Whatever you need to get to that point, plus obviously, like, a little buffer because you can never predict exactly how much you'll need, but preferably not much more because you don't wanna take dilution unnecessarily. And then once you hit that milestone, this is really what investors want. They want you to come to raise money having just derisked something and looking for money to then grow. They don't like you coming to them and saying, we need money to derisk this thing.
“And then once you hit that milestone, this is really what investors want.”
But whatever you need to get to that point, plus obviously, like, a little buffer because you can never predict exactly how much you'll need, but preferably not much more because you don't wanna take dilution unnecessarily. And then once you hit that milestone, this is really what investors want. They want you to come to raise money having just derisked something and looking for money to then grow. They don't like you coming to them and saying, we need money to derisk this thing.
Why this clip
This provides a clear, actionable framework for fundraising timing and positioning. The contrarian insight that investors want to fund growth, not risk reduction, is both counterintuitive and immediately useful to founders.
What they said next
I think reputation isn't a great signal in venture capital generally speaking, but maybe for this, it it is. It has some benefits. Like, if I think about the obvious names in, like, contrarian deep tech investing, it might be, like, fifteen seventeen, Kantos, Long Journey. There there's quite a few, but those are actually legitimately great firms. And one of the hallmarks of a great firm is that they've lasted for a long time.
39:45 - 26s · Bold/Contrarian
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