/fundraising

name: "fundraising"
description: "Plan and run an early-stage fundraising process and produce a Fundraising Pack (raise decision memo, round design brief, pitch narrative + deck outline, investor pipeline + tracker, outreach/follow-up scripts, diligence checklist). Use for fundraising, raising capital, venture capital, pitch deck, investor outreach, pre-seed, seed. Category: Career."

Fundraising

Scope

**Covers**

• Deciding **whether** to raise venture funding (vs bootstrapping / delaying / alternatives) and articulating the trade-offs
• Designing a round (amount, timeline, milestone, target investor profile) without pretending to give legal/tax advice
• Building an investor-ready **narrative** and a **pitch deck outline** optimized for first impressions
• Running the fundraising process as a pipeline (target list, outreach, follow-ups, rejection handling, momentum)
• Preparing for diligence (data-room checklist + FAQs/objections) and reducing “unknown unknowns”

**When to use**

• “Should I raise venture capital or bootstrap?”
• “Help me build a pitch deck narrative and a strong first slide.”
• “I need an investor outreach plan and a pipeline tracker.”
• “I’m starting a pre-seed/seed raise; help me run the process end-to-end.”

**When NOT to use**

• You need legal, tax, or securities advice (term sheets, SAFE/notes, incorporation, compliance) — involve qualified professionals.
• You’re raising grants/donations or structured debt (use a fundraising/grants/debt-specific workflow instead).
• You only want visual slide design polish with no strategy/process work.
• You’re in an immediate liquidity crisis where the only viable path is emergency financing within days (this skill can help structure messaging, but you should prioritize urgent financial triage with experts).

Inputs

**Minimum required**

• Company snapshot: what you build, who it’s for, and why now
• Stage + traction (or pre-traction proof), plus 1–3 key metrics (even proxies)
• Team snapshot (founders, key strengths, gaps you’re hiring for)
• Runway + constraints (cash, time, geography, intro network, fundraising window)
• Fundraising intent: why raise, target amount (or range), and what milestone it buys

**Missing-info strategy**

• Ask **3–5 questions at a time** from [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
• If specifics are missing, proceed with labeled assumptions and ranges (never invent exact numbers).
• Do not request sensitive credentials or confidential customer/employee data; use anonymized examples.

Outputs (deliverables)

Produce a **Fundraising Pack** (Markdown in chat; or as files if requested) in this order:

1) **Raise Decision Memo** (VC vs bootstrap/delay; trade-offs; “if we raise” vs “if we don’t” plan) 2) **Round Design Brief** (amount, timing, milestone, use of funds, target investor profile) 3) **Pitch Narrative + Deck Outline** (including a high-signal first slide + talk track) 4) **Investor ICP + Target List + Pipeline Tracker** (with weekly activity targets) 5) **Outreach + Follow-up Scripts** (warm intro ask, cold email, post-meeting follow-up) 6) **Diligence Prep** (data-room checklist + FAQ/objection responses) 7) **Operating Cadence** (weekly dashboard, “100 no’s” resilience plan, next-14-days action plan) 8) **Risks / Open questions / Next steps** (always)

Templates: [references/TEMPLATES.md](references/TEMPLATES.md) Expanded guidance: [references/WORKFLOW.md](references/WORKFLOW.md)

Workflow (8 steps)

1) Intake + constraints snapshot

• **Inputs:** user context; [references/INTAKE.md](references/INTAKE.md).
• **Actions:** Capture stage, runway, constraints, timing, and goal. Separate “must be true” vs “nice to have”. Identify what would make fundraising a mistake.
• **Outputs:** Context snapshot + assumptions/unknowns list.
• **Checks:** Timeline has dates; runway is stated (or explicitly unknown); constraints are explicit.

2) Decide whether to raise (and why)

• **Inputs:** goals, constraints, risk tolerance, business model.
• **Actions:** Write a Raise Decision Memo: why raise, why not, and the “venture treadmill” trade-off (growth expectations, dilution, speed). Propose alternatives (delay, revenue-first, angels, strategic, debt) where appropriate.
• **Outputs:** **Raise Decision Memo** with a clear recommendation + decision criteria.
• **Checks:** Recommendation is falsifiable (“we raise if X by date Y”); non-VC path is not hand-waved.

3) Design the round (make the plan fundable)

• **Inputs:** runway, burn (or plan), milestone, hiring needs, market timing.
• **Actions:** Define raise amount range, timing, and the milestone it buys. Specify investor profile (stage, check size, thesis, geography) and a simple “use of funds” narrative.
• **Outputs:** **Round Design Brief**.
• **Checks:** Amount ↔ milestone is coherent; plan fits constraints; assumptions are explicit.

4) Build the pitch narrative + first impression assets

• **Inputs:** product, ICP, wedge, traction/proof, insights from Steps 1–3.
• **Actions:** Draft a crisp one-liner, the “strongest point” for slide 1, and a deck outline that answers: problem, solution, why now, why you, why win, why invest.
• **Outputs:** **Pitch Narrative + Deck Outline** (+ talk track).
• **Checks:** First slide passes the 10-second test (what it is, for whom, why it matters); narrative has evidence, not vibes.

5) Build the investor pipeline (target list + math)

• **Inputs:** target investor profile; network; constraints.
• **Actions:** Create an ICP and a prioritized target list. Set pipeline math (how many intros/meetings/week) and define a tracking table.
• **Outputs:** **Investor ICP + Target List + Pipeline Tracker**.
• **Checks:** Targets match round design; outreach plan is schedulable; next 7 days have concrete outreach tasks.

6) Execute outreach + meetings (run the “100 no’s” process)

• **Inputs:** scripts; target list; calendar.
• **Actions:** Draft outreach messages, run outreach cadence