What skills have you picked up that made fundraising feel less daunting? And does experience really make a difference?

What I’ve Learned About Fundraising — After Seeing Thousands of Pitches

Fundraising is one of the hardest things a founder has to do.
There’s no shortcut. Just like anything hard, it requires preparation.

After 7 years as an investor and thousands of pitch decks later, I’ve noticed a pattern. The founders who raise successfully — and sustain momentum — tend to master a few key things.

Here’s what they do really well:

1. They know their market inside out.
It sounds obvious, but I’ve seen too many people pitch without doing the work.

The best founders have:

• Deep insights from working in the industry
• Spoken to dozens (sometimes hundreds) of potential customers
• Mapped out the competitive landscape
• Built a lightweight data room early (think: folders for market insights, financials, team, customer research)

This preparation means they walk into meetings with confidence. They don’t need to guess. They’re the expert in the room. And they’re open about what they don’t know — which is just as powerful.

2. They grab your attention in the first 3 slides.
A great deck is like a movie trailer. You have 2 minutes to hook the investor.

The standout decks do three things quickly:

• Make the problem feel urgent and massive
• Explain why now is the right time
• Show why this team is the one to do it

That’s when the magic happens — when capital meets opportunity.

3. They assemble a stellar team.
Storytelling is critical — but behind every story is a team we’re betting on.

We ask:

• Do they have lived experience of the problem?
• Are they solving problems together — or talking over each other?
• Can they attract and retain world-class talent?
• Do they bring different strengths that give them an unfair advantage?

Building a company takes 10+ years. The team needs grit, curiosity, and real stamina. Investors aren’t just backing an idea — they’re backing the people who will keep going when it gets really hard.

So, is there a level of experience required to fundraise well?
Yes — but not in the way people think.

It’s less about age or track record, and more about how you prepare, how you communicate, and how well you know yourself and your market.

That’s what turns fundraising from a daunting task into something you’re genuinely ready for.