show it. Every pitch could be your last one (i.e. the dude across the table writes you a check!), know that… give it your all… listen to some music that pumps you up before you get into the meeting, think about all of the great shit you’re doing and could do.

My favorite music to listen to is this speech by Al Pacino.  I find it really motivating – and it got the job done when i was pounding the pavement in Palo Alto. Click here to listen:  Inches are Everywhere!

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