- Persuade & Raise
- Posts
- ♞ Relentlessly Resourceful
In partnership with
In partnership with
Relentlessly Resourceful
In one of his most famous blogs, Paul Graham discusses the idea of being “Relentlessly Resourceful”. The phrase is often quoted to me by founders as part of the justification for them to continue with raises even after significant failures.
To clarify, many founders will hear 100+ rejections before they raise. But each of them at some point had to ask themselves why they were hearing so many rejections. Simply saying that you are “relentlessly” pushing for funding is justification enough to keep raising when the market rejects you. What you need is to understand why you are failing and adapt to succeed.
What I want to do in this newsletter is focus less on the “relentlessly” and more on the “resourceful” because that part seems have been forgotten!
The future of presentations, powered by AI
Gamma is a modern alternative to slides, powered by AI. Create beautiful and engaging presentations in minutes. Try it free today.
How to be resourceful as a founder…
Many of the founders I speak with who have heard 50+ rejections but continue to raise are relentless but not resourceful. When I speak to these founders, I often find that their company is either stalled or running on autopilot as they try to raise for months on end. This is not a winning strategy.
Instead, you need to focus on resourcefulness. If you aren’t raising but need funds then one of the first things I recommend is doing things that immediately help increase business and investment chances. These included leveraging social media, ads (if you have the budget), conferences, networking events, etc. These are all places where you can attract both customers and investors. Being resourceful in this way allows you to start seeing your revenues grow without abandoning your fundraising efforts.
Another option is switching your focus to hiring. It might sound counter-intuitive, but most pre-seed/seed stage companies are raising funds to afford a handful of key hires. Instead of giving up 20% of your company to investors, then another 10% + the cash raised to hire those early employees, why not skip the middle man and give 30% of the company to 1-2 key hires who can make a significant difference for your business? If you are a technical founder maybe that’s someone to oversee the marketing/business side, if you are a non-technical founder, maybe its someone to build your product. Either way, you might be able to accomplish 80% of what you would have with the funds you raised without needing to put the company on pause and spend months raising.
Finally, I’d recommend looking at government grants and other sources of free funding. Lots of pitch competitions, universities, local networks, governments, etc, provide startup funding. Focusing on securing these smaller amounts could help you move forward and even avoid an entire round of dilution!
Are you a resourceful founder? |
Get your news where Silicon Valley gets its news 📰
The best investors need the information that matters, fast.
That’s why a lot of them (including investors from a16z, Bessemer, Founders Fund, and Sequoia) trust this free newsletter.
It’s a five minute-read every morning, and it gives readers the information they need ASAP so they can spend less time scrolling and more time doing.
Are you looking to grow your business? Here is how I can help:
📢 Promote your startup to 2,000+ VCs including investors from a16z, YC, Techstars, Rarebreed, Sequoia and more.
📱 Book a Strategy Call to get 1:1 feedback on your pitch, pitch deck and/or fundraising strategy. (If you need general startup advice, then reply to this email, and I’ll let you know if/how I can help.)
📺 Access FundraiseOS, the ultimate fundraising course with video lessons and practical worksheets helping with everything from deciding how much to raise to understanding a term sheet.
💸 Promote your product or service to 100,000+ entrepreneurs.
🌐 Connect with me on LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter) to get access to new content about startups, fundraising, venture capital and more every day.
Onwards and Upwards,
|
|
Accomplish More. Juggle Less.
When you love what you do, it can be easy to take on more — more tasks, more deadlines, more hours – but before you know it, you don’t have time to do what you loved in the beginning. Don’t just do more – do more of what you do best.
BELAY’s flexible staffing solutions leverage industry experience with AI systems to increase productivity without sacrificing quality. You can accomplish more and juggle less with our exceptional U.S.-based Virtual Assistants, Accounting Professionals, and Marketing Assistants. Learn how with our free ebook, Delegate to Elevate, and leave the more to BELAY.