Horus What we see inside.
From inside the rounds we work on.
How to raise your first VC round when your dad doesn't work at a VC
No VC round yet. Maybe nothing, maybe some money from friends, angels or a grant.
What can still blow up your round after a VC says yes
A fund said yes, and nothing's signed yet.
What stands between a good VC call and money in the bank
Plan on three weeks to three months, and it starts with the person you spoke to.
What valuation should you raise at
Work out how much you need and how much of the company you'll sell, and the valuation falls out of those two.
Why some rounds never close
When to open yours on purpose, and how to get a decision two weeks after you do.
How to lose your round in one call
We had a call or two with thirty-odd teams last autumn. None that we can find has closed a round since.
Nobody passed and nobody moved
Nine or ten funds, three months, not one rejection. Most of them passed without telling you, and interesting is what it sounds like.
The reason you're raising
The most common answer to why you are raising, and why a fund cannot price it.
How much brand do you need before you raise
Everybody either overbuilds it or never starts, and both are stuck on the same missing sentence. Everything that wraps around that sentence starts at about a thousand dollars.
How much revenue do you need to raise a seed
The wrong question, and what funds are actually sorting for.
Nobody will lead your round
Soft commitments from several funds, every one waiting for someone else to go first. Two reasons that happens, both diagnosable in an afternoon, neither of them the market being slow.