I'm a 12 year veteran of early stage startups. One thing I found interesting about the whole experience was that on the technical side, smarts-based meritocracy was valued above all else, or at least that was the line we told ourselves. However, when it came to raising money, the most archaic, beers in the back-room, who-knows-who-knows-who boys-club approach was the norm. The things I saw would have made a 1920s Harvard admissions officer, or a 1950s hiring manager at an investment bank blush.
That said, the most successful startup I worked at raised money in an almost mechanical manner, with little or no beer drinking, or even much contact with the investors. YMMV.
"That said, the most successful startup I worked at raised money in an almost mechanical manner, with little or no beer drinking, or even much contact with the investors. YMMV."
That would make an excellent how-to blog post or other elaboration. :)
It wasn't that interesting.
It was sort of like the normal route of obtaining funds, there was just no long, drawn out bromantic courtship. We just asked for the money, they said ok, and we signed stuff.
while i agree you can raise money with no beer drinking and pure mechanics, my whole point is you're optimizing for the money and not the person.
for me, grabbing dinner with investors, getting to know them, getting them to know me, is much more important. So i want to have as much contact with the investors as possible.
They aren't just money. You will be working with them closely for years.
That said, the most successful startup I worked at raised money in an almost mechanical manner, with little or no beer drinking, or even much contact with the investors. YMMV.