Never rely on outside resources to raise funds for you
Occasionally, in my role As a consultant, I am approached by companies with fundraising plans that do not involve the CEO or member of the founding team running the fundraising process. In a way, I can understand it: From the outside, VC fundraising looks like sales, and if you have a good salesperson, why not let them do what they do best?
The problem is that while salespeople are great at selling, the VC fundraising process is very different from reaching customers. You are trying to find a link between the company and a long-term partner who will make a significant contribution to the future of your startup. And if there is a difference between the sales process and a deeper appraisal of the company (and there will be a difference, because the sales team has a different long-term view of what success looks like), that could cause the whole deal to fall apart.
There are some really good reasons why, at the earliest stage of fundraising, the founding team should run the fundraising process. In this article, I break down the problem and explain why letting anyone but the CEO raise funds is a terrible idea.
