Successful hard-tech founders focus on minimizing the size of each fundraising step, making it easier to achieve milestones necessary for raising the next round of funding.

Hard tech founders must build a financial viability plan and demonstrate they can achieve technical milestones, even on a smaller scale.

The easiest way to fundraise is to have a good metric that's growing; when I ran a startup that wasn't growing, I spoke to 140 investors and only got two angel checks, but now that I'm working on a growing startup, it took us one week to raise our seed round.

We raised a later stage fund to support hard tech companies that need significant capital, as many investors are not willing to provide that.

Hard tech founders must break down their problems into manageable steps to demonstrate their ability to take on risks progressively.

Running a hard tech company can be easier in terms of attracting interest and investment compared to traditional startups, as ambitious projects often rally support from various stakeholders.

Founders should seek investors who regularly invest in startups and respect their time, while also preparing for a longer fundraising process than expected.

Once hard tech founders shift their mindset to focus on quick, cost-effective progress, they often find success in attracting investment.

For consumer hardware startups, having a critical fundraising roadmap is essential to reach escape velocity and ensure long-term success.