Fundraising & Equity
Real Urgency vs Manufactured FOMO in Fundraising
Collated by Harry Prabandham
Curated by Rubric Financial
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The Manufactured FOMO Trap
- Claiming the round is 'closing next week' when it isn't, or citing verbal commitments that don't exist, is transparent to experienced investors
- Common fabrications: 'We have verbal commitments for 80% of the round' (no named investors), 'Three VCs are ready to lead' (no term sheets), 'We're oversubscribed' (8 months into fundraising)
- VCs talk to each other — fabricated urgency is verified and debunked quickly, often within the same day
- Once trust is broken, everything else you say becomes suspect — your metrics, your market claims, your team's capabilities
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