Survive and thrive
November 7, 2022
We went into the weekend with another $[ ]M commitment into our Series B from a new fintech focused fund that has been incredibly impressed with what we've built and the impact the platform can have on this very analog industry. We are now over the 2 month mark since the term sheet was signed and we're slowly but surely chipping away at the $[ ]M total we're aiming for, with a target for firm commitments and a final order book to be locked in before Thanksgiving. This market has made it one of the most challenging fundraising markets ever as many VCs are simply not deploying capital, others are promising a commitment and then downsizing it materially, and others are even committing and then backing out.
This has been as long and drawn out a process as they've come as we've been technically preparing for a fundraise since this time last year as the deck and data room was getting pulled together. Yet this is not a process that is wholly unfamiliar to us - our pre-seed round took 6 months and ~150 pitches to close, our seed round took 8 months and ~50 pitches to close, and our Series A was the shortest at 4 months and just ~25 pitches to close. More than just the time it takes, it's the number of conversations, the sheer volume of rejections, and the depth of diligence that a company like ours requires that has made it consistently a challenge, none more so than this round where the stakes are higher and the expectations of revenue and growth are more pronounced than ever before.
And yet, we persevere.
Other companies have struggled mentally with the toll that fundraising is taking on them in this environment as they've never experienced this level of adversity before. I have seen VCs flustered because their founders are panicking and they're running out of options to backstop their companies before they burn through their cash and have to shut down. Unlike them, this is more of the same for us. We've been here before, we know how to grind it out, we've always been the ones to pound the pavement and play the numbers game to get to the outcome we want with the capital we need for our next stage of growth.
The next few years will no doubt test our mental fortitude, as it will for every other startup out there, but we have the benefit of years of experience, fresh capital being infused months deep into a recession, and coming to market with a product suite that is more needed than ever at the perfect time. We possess the most invaluable trait of all that everyone wants right now - we are survivors, and anyone who can survive coming out of this will thrive 📈
