Five Ways You Can Raise Capital Right Now

We are saddened and outraged by patterns of persistent racial injustice against Black Americans, and stand in solidarity with the Black community.  While it feels hard to be optimistic right now,  as investors with a long view, we are eternal believers in the power of the entrepreneur and their ability to lead us to climb new hills.  As an investor who has partnered with 50+ entrepreneurs over the last fifteen years, including through prior downturns, I firmly believe that great companies can be created in tough times.  Further, as an early-stage investor, I most often partner with entrepreneurs at the ideation stage and expect to guide them to build iconic companies over the next decade.  So I look for fundamental characteristics of teams, which can endure through internal pivots or external market changes.

Here are the five considerations I am using to evaluate whether I want to partner with entrepreneurs today.

1. Sell painkillers, not vitamins.
2. Innovate across the value chain.
3. Build your digital native superpowers.
4. Prioritize capital efficiency as a core value.
5. Remember that people make products, products don’t make people.

For more on each of these considerations, check out the full article on Business Insider.