We spoke founders who have been through the ins and outs of raising capital to see what lessons could be shared - the successes, the pitfalls, the pivots and well-earned advice!
We at Foodboro have talked about the different approaches to raising capital for your CPG, including guides for venture capitalists, angel investors, accelerator programs, and public fundraising. For new and growing businesses, it’s a huge endeavor to find the capital to get your product to where you know it can go. You don’t know what’s going to work so maybe you start with one approach and use that to leverage the next move. Or maybe you are throwing everything at the wall all at once and seeing what sticks.
Whatever the timeline, most foodpreneurs are creating a patchwork of funding, building bridges to get over the streams, canals, and rivers they encounter on the journey to becoming a profitable CPG. We wanted to talk to some founders who have been through the ins and outs of raising capital to see what lessons could be shared- the successes, the pitfalls, the pivots and well-earned advice!
(Check out Courtney’s post on AKUA’s successfully Republic campaign)
Starting Out: Deciding When and How to Raise Capital
Nancy: I was lucky enough to be self-funded for five years and grew quickly enough to do that. In 2020, in order to grow the way we wanted to- nationally and internationally and through different channels, we decided we needed more funding to fuel that growth. I did everything simultaneously, I didn’t know what was going to work, Shark Tank, pitching at various Angel Groups and groups like the Nutrition Capital Network, Kickstarter and now Republic. It probably would have been better to do a neat step-by-step process, I was doing all of this simultaneously. It helped to get really solid on brand messaging on who you are and why you’re doing this.
Michael: Prior to the Kickstarter, we were self-funded. Early on in deciding to launch a candy brand, I knew I was looking at a long lead time from developing the product, to finding a manufacturer to getting it fully manufactured and produced. I wanted to be able to do something that could start building our audience and fan base, as well as be able to test what we were building. Coming from the tech world, I was wanting to release something and get feedback on that. In the CBG industry, it’s a lot harder than that, when you’re thousands of dollars away from having a testable product. You're building the product and the brand. The kickstarter was a great way to get the brand and story out there for people, to see how it resonated. Who was into it, why were they into it. All of that data as a really early brand is so so helpful. So getting to do that while getting the money from the bank is so helpful.
Caroline: We tried a lot of different things, we were grant-funded for the first two years of business. We won a grant from the Closed Loop Foundation. We’ve been through a number of accelerator programs, which was great practice in pitching. When the pandemic hit, we lost so much revenue overnight. We had to pivot to consumer and retail. We used Republic for that.
Courtney: Akua was launched in 2017, we bootstrapped the business, paying for our own ingredients and holding tasting parties for our kelp jerky. We launched our Kickstarter and Indiegogo in early 2018 to launch Kelp Jerky and closed our first convertible note at the end of the same year.
Tell us about what worked really well for you:
Nancy: Through the Nutrition Capital Network, owned by New Hope, I was pitching at high level investor meet ups specifically for food, beverage and body brands. I met with Bimbo Bakeries in 2020. They are the biggest baked goods company in the world. They made a minority investment in us in early 2021 as a strategic investor. I was initially terrified of working with them. I didn’t know what it would be like to work with a big corporation. But it was helpful that we could get to know each other through a lot of meetings, it takes many meetings and calls to get to the point where a deal can be made. Through this, we each laid out our expectations clearly. They told us they want for us to continue to operate autonomously but that they would be able to support us. They have been nothing but supportive. They are a baked goods company, we are a baked goods company. They really understand our space. They aren’t interested in making us into them, they are interested in exploring the better-for-you snack space. They’ve introduced us to Sam’s Club and supported our launch in 7-Eleven. Look for smart money, someone who can not only write a check but understands the business and can help us grow more.
