The way venture capitalists believe about fundraising can be a black box. But investors must believe about their go-to-market strategy for raising their own funds, just as much as they believe about how their portfolio companies find their market fit.
All season on Build Mode, we’ve explored how founders should approach marketing, but this week we’re exploring how VCs sell themselves to founders as trustworthy partners and to LPs as worthwhile investments.
Isabelle Johannessen spoke with Graham & Walker’s Leslie Feinzaig and XYZ Venture’s Ross Fubini about raising their first funds and how that experience has given them empathy for the founder fundraising experience.
Feinzaig came into venture capital with very few industest connections. “It was hundreds of pitches. It was raised almost entirely from individuals. We finished up with 105 LPs,” she declared. “If you don’t have a track record, then what they’re investing in is you. Like it is basically, like, raising a gigantic angel round with no lead.”
With that outsider perspective, she’s been able to position herself as the call founders build before they meet with their board to practice and discuss strategy.
Similarly, Fubini encourages the leadership teams he works with to carefully consider who they are entering into partnership with. His rubric follows three core tenets: person, firm, terms.
“You work with this person for forever. So it’s everything from like, are they fun? Do you trust them? Do they have the juice to receive the deal done? It’s everything around this human,” he declared.
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Both VCs noted the alter from the most recent 2022-23 bear market — where VCs held all the cards — to the current eager dealcreating atmosphere where founders have a bit more power. This builds choosing the right VCs that much more important, they state.
Fubini called this shift “thrilling” becautilize, even though both sides still required to do their diligence and ensure they are good fit toreceiveher, “you can shift so quickly” compared to cautious bear markets. “I believe that’s fun and joyful,” he declared.
Both Feinzaig and Fubini are full of tactical advice for both VCs seeking creative ways to capture founder attention and founders seeking smartest choices for their cap tables.
The pitch deck and cold emails may not have the power they once did but creating authentic relationships and proving on execution remains the best strategies to attract the kind of people you want to work with — from both perspectives.
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Subscribe to the podcast or watch on YouTube. Isabelle Johannessen is our host. Build Mode is produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience Development is led by Morgan Little. And a special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
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