I'm curious to know if there are individuals or services available that literally walks a startup through raising funding, for example help them get an investor list, initiate investor contact and help founders with follow up and pitch decks. All this for a fee and perhaps some stock compensation... are there any similar services? Would you advise a startup to use such a service...
Yes, what you're looking for in the agency realm is called an 'accelerator', and what you're looking for in the individual realm is called an advisor / mentor. You can apply to accelerators, but if you don't go that route you'll have to find advisors / mentors through networking.
Accelerators
A) take a bit of equity
B) give you a bit of money (the amount differs for each program)
C) give you resources
D) connect you with mentors that can give you advice
E) connect you with investors
If you need help with the items listed above, and you get into a good accelerator, it will hugely accelerate your startup (hence the term). Before you apply to any accelerator, do some research on the investment and success of the companies that go through the program.
You can find a ranking of them here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2016/03/11/the-best-startup-accelerators-of-2016/#53c867824f2c
and here's a nice big list of them:
https://www.f6s.com/programs
Let me know if you'd like more tailored advice related to your specific idea.
best,
Lee