Michael: The biggest piece for success on kickstarter is doing well in your first 24-48 hours. In preparation, I talked to anyone I knew who had done one, in different communities, slack communities. A big piece of advice from everyone was to nail the first day or two. If you can do that, Kickstarter will help you. Often this means tapping into your circle. Getting the Kickstarter to help expands your reach beyond that circle and if you do well, you will be featured on the homepage. We were featured, it was helpful.
Caroline: The pandemic hit and we immediately lost revenue so we had to rethink our approach. We were selling snacks to offices and that quickly dried up. So we decided to move over to direct to consumer and retail with baking mixes, which weren’t yet off the ground. We knew friends who raised on Republic when they were pre-production. We decided to go that route because it would help us raise the capital we needed for the pivot AND it would get us in front of more consumers. It was a great way to expand reach and to build momentum. This equity crowdfunding campaign (plus a safe note funding) was instrumental in helping us hit the milestone to hit the early stage series A, most investors say don’t talk to me until you get a million dollar runway. We were able to hit that and have lined up a bunch of contracts. We are launching at Wholes Foods in June and are in a position to expand our sales and operational capacity.
Courtney: Our sales doubled during our first few months running the campaign from the extra eyeballs and we saw that Republic quickly became one of the biggest traffic drivers to our Shopify store. We are wrapped up our Republic campaign with a 2,000+ email list of investors (who are also our top customers and now evangelists). It’s awesome to be creating a new product with your Republic investors. It gives them something to feel excited about, and allows them to feel like they are a part of the creative process. Our most engaged update was when we asked our investors and followers whether they preferred our Blue or Green Kelp Burger packaging.
What approaches would you recommend to other founders?
Nancy: First, find someone who will mentor you and will be BRUTAL! Learning to think about what an investor wants to hear from you and the information they will want is so important. You have maybe six minutes to convey a lot of information, so learning to think about what they expect and what questions they will ask is important. I learned this through pitching with groups like Nutrition Capital Network and Brandjectory and working with my own mentors.
Michael: Go for the warm intros when vying for private dollars, we didn’t do any cold outreach. Cold outreach is really really hard. Warm intros and leverage what you’re doing on your Kickstarter to connect with other founders in the space. Having a public campaign that’s successful gives you credibility in this space. Leverage that to connect with other founders you admire and love what they’re up to. Those end up being the people who can advise you and possibly make connections to investors. They are the best intros to investors you can get.
Caroline: Our experience with accelerators has been really positive and helpful for different aspects of our growth as a business. Tech Stars’s demo day connected us with an investor that ultimately ended up taking our first price round, it was great practice for pitching.
Courtney: We raised a private seed round 5 months after the close of our Republic campaign. You’re looking for bigger check sizes, it’s the same amount of work in terms of time. I think it depends on if people enjoy things like Republic and Crowdfunding. I'm a people person and a marketing. I’m taking calls with people, starting relationships. It’s a relationship driven game. Republic is a great way to take smaller investments without ending up with a messy capital table that leaves you chasing small investors.
What would you do differently if you could go back?
Nancy: I wish I had known and been more prepared for how much time and effort this was going to take so that this didn’t come as a surprise. I’ve had to run my company and do this at the same time they’re really both full time jobs. You have to toughen up in terms of your expectations an be willing to reach out over and over again.
Michael: I’m always wishing I would do a better job at communicating more frequently with our kickstarter backers. They are these early super fans who believe in what we’re doing without having tried out a product yet. As a solo founder with very little help, it’s hard to continue providing the constant updates that I would love to be able to.
Caroline: People say that getting investments from a venture capitalist is like getting married and it’s true. You have to do your due diligence, we would get in contact with other companies that have a relationship with the investor to see what kind of engagement they have and how often. They are not only vetting you, you are vetting them. It’s easy to think that you just need cash in the door. As a woman-founded business, the majority of the money out there still comes from white men. We wish we could see more women at the capital table. If we could go back, we’d prioritize taking money from women investors.
