Why DIY Fundraising Is Sabotaging Startup Success
Forty-seven percent of startups died last year because they couldn't secure financing. That number nearly doubled from 2021.
I've watched this pattern destroy countless companies. Founders spend months crafting perfect pitch decks while their startups slowly bleed out.
The brutal truth? When founders finally realize they can't handle fundraising alone, it's usually too late.
The Cascade Failure Starts Early
Most founders make their first critical mistake before they even approach investors. They jump straight into outreach without proper preparation.
No target investor profile. No equity story. Wrong financial model.
When investors say "let's circle back" or "we want to see more traction," that's polite rejection. The real problem isn't traction. It's that the preparation wasn't good enough.
Wrong financial plan. Wrong equity story. Wrong communication strategy. Wrong investor audience.
When the preparation is wrong, everything falls apart at the end.
Founders Are Doing Everything Backwards
Here's what most founders do wrong: they lead with full pitch decks on first contact.
Investors don't want to see your 15-slide deck initially. They get hundreds of decks daily and have attention spans of 2-5 minutes maximum.
The first outreach needs a teaser. Just the investment highlights. The strongest points of your company.
But here's the problem: founders think everything about their startup is equally amazing. They're trapped in their own bubble.
We can spot the real strengths after seeing hundreds of businesses and pitch decks. It's pattern matching. Every business has strong points, but founders can't see them because they're too close.
The Invisible Advisor Phenomenon
Founders attempt DIY fundraising when they'd never be their own lawyer, doctor, or accountant for complex matters. Why?
Because the best advisors aren't visible in press coverage.
Take Elon Musk. He gets all the headlines, but his finance and m&a expert, Jared Birchall, handels everything related to fundraising behind the scenes. Founders don't see that invisible infrastructure.
They think they can master fundraising overnight. But we are like doctors. You can't learn this expertise without years of study, practice, and network building.
The Network Problem
Even if founders could master the technical skills, they're missing the crucial element: relationships.
Professional fundraising requires an established network built over years. With only 0.05% of startups securing VC funding, those relationships become essential for breaking through the noise.
I've built my network over eight years working in investment banking, at VCs, private equity and startups, and as both founder and investor. That's not something you can replicate quickly.
The Ultimate Catch-22
Here's the trap that kills startups: founders can't handle both fundraising and business development simultaneously.
Focus solely on fundraising, and your business stagnates. Focus on business, and fundraising fails.
Either way, you fail.
This is why professional help isn't optional. It's survival.
Finding Real Expertise
Avoid advisors who only take success fees. They work like factories, taking many startups and mass-approaching investors. It's set up for failure.
Look for finance partners, not just advisors. Ask about their background: Have they worked at funds? Been investors themselves? Sold their own startups? Did successful fundraises?
Real expertise comes from living multiple sides of the table.
The preparation and network combination is what saves startups. No founder can bring that level of specialized knowledge and relationships to the table.
Your startup's life depends on recognizing this reality before it's too late.
