The Importance of Failing Fast in Fundraising + Fundraising Fieldnotes - 8.6.21

August 06, 2021

Hey - it’s Jason Yeh 🕺🏻

This is my Friday recap of thoughts I’ve had while helping founders solve their fundraising challenges this past week (8.6.21)

If you have any questions, please reply! I try to get to every comment/question I get :)

Why you should Fail Fast when fundraising…

A lot of you have probably heard the advice to fail fast. I am a big supporter of this idea. It's something that a lot of first-time founders and young entrepreneurs have a hard time embracing. I know I did. 

The challenge comes when you enter the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship after succeeding in very regimented disciplines like junior sports, math competitions, traditional schooling, and large company promotions. The idea of failing is anathema, especially among people who also grapple with imposter syndrome. 

But failing is, as you’ve probably heard in a lot of cliché advice, your gateway to true evolution and transformation. Failing allows you to see what exactly doesn’t work and pushes you to the point of improving yourself and your company.

In the pursuit of product-market fit, failing fast is essential. You may have convinced yourself that the design in your head is flawless, but the only way to discover what the market actually desires is to place your failing product into a customer’s hands... as fast as you can. Once you experience the failure, you can collect feedback, fix the parts that didn’t work, and have a chance to launch an iterated version again.

The concept of failing fast also applies to fundraising. One of my fundraising keys is pursuing “calendar density” in your first meetings. A tightly packed week or two of meetings helps create an environment that adds a positive signal to the process and encourages investors to move faster. Knowing that other investors are simultaneously considering your deal is a powerful psychological influence. In addition, the back end of those processes, no matter the outcome, is far superior. They cause a fundraise that is going to fail for whatever reason to quickly fail. No wasted time in the “fast fail”.

On to the Fieldnotes for 8.6.21…

Don’t make your cold emails worse than they need to be!😳

I don’t 100% agree with all, but #2 & #3 are huge. Read and think about it

Till next week. Stay adamant and be chased.

Jason

p.s. Here’s me driving a meter maid car. Apparently it’s a thing in SF.

Small asks!

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

  • Forward this newsletter with others who would enjoy it

  • 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