Fundraising Fieldnotes
Posts
How Ian Swanson Started 3 Successful Venture-Backed Companies + Fundraising Fieldnotes 8.13.24

How Ian Swanson Started 3 Successful Venture-Backed Companies + Fundraising Fieldnotes 8.13.24

Jason Yeh
August 13, 2024

Only ONE week left to fill out our survey for a chance to win a free 6-month subscription to Adamant Fundraising. Winner will be announced next Tuesday 08/20!

I talk to a lot of amazing founders on my podcast Funded, all sharing the story behind how they raised millions of dollars for their companies. The conversation I'm going to be sharing today is with Ian Swanson, 3x venture-backed founder and current CEO of Protect AI.

Ian has raised over $82M in venture capital throughout his career with not one, but two successful exits. In our conversation, we got to touch on all three of Ian's companies, sharing the ups, the downs, and the lessons learned when fundraising and running a venture-backed company.

Before you go listen to the full episode, here are my top three takeaways from our conversation:

Credibility Matters

"I remember going in to meet with investors who had just written a million-dollar check to the company. They told me, 'We heard about you from four other people before you even stepped into this room.' I realized that all those meetups and efforts I put into building my network had really paid off, giving me credibility when I didn’t have any in those early days."

This is a great call out for first-time founders, especially those who are saying they would like to build a company that needs investment before they can get to revenue. If you are in your mid-twenties / early-thirties and don’t have a lot of experience, the best thing you can do is meet people and give them a good sense of who you are. It sounds superficial, but it goes way further than people expect.

This is also a great reminder that just because Ian raised multiple rounds of capital doesn't mean he skipped doing the same things first-time founders have to do for their first rounds of capital. If no one knows you, how are they supposed to trust you enough to take a huge risk investing in you?

When you’re starting out and don’t have a proven track record, your network is everything. As an introvert myself, I know how annoying this can be to hear, but you’ve got to get out there and meet people, build relationships, and get people who can vouch for you. For Ian, having those few people vouch for him was the thing that allowed him to close his first million-dollar check. I'd say it was worth it.

This isn’t just about being a good founder; it’s about being a good person that people can trust. Alright, onto the next...

More $$ Comes With Its Own Challenges

“Having money sitting in your account can sometimes make you move too fast. It releases some of that tension that I think is good tension. We moved a little bit too fast on go-to-market, and it came with some challenges.”

I hadn't thought a lot about the idea of having too much money in your account before this conversation, mainly because it's not a problem most founders have, but I think Ian brings up a solid point on the benefits of having that tension, so I wanted to touch on it quick.

When you have a lot of money on hand... it's easier to execute on things at great speed because of the resources at hand, but because that tension of needing money is no longer there, it can also make you sloppy. You might move too fast on things you maybe should have spent more time on. In Ian's case, they moved too fast on their go-to-market, which led to their own struggles and lessons learned.

When you do have that tension—that slight stress and hunger to execute on your next milestone—there's arguably more motivation there because you have to make it happen and you have to kill it because your next raise and your next step to scaling your business depends on it.

I wish for all of you hard-working founders out there to get to a place where you don't have to worry about capital, but for now, try and make the most of where you are. You might even end up missing this time period of your company when you get there...

Board Members Can Be a Blessing

"A lot of people get really concerned about oversight, fearing that a board will dictate their actions. I've always seen it as a huge value add. I view board members as mentors and people I want to learn from. If you approach the relationship this way, it can be a wonderful two-way street."

Board members can get a bad rep. I even remember when I was running my last company, I told myself I wanted to do everything on my own. I didn't want advice from the board; I didn't want to utilize their talents partially because of this fear I think a lot of founders have because of the horror stories we've heard in the past.

But looking back at it- I would've taken more advantage of the people on my cap table and board. I would've sought out more feedback and built better relations.

I don't want to tell you what to do… but just be open to it. Okay, that's all my takeaways for now. If you want to hear:

Ian's insights from starting 3 venture-backed companies
The story behind Protect AI's most recent $60M Series B

... and more. I'll leave the links below for you to check out.

Listen here:

Ian Swanson

LinkedIn: Ian Swanson

Protect AI

Funded

Jason Yeh (host)

Most founders struggle with storytelling in their pitches.

They trail on and on or don’t incorporate memorable speaking points to amplify their message… or both.

To help I’m releasing a FREE mini-course on how to craft and use mini-stories. It includes:

2 key lessons with over 10 minutes of recorded lecture content
1 detailed exercise to implement your learnings - a compilation of essays I wrote on narrative, deck & pitch

To gain access:

1. Click on this link

2. Take 1 minute to create an account on Circle (the platform we use for our courses)

3. Boom! access granted

After 4 weeks, you will get booted out so that we can roll out the next mini-course! (this also serves as a push for you to actually absorb the content instead of feeling like you have forever to do it)

This is a huge value add. I suggest you take advantage of it!

This can be hard to hear, but most founders do not spend enough time working on their company before they go raise...

When founders and VCs think about pitching their co or fund, a lot of ppl get caught up in the design & the storytelling. They think improving that will get them funding.
While changing that can help, funding is largely determined *before* you create the pitch.
More >>
— Elizabeth Yin 💛 (@dunkhippo33)
3:33 PM • May 22, 2024

Reputation... takes forever to build and can be destroyed in seconds -Xiao Xin

Did two VC diligence calls on founders in the last week.
The best investors go deep and really try to understand someone before they invest.
Your reputation sticks with you for a looooong time. Treat it with care.
— Gagan Biyani 🏛 (@gaganbiyani)
5:59 PM • May 9, 2024

Content nailed, title failed … 😆

Small asks!

If you thought this was helpful or enjoyable in any way, I’d love for you to:

Forward this newsletter to others who would enjoy it (use your referral link and get some cool rewards☝️)
Follow me on Twitter where I’ve begun building in public (my course, my podcast, etc)!
Listen with a friend to Funded, my podcast that tells the rollercoaster stories of how founders raised millions (and subscribe🙏)
Ask me your fundraising questions so I can help you and cover them in a future issue
Are you planning to fundraise? Join Adamant Fundraising - the fundraising accelerator program that's helped founders raise over $311M 💰
Sign up for our Pitch Deck Design Service
Let us launch a best-in-class fundraise for you. Pain-free and effortless on your end!