Start you (fundraising) engines- it’s fall
The drag race till the holidays starts now, at least in terms of fundraising.
The 11 work weeks after Labor Day and before Thanksgiving are a few shy of the 14-week average time to seed-round closing that CB Insights says is the new normal. Odds-on, if there’s no term sheet signed before then, the check books are sealed until after the new year.
Doing the math, that puts us in the thick of crunch time right now. I’ll offer a glimmer of optimism: VCs, angels and other early-stage investors will be hunting for deals that come standard with traction-demonstrating metrics, too. Now’s also an excellent time to crank up the fundraising machine.
Miss that window without enough runway to make it through the winter and a cash-starved startup could freeze to death.
But all’s not lost if you get things rolling. Here are four steps to start your engine.
Get 4 tips to kickstart your fall fundraise in just one click on ExitEvent.