Introduction to Fundraising

The Fundraising Landscape

• Startup fundraising raises capital from investors in exchange for equity (ownership) — the company gives up a percentage of itself in return for cash to grow
• The ecosystem includes angel investors (individuals), venture capital firms (institutional), accelerators (programs + capital), and corporate investors (strategic)
• Each funding stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A, B, C) has different expectations, typical round sizes, and investor types
• Not every startup should raise venture capital — VC is a specific tool for specific business types (high growth, large markets, winner-takes-most dynamics)