Courtney: Kickstarter and Republic are very different tools, with Republic you have very serious investors and big dollar amounts, whether it’s $100 or $10k, they are getting ownership in your company. That said, I didn’t approach them that differently first. I learned about the difference the very first day of the Republic campaign. With Kickstarter, there’s a lot of amping people up, this is coming, get ready. This is the first 24 hours or so to get the juice going and then you get pushed down on the algorithm. I asked friends for their support and we hit a big dollar amount in 24 hours. With Republic, when I sent it to all my friends, after 24h, very few people put in money. I went to bed that night, I thought it was going to be a failure. What I realized is that people were not familiar with Republic at the time the same way they were with Kickstarter. They needed more time to digest the campaign, understand the platform, read through all the materials before committing their capital.
Advice for others raising capital?
Nancy: Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need!
Michael: Take every chance you have to test and refine your product in small batches before seeking funding.
Caroline: It’s really important to get feedback, we have a number of advisors, some of whom are angel investors in our company. Once we put together our story for the pitch, we send it out for folks to get candid feedback. What are the hardest questions you would ask. It’s really important to have your materials prepared, having your financial model and your data available to be able to be responsive pretty quickly.
Courtney: Be more human. In a time when we’re all re-establishing human connection, I got extra open-hearted with all of our Republic investors. Out of all the Republic campaigns I invested in, very few had customized messages to their investors. I thought, “What a lost opportunity!” So I customized our messages in a way that spurred further conversation.
We at Foodboro have talked about the different approaches to raising capital for your CPG, including guides for venture capitalists, angel investors, accelerator programs, and public fundraising. For new and growing businesses, it’s a huge endeavor to find the capital to get your product to where you know it can go. You don’t know what’s going to work so maybe you start with one approach and use that to leverage the next move. Or maybe you are throwing everything at the wall all at once and seeing what sticks.
Whatever the timeline, most foodpreneurs are creating a patchwork of funding, building bridges to get over the streams, canals, and rivers they encounter on the journey to becoming a profitable CPG. We wanted to talk to some founders who have been through the ins and outs of raising capital to see what lessons could be shared- the successes, the pitfalls, the pivots and well-earned advice!
(Check out Courtney’s post on AKUA’s successfully Republic campaign)
Starting Out: Deciding When and How to Raise Capital
Nancy: I was lucky enough to be self-funded for five years and grew quickly enough to do that. In 2020, in order to grow the way we wanted to- nationally and internationally and through different channels, we decided we needed more funding to fuel that growth. I did everything simultaneously, I didn’t know what was going to work, Shark Tank, pitching at various Angel Groups and groups like the Nutrition Capital Network, Kickstarter and now Republic. It probably would have been better to do a neat step-by-step process, I was doing all of this simultaneously. It helped to get really solid on brand messaging on who you are and why you’re doing this.
Michael: Prior to the Kickstarter, we were self-funded. Early on in deciding to launch a candy brand, I knew I was looking at a long lead time from developing the product, to finding a manufacturer to getting it fully manufactured and produced. I wanted to be able to do something that could start building our audience and fan base, as well as be able to test what we were building. Coming from the tech world, I was wanting to release something and get feedback on that. In the CBG industry, it’s a lot harder than that, when you’re thousands of dollars away from having a testable product. You're building the product and the brand. The kickstarter was a great way to get the brand and story out there for people, to see how it resonated. Who was into it, why were they into it. All of that data as a really early brand is so so helpful. So getting to do that while getting the money from the bank is so helpful.
Caroline: We tried a lot of different things, we were grant-funded for the first two years of business. We won a grant from the Closed Loop Foundation. We’ve been through a number of accelerator programs, which was great practice in pitching. When the pandemic hit, we lost so much revenue overnight. We had to pivot to consumer and retail. We used Republic for that.
Courtney: Akua was launched in 2017, we bootstrapped the business, paying for our own ingredients and holding tasting parties for our kelp jerky. We launched our Kickstarter and Indiegogo in early 2018 to launch Kelp Jerky and closed our first convertible note at the end of the same year.
