YC
YC Founders Made These Fundraising Mistakes
@ Y Combinator
11/30/21
Takeaways
MS
Michael Seibel
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
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.
MS
Michael Seibel
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Fundraising before you have any metrics can be beneficial, but once you have revenue, you'll be judged on that revenue 97% of the time.
MS
Michael Seibel
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Fear-based decision-making can lead founders to fundraise before their product is ready, especially if they believe their product is bad and fear failure.
MS
Michael Seibel
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Many founders mistakenly prioritize investors over customers, thinking they need to please investors to succeed, but the focus should be on solving customer problems instead.
MS
Michael Seibel
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Being customer obsessed means spending most of your waking hours thinking about how to please your customers and solve their problems; if you're not spending 80-90% of your time on this, you're likely doing something wrong.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Raise what you need and nothing more; you will find a way to spend all the money in your bank, so stay lean and focus on getting your fundamentals right.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Brian Chesky from Airbnb suggests that money is more like food than oxygen; while you need food to survive, too much can be harmful, just as excessive fundraising can be detrimental to a startup.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Successful companies generate revenue from customer demand, which drives their growth, rather than relying solely on fundraising.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Founders who are less desperate for cash tend to retain more ownership of their companies and experience greater happiness and innovation.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Facebook was always profitable from its early days, which allowed Mark Zuckerberg to maintain significant ownership and control over the company.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Google had substantial traction before raising any funds, which enabled its founders to secure favorable terms in their early fundraising rounds.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
When comparing yourself as a founder, aim to emulate successful companies with significant revenue, rather than just those with high valuations.
YC
Y Combinator Cast
11/30/21
@ Y Combinator
Choosing the right peers to emulate is crucial for ambitious individuals; it can significantly influence your path to success.