Loading...
Answers
MenuIs there such a thing as raising too much money?
With government programs and founders bootstrapping, we are pretty sustainable and only need a short term bridge loan to get us through the year. We are however, looking to raise seed money to help us accelerate growth. A VC that we are in discussions with stated they do a minimum of $400,000 in seed round. Our cashflow projection does not require that amount of money at this point, even in the worst case scenario. Should we do a smaller deal instead of going for that round, which would dilute us significantly at this stage of our startup. Or should we raise enough money for the next 2 years?
Answers
Absolutely. I would focus as much as possible at raising the least amount of money possible while still optimizing your businesses ability to execute on its strategy. Money isn't free, the cost is the equity, interest, etc.
How will the money you obtain be "paid" back, do you want to make the payment in that way and can you afford to make the "payment" are the questions you should address to see if you are raising too much money from the wrong sources.
Have you thought about everything you need. I know the answer is always: yes. But I would take a little time and go over the numbers to make sure that what you need is covered. Play "what if". What if the sales cycle ends up being longer than expected. What if new technology comes along. What if we get too much business and have to expand rapidly. What if you have to redo the business process to make sure it scales. What if the "product" requires modifications in order to sell... and so on.
Once you have that best / worst case scenario, then calculate the cost of money whether interest or equity. Like anything, you want to go for the best value proposition.
You can certainly raise too much.
Although, I tend to not look at this question from the standpoint of dilution, as much as the impact of too much cash on a startup.
One of the things that makes a startup successful is that it is literally fighting for its life. This helps ensure that resources are used efficiently and only essential investment are made.
The availability of too much cash can lead to people becoming complacent and losing the required sense of urgency required in a startup.
Having said that everything is relative. If you need $300K and raise $400K that is not a bad idea, because it always goes quicker than you expect. However, if you need $300K and raise $2MM that is definitely not a good idea.
Yes, you can raise too much money. However, if your startup has more than 2 people, $400,000 is definitely not too much.
When you raise funding, you should always look at runway for 18 months, keep that in mind.
It is up to you. It is good to have a goal and achieve that goal. What is important is that those that participate know what the money is going toward. Looks like you have done great work!!!!!
Related Questions
-
How much equity is typically taken by investors in a seed round?
From my experience I would not advise you to go with Venture Capital when you're a start-up as in the end they will most likely end up screwing you. A much better source for funding would be angel investors or friends/family. The question of how much equity should I give away differs for every start-up. I remember with my first company I gave away 30% because I wanted to get it off the ground. This was the best decision I ever made. Don't over valuate your company as having 70% of something is big is a whole lot better than having 100% of something small. You have to decide your companies value based on Assets/I.P(Intellectual Property)/Projections. I assume you have some follow up questions and I would love to help you so if you need any help feel free to call me. Kind Regards, GiulianoGS
-
What happens to a convertible note if the company fails?
Convertible notes are by no means "earned." They are often easier to raise for early-stage companies who don't want to or can't raise an equity round. Equity rounds almost always require a simultaneous close of either the whole round or a defined "first close" representing a significant share of the raised amount. Where there are many participants in the round comprised mostly of small seed funds and/or angel investors, shepherding everyone to a closing date can be very difficult. If a company raises money on a note and the company fails, the investors are creditors, getting money back prior to any shareholder and any creditor that doesn't have security or statutory preference. In almost every case, convertible note holders in these situations would be lucky to get pennies back on the dollar. It would be highly unusual of / unheard of for a convertible note to come with personal guarantees. Happy to talk to you about the particulars of your situation and explain more to you based on what you're wanting to know.TW
-
When raising money how much of equity do you give up to keep control? Is it more important to control the board or majority of shares?
It entirely depends on the kind of business you have. If you have a tech startup for example, there are pretty reliable assumptions about each round of funding. And a business plan and financial forecasts are almost totally irrelevant to sophisticated tech investors in the early stages of a company's life. Recent financial history is important if the company is already generating revenue and in that case, a twelve-month projection is also meaningful, but pre-revenue, financial forecasts in tech startups mean nothing. You shouldn't give up more than 10-15% for your first $100,000 and from that point forward, you should budget between 10-20% dilution per each round of subsequent dilution. In a tech startup, you should be more nervous about dilution than control. The reality of it is that until at least a meaningful amount of traction is reached, no one is likely to care about taking control of the venture. If the founding team screws-up, it's likely that there will be very little energy from anyone else in trying to take-over and fix those problems. Kevin is correct in that the board is elected by shareholders but, a board exerts a lot of influence on a company as time goes-on. So board seats shouldn't be given lightly. A single bad or ineffective board member can wreak havoc on a company, especially in the early stages of a company's life. In companies outside of tech, you're likely going to be dealing with valuations that are far lower, thus likely to be impacted with greater dilution and also potentially far more restrictive and onerous investment terms. If your company is a tech company, I'm happy to talk to you about the financing process. I am a startup entrepreneur who has recently raised angel and VC capital and was also formerly a VC as part of a $500,000,000 investment fund investing in every stage of tech and education companies.TW
-
Pre-seed / seed funding for a community app... valuation and how much to take from investors?
To answer your questions: 1) Mobile companies at your stage usually raise angel funding at a valuation equivalent of $5,000,000 for US based companies and $4,000,000 to $4,500,000 for Canadian companies. 2) The valuation is a function of how much you raise against that valuation. For instance, selling $50,000 at $5,000,000 means you are selling debt that will convert into shares equal to roughly 1% of your company. 3) I would encourage you to check out my other answers that I've recently written that talk in detail about what to raise and when to raise. Given that you've now launched and your launch is "quiet", most seed investors are going to want to see substantial traction before investing. It's best for you to raise this money on a convertible note instead of actually selling equity, especially if you are intending on raising $50,000 - $100,000. Happy to schedule a call with you to provide more specifics and encourage you to read through the answers I've provided re fundraising advice to early-stage companies as well.TW
-
How important is a co-founder when it comes to raising capital?
I'm a single founder who was raised angel and venture capital. If your business is compelling enough, you could raise angel funding. But there is little chance you can raise venture funding without a team in-place. It's a negative signal to institutional investors that you haven't been able to lock down a committed team. That said, depending on the nature of your product and traction, it sounds like you might be past the stage of recruiting a cofounder and more into hiring a great team of employees. The differentiation being less title and more the amount of equity. It sounds like you are selling a physical product so the question is whether you have built the capacity to scale. If not, the importance of having someone on your team who has done that at scale, even at the angel level of funding, could be helpful if not required. Happy to do a quick call and give you more contextual advice.TW
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.