Tell us about what worked really well for you:
Nancy: Through the Nutrition Capital Network, owned by New Hope, I was pitching at high level investor meet ups specifically for food, beverage and body brands. I met with Bimbo Bakeries in 2020. They are the biggest baked goods company in the world. They made a minority investment in us in early 2021 as a strategic investor. I was initially terrified of working with them. I didn’t know what it would be like to work with a big corporation. But it was helpful that we could get to know each other through a lot of meetings, it takes many meetings and calls to get to the point where a deal can be made. Through this, we each laid out our expectations clearly. They told us they want for us to continue to operate autonomously but that they would be able to support us. They have been nothing but supportive. They are a baked goods company, we are a baked goods company. They really understand our space. They aren’t interested in making us into them, they are interested in exploring the better-for-you snack space. They’ve introduced us to Sam’s Club and supported our launch in 7-Eleven. Look for smart money, someone who can not only write a check but understands the business and can help us grow more.
Michael: The biggest piece for success on kickstarter is doing well in your first 24-48 hours. In preparation, I talked to anyone I knew who had done one, in different communities, slack communities. A big piece of advice from everyone was to nail the first day or two. If you can do that, Kickstarter will help you. Often this means tapping into your circle. Getting the Kickstarter to help expands your reach beyond that circle and if you do well, you will be featured on the homepage. We were featured, it was helpful.
Caroline: The pandemic hit and we immediately lost revenue so we had to rethink our approach. We were selling snacks to offices and that quickly dried up. So we decided to move over to direct to consumer and retail with baking mixes, which weren’t yet off the ground. We knew friends who raised on Republic when they were pre-production. We decided to go that route because it would help us raise the capital we needed for the pivot AND it would get us in front of more consumers. It was a great way to expand reach and to build momentum. This equity crowdfunding campaign (plus a safe note funding) was instrumental in helping us hit the milestone to hit the early stage series A, most investors say don’t talk to me until you get a million dollar runway. We were able to hit that and have lined up a bunch of contracts. We are launching at Wholes Foods in June and are in a position to expand our sales and operational capacity.
Courtney: Our sales doubled during our first few months running the campaign from the extra eyeballs and we saw that Republic quickly became one of the biggest traffic drivers to our Shopify store. We are wrapped up our Republic campaign with a 2,000+ email list of investors (who are also our top customers and now evangelists). It’s awesome to be creating a new product with your Republic investors. It gives them something to feel excited about, and allows them to feel like they are a part of the creative process. Our most engaged update was when we asked our investors and followers whether they preferred our Blue or Green Kelp Burger packaging.
What approaches would you recommend to other founders?
Nancy: First, find someone who will mentor you and will be BRUTAL! Learning to think about what an investor wants to hear from you and the information they will want is so important. You have maybe six minutes to convey a lot of information, so learning to think about what they expect and what questions they will ask is important. I learned this through pitching with groups like Nutrition Capital Network and Brandjectory and working with my own mentors.
Michael: Go for the warm intros when vying for private dollars, we didn’t do any cold outreach. Cold outreach is really really hard. Warm intros and leverage what you’re doing on your Kickstarter to connect with other founders in the space. Having a public campaign that’s successful gives you credibility in this space. Leverage that to connect with other founders you admire and love what they’re up to. Those end up being the people who can advise you and possibly make connections to investors. They are the best intros to investors you can get.
Caroline: Our experience with accelerators has been really positive and helpful for different aspects of our growth as a business. Tech Stars’s demo day connected us with an investor that ultimately ended up taking our first price round, it was great practice for pitching.
