Antony Divernois

Anto

[Adrien Naoki @adrien_naoki]

1/ The First 365 Days of Our Startup – HOMNOX 🧵

[Adrien Naoki @adrien_naoki]

Raising Capital For Our Pre-Revenue Startup

Drawing from my experiences over the past 14 months with our current startup, @homnox_ , and my previous startup venture from 2018 to 2020, I’ve learned a lot about fundraising and what to prioritize. For homnox, we successfully raised funds, albeit not as much as we had anticipated. As of this writing, we have completed our minimum viable product (MVP) and are gearing up to conclude our pre-seed round.

Key takeaways:

1. Raising funds from venture capitalists (VCs) shouldn't be your ultimate goal or a guaranteed indicator of startup success. VCs finalize deals with founders only when it's in their financial interest. Essentially, they're on the hunt for promising and often undervalued opportunities. Therefore, VC funds should be viewed as a means to an end, not as the end goal itself.

2. Before dedicating significant effort to secure venture capital, ensure your startup qualifies as “VC-eligible.” Indicators might include having more than just a PowerPoint presentation, showing potential for exponential growth, having a substantial total addressable market (TAM) and a full team in place.

3. It’s important to recognize that investors often have a specific investment thesis they adhere to, targeting certain industries or investment sizes. If you don’t align perfectly with their criteria, it’s best to quickly move on.

4. Struggling to fundraise for a long period of time can enhance a founder’s problem-solving and cost-efficiency aptitudes as capital is limited. You come to understand that time is your most valuable asset, and many things can be accomplished without spending money. Personally, the lessons learned from not securing the full amount of money have been the most enlightening.

5. Prioritizing bootstrapping in the early stages (starting without external funding) is necessary. Relying primarily on personal funds can drive innovation under resource constraints and potentially boost startup valuation. As a result, founders might find themselves in stronger negotiating positions when they eventually seek their first external investment.

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