135 days to go: pushing for our next commitments
A recap of week fourteen as a full-time Founder.
Hey there 👋🏾,
For those of you who are short on time, here are the sections of the newsletter you