Courtney: We raised a private seed round 5 months after the close of our Republic campaign. You’re looking for bigger check sizes, it’s the same amount of work in terms of time. I think it depends on if people enjoy things like Republic and Crowdfunding. I'm a people person and a marketing. I’m taking calls with people, starting relationships. It’s a relationship driven game. Republic is a great way to take smaller investments without ending up with a messy capital table that leaves you chasing small investors.
What would you do differently if you could go back?
Nancy: I wish I had known and been more prepared for how much time and effort this was going to take so that this didn’t come as a surprise. I’ve had to run my company and do this at the same time they’re really both full time jobs. You have to toughen up in terms of your expectations an be willing to reach out over and over again.
Michael: I’m always wishing I would do a better job at communicating more frequently with our kickstarter backers. They are these early super fans who believe in what we’re doing without having tried out a product yet. As a solo founder with very little help, it’s hard to continue providing the constant updates that I would love to be able to.
Caroline: People say that getting investments from a venture capitalist is like getting married and it’s true. You have to do your due diligence, we would get in contact with other companies that have a relationship with the investor to see what kind of engagement they have and how often. They are not only vetting you, you are vetting them. It’s easy to think that you just need cash in the door. As a woman-founded business, the majority of the money out there still comes from white men. We wish we could see more women at the capital table. If we could go back, we’d prioritize taking money from women investors.
Courtney: Kickstarter and Republic are very different tools, with Republic you have very serious investors and big dollar amounts, whether it’s $100 or $10k, they are getting ownership in your company. That said, I didn’t approach them that differently first. I learned about the difference the very first day of the Republic campaign. With Kickstarter, there’s a lot of amping people up, this is coming, get ready. This is the first 24 hours or so to get the juice going and then you get pushed down on the algorithm. I asked friends for their support and we hit a big dollar amount in 24 hours. With Republic, when I sent it to all my friends, after 24h, very few people put in money. I went to bed that night, I thought it was going to be a failure. What I realized is that people were not familiar with Republic at the time the same way they were with Kickstarter. They needed more time to digest the campaign, understand the platform, read through all the materials before committing their capital.
Advice for others raising capital?
Nancy: Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need!
Michael: Take every chance you have to test and refine your product in small batches before seeking funding.
Caroline: It’s really important to get feedback, we have a number of advisors, some of whom are angel investors in our company. Once we put together our story for the pitch, we send it out for folks to get candid feedback. What are the hardest questions you would ask. It’s really important to have your materials prepared, having your financial model and your data available to be able to be responsive pretty quickly.
Courtney: Be more human. In a time when we’re all re-establishing human connection, I got extra open-hearted with all of our Republic investors. Out of all the Republic campaigns I invested in, very few had customized messages to their investors. I thought, “What a lost opportunity!” So I customized our messages in a way that spurred further conversation.
We at Foodboro have talked about the different approaches to raising capital for your CPG, including guides for venture capitalists, angel investors, accelerator programs, and public fundraising. For new and growing businesses, it’s a huge endeavor to find the capital to get your product to where you know it can go. You don’t know what’s going to work so maybe you start with one approach and use that to leverage the next move. Or maybe you are throwing everything at the wall all at once and seeing what sticks.
Whatever the timeline, most foodpreneurs are creating a patchwork of funding, building bridges to get over the streams, canals, and rivers they encounter on the journey to becoming a profitable CPG. We wanted to talk to some founders who have been through the ins and outs of raising capital to see what lessons could be shared- the successes, the pitfalls, the pivots and well-earned advice!
(Check out Courtney’s post on AKUA’s successfully Republic campaign)
Starting Out: Deciding When and How to Raise Capital
Nancy: I was lucky enough to be self-funded for five years and grew quickly enough to do that. In 2020, in order to grow the way we wanted to- nationally and internationally and through different channels, we decided we needed more funding to fuel that growth. I did everything simultaneously, I didn’t know what was going to work, Shark Tank, pitching at various Angel Groups and groups like the Nutrition Capital Network, Kickstarter and now Republic. It probably would have been better to do a neat step-by-step process, I was doing all of this simultaneously. It helped to get really solid on brand messaging on who you are and why you’re doing this.
Michael: Prior to the Kickstarter, we were self-funded. Early on in deciding to launch a candy brand, I knew I was looking at a long lead time from developing the product, to finding a manufacturer to getting it fully manufactured and produced. I wanted to be able to do something that could start building our audience and fan base, as well as be able to test what we were building. Coming from the tech world, I was wanting to release something and get feedback on that. In the CBG industry, it’s a lot harder than that, when you’re thousands of dollars away from having a testable product. You're building the product and the brand. The kickstarter was a great way to get the brand and story out there for people, to see how it resonated. Who was into it, why were they into it. All of that data as a really early brand is so so helpful. So getting to do that while getting the money from the bank is so helpful.
Caroline: We tried a lot of different things, we were grant-funded for the first two years of business. We won a grant from the Closed Loop Foundation. We’ve been through a number of accelerator programs, which was great practice in pitching. When the pandemic hit, we lost so much revenue overnight. We had to pivot to consumer and retail. We used Republic for that.
Courtney: Akua was launched in 2017, we bootstrapped the business, paying for our own ingredients and holding tasting parties for our kelp jerky. We launched our Kickstarter and Indiegogo in early 2018 to launch Kelp Jerky and closed our first convertible note at the end of the same year.
Tell us about what worked really well for you:
Nancy: Through the Nutrition Capital Network, owned by New Hope, I was pitching at high level investor meet ups specifically for food, beverage and body brands. I met with Bimbo Bakeries in 2020. They are the biggest baked goods company in the world. They made a minority investment in us in early 2021 as a strategic investor. I was initially terrified of working with them. I didn’t know what it would be like to work with a big corporation. But it was helpful that we could get to know each other through a lot of meetings, it takes many meetings and calls to get to the point where a deal can be made. Through this, we each laid out our expectations clearly. They told us they want for us to continue to operate autonomously but that they would be able to support us. They have been nothing but supportive. They are a baked goods company, we are a baked goods company. They really understand our space. They aren’t interested in making us into them, they are interested in exploring the better-for-you snack space. They’ve introduced us to Sam’s Club and supported our launch in 7-Eleven. Look for smart money, someone who can not only write a check but understands the business and can help us grow more.
Michael: The biggest piece for success on kickstarter is doing well in your first 24-48 hours. In preparation, I talked to anyone I knew who had done one, in different communities, slack communities. A big piece of advice from everyone was to nail the first day or two. If you can do that, Kickstarter will help you. Often this means tapping into your circle. Getting the Kickstarter to help expands your reach beyond that circle and if you do well, you will be featured on the homepage. We were featured, it was helpful.
Caroline: The pandemic hit and we immediately lost revenue so we had to rethink our approach. We were selling snacks to offices and that quickly dried up. So we decided to move over to direct to consumer and retail with baking mixes, which weren’t yet off the ground. We knew friends who raised on Republic when they were pre-production. We decided to go that route because it would help us raise the capital we needed for the pivot AND it would get us in front of more consumers. It was a great way to expand reach and to build momentum. This equity crowdfunding campaign (plus a safe note funding) was instrumental in helping us hit the milestone to hit the early stage series A, most investors say don’t talk to me until you get a million dollar runway. We were able to hit that and have lined up a bunch of contracts. We are launching at Wholes Foods in June and are in a position to expand our sales and operational capacity.
Courtney: Our sales doubled during our first few months running the campaign from the extra eyeballs and we saw that Republic quickly became one of the biggest traffic drivers to our Shopify store. We are wrapped up our Republic campaign with a 2,000+ email list of investors (who are also our top customers and now evangelists). It’s awesome to be creating a new product with your Republic investors. It gives them something to feel excited about, and allows them to feel like they are a part of the creative process. Our most engaged update was when we asked our investors and followers whether they preferred our Blue or Green Kelp Burger packaging.
What approaches would you recommend to other founders?
Nancy: First, find someone who will mentor you and will be BRUTAL! Learning to think about what an investor wants to hear from you and the information they will want is so important. You have maybe six minutes to convey a lot of information, so learning to think about what they expect and what questions they will ask is important. I learned this through pitching with groups like Nutrition Capital Network and Brandjectory and working with my own mentors.
Michael: Go for the warm intros when vying for private dollars, we didn’t do any cold outreach. Cold outreach is really really hard. Warm intros and leverage what you’re doing on your Kickstarter to connect with other founders in the space. Having a public campaign that’s successful gives you credibility in this space. Leverage that to connect with other founders you admire and love what they’re up to. Those end up being the people who can advise you and possibly make connections to investors. They are the best intros to investors you can get.
Caroline: Our experience with accelerators has been really positive and helpful for different aspects of our growth as a business. Tech Stars’s demo day connected us with an investor that ultimately ended up taking our first price round, it was great practice for pitching.
Courtney: We raised a private seed round 5 months after the close of our Republic campaign. You’re looking for bigger check sizes, it’s the same amount of work in terms of time. I think it depends on if people enjoy things like Republic and Crowdfunding. I'm a people person and a marketing. I’m taking calls with people, starting relationships. It’s a relationship driven game. Republic is a great way to take smaller investments without ending up with a messy capital table that leaves you chasing small investors.
What would you do differently if you could go back?
Nancy: I wish I had known and been more prepared for how much time and effort this was going to take so that this didn’t come as a surprise. I’ve had to run my company and do this at the same time they’re really both full time jobs. You have to toughen up in terms of your expectations an be willing to reach out over and over again.
Michael: I’m always wishing I would do a better job at communicating more frequently with our kickstarter backers. They are these early super fans who believe in what we’re doing without having tried out a product yet. As a solo founder with very little help, it’s hard to continue providing the constant updates that I would love to be able to.
Caroline: People say that getting investments from a venture capitalist is like getting married and it’s true. You have to do your due diligence, we would get in contact with other companies that have a relationship with the investor to see what kind of engagement they have and how often. They are not only vetting you, you are vetting them. It’s easy to think that you just need cash in the door. As a woman-founded business, the majority of the money out there still comes from white men. We wish we could see more women at the capital table. If we could go back, we’d prioritize taking money from women investors.
Courtney: Kickstarter and Republic are very different tools, with Republic you have very serious investors and big dollar amounts, whether it’s $100 or $10k, they are getting ownership in your company. That said, I didn’t approach them that differently first. I learned about the difference the very first day of the Republic campaign. With Kickstarter, there’s a lot of amping people up, this is coming, get ready. This is the first 24 hours or so to get the juice going and then you get pushed down on the algorithm. I asked friends for their support and we hit a big dollar amount in 24 hours. With Republic, when I sent it to all my friends, after 24h, very few people put in money. I went to bed that night, I thought it was going to be a failure. What I realized is that people were not familiar with Republic at the time the same way they were with Kickstarter. They needed more time to digest the campaign, understand the platform, read through all the materials before committing their capital.
Advice for others raising capital?
Nancy: Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need!
Michael: Take every chance you have to test and refine your product in small batches before seeking funding.
Caroline: It’s really important to get feedback, we have a number of advisors, some of whom are angel investors in our company. Once we put together our story for the pitch, we send it out for folks to get candid feedback. What are the hardest questions you would ask. It’s really important to have your materials prepared, having your financial model and your data available to be able to be responsive pretty quickly.
Courtney: Be more human. In a time when we’re all re-establishing human connection, I got extra open-hearted with all of our Republic investors. Out of all the Republic campaigns I invested in, very few had customized messages to their investors. I thought, “What a lost opportunity!” So I customized our messages in a way that spurred further conversation.
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