Compilation of fundraising resources and insights for entrepreneurs

There is an abundance of great content available to entrepreneurs on the fundraising process. However, a lot of the utility of that content isn’t fully realized as time strapped entrepreneurs often do not have bandwidth to go searching for it. Additionally, it can be tough to tell whats out there and what sub-catagories to consider, and as a result a lot of great content goes overlooked. The intent of A&O series is to simplify the entrepreneur’s research process through aggregating great content and organizing it by category.

So.. Below, organized by category, is a curated list of links to great fundraising content. It is likely a fraction of whats out there, but it covers the major staples of the fundraising process. Of course nothing below should be taken as gospel, it is merely outline of the factors to consider.

Feel free to comment with any links that you think belong below. The post will be updated often to include new content and reader recommendations.

Why Fundraise from Venture Investors?
Understanding the costs and benefits of venture fundraising

http://blog.eladgil.com/2010/08/20-questions-to-ask-yourself-before.html

http://hunterwalk.com/2014/03/04/youre-either-venture-backed-or-a-lifestyle-business-the-big-lie/

http://avc.com/2015/04/lifestyle-businesses/

Economics of a VC firm
Understanding your current or potential appeal to their model

http://cdixon.org/2015/06/07/the-babe-ruth-effect-in-venture-capital/

https://blog.wealthfront.com/venture-capital-economics/

http://avc.com/2008/08/venture-fund-ec/

http://www.saastr.com/why-vcs-need-unicorns-just-to-survive/

Fundraising Strategy
Creating demand for your startup

http://paulgraham.com/fr.html (Must read — could fit into any category)

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2012/01/16/how-to-develop-your-fund-raising-strategy/

Business Plan and Pitch Decks
Templates and Best Practices

http://www.sequoiacap.com/grove/posts/6bzx/writing-a-business-plan

http://www.slideshare.net/nextviewvc/startup-pitch-deck-template-2-next-view-ventures-slideshare

http://onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/98034/The-Pitch-Deck-We-Used-To-Raise-500-000-For-Our-Startup.aspx

Reaching out to and Interacting with VCs
Demystifying the process

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/06/19/getting-access-to-the-old-boys-club-how-to-approach-a-vc/

http://robgo.org/2015/02/05/pitch-decks/

http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-ways-to-manage-relationships-with-VC-contacts-prior-to-fundraising

Seed Fundraising
Your first raise

http://nextviewventures.com/blog/how-to-raise-seed-capital/

http://cdixon.org/2011/06/09/notes-on-raising-seed-financing/

https://docsend.com/view/p8jxsqr

http://startupljackson.com/post/114347589480/open-letter-to-yc-founders-on-fundraising

http://tomtunguz.com/three-most-important-trends-in-seed-market/

Series A Fundraising
Capital to Scale

http://nextviewventures.com/blog/how-many-vcs-should-you-pitch/

http://firstround.com/review/what-the-seed-funding-boom-means-for-raising-a-series-a/

http://www.launch-capital.com/venture-capital/can-i-get-you-to-series-a

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20131015161834-1213-what-i-wish-i-knew-before-pitching-linkedin-to-vcs

Corporate + Strategic Investors
Nuances and Motivations

http://avc.com/2013/06/on-corporate-vcs/

http://micahjay1.com/2014/10/01/strategic-investors-youll-have-sold-your-company-you-just-wont-know-it/

https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/corporate-venture-capital-report-2014-q1/

Picking the right investor
Criteria to consider

http://blog.eladgil.com/2012/11/how-to-choose-right-vc-partner-for-you.html

http://cdixon.org/2009/11/03/how-to-select-your-angel-investors/

http://www.ventureblog.com/2013/01/pick-your-angel-investors-wisely.html

How Much to Raise
Obvious and Non-Obvious Considerations

http://cdixon.org/2009/12/28/whats-the-right-amount-of-seed-money-to-raise/

http://correlatedcausation.com/how-much-to-raise-using-crunchbase-data/

http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html

http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/13/billion-dollar-startups-everywhere-but-no-billion-dollar-entrepreneurs-yet/

http://www.foundersworkbench.com/capital-calculator/

Valuations
Understanding your sweet spot

http://codingvc.com/an-algorithm-for-seed-round-valuations

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/13/big-valuations-come-with-dangerous-small-print/

http://avc.com/2015/05/what-can-it-be-worth/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/angel-investing-todays-market-rates-losing-proposition-david-shen

Convertible Note versus Equity
Pros and Cons

http://www.sethlevine.com/wp/2010/08/has-convertible-debt-won-and-if-it-has-is-that-a-good-thing

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/07/convertible-note-seed-financings/

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/21/convertible-note-seed-financings-econ-101/

http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/13/convertible-note-seed-financings-part-3/

http://siliconhillslawyer.com/2015/04/29/capped-convertible-notes-liquidation-overhang/

SAFE docs
Emerging Standards

http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/06/yc-safe/

http://www.ycombinator.com/documents/

Pro-Rata
Why is this right so important to investors

http://www.inc.com/mark-suster/the-authoritative-guide-to-prorata-rights.html

http://blog.semilshah.com/2014/08/01/another-angle-on-the-shifting-pro-rata-debate/

http://gothamgal.com/2012/06/pro-rata-rights/

http://avc.com/2014/07/the-pro-rata-opportunity/

http://www.aaronkharris.com/the-importance-of-honoring-pro-rata-agreements

Party Rounds
Don’t believe the hype

http://blog.samaltman.com/party-rounds

http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/09/01/the-problem-with-collecting-logos-at-startups/

http://www.aaronkharris.com/party-all-the-time

https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/party-rounds-seed-vc/

Participation of a Lifecycle VC
Implications for the future

https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/seed-venture-capital-funds/

http://cdixon.org/2009/08/14/the-problem-with-taking-seed-money-from-big-vcs/

http://www.ventureblog.com/2013/01/pick-your-angel-investors-wisely.html

What time of year to fundraise
Seasonality matters

http://blog.semilshah.com/2015/02/04/brief-field-notes-from-the-seed-world/

http://tomtunguz.com/what-time-of-year-to-raise/

Incubators + Accelerators
Understand the landscape

https://medium.com/@milanthakor/y-combinator-and-500-startups-a-founders-comparison-ae47bf218c0e

http://pando.com/2013/02/16/dear-awesome-startups-dont-join-an-accelerator-unless-y-combinator/

http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/16/accelerators-claim-they-are-in-it-for-the-long-hall-i-call-bullshit/

Angelist as a Fundraising Platform
Not to be overlooked

https://medium.com/@kevingibbon/how-we-built-shyp-on-angellist-and-raised-2-1m-1c723714f713

https://angel.co/2014

http://blog.semilshah.com/2013/09/24/the-big-angellist-deal-is-important/

Fundraising Stories from Entrepreneurs
Candid and Valuable Insights from the Trenches

http://reidhoffman.org/linkedin-pitch-to-greylock/ (longer post)

https://open.bufferapp.com/raising-3-5m-funding-valuation-term-sheet/

https://medium.com/@joshm/building-branch-fundraising-29c6081e7803

http://blog.foundersnetwork.com/2012/07/fundraising-post-mortem/

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2011/07/05/6-pieces-of-generic-fundraising-advice-i-didnt-follow/

http://adespresso.com/academy/blog/want-1m-anatomy-of-an-angellist-fundraising/

http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/02/how-to-do-fundraising-right-on-a-seed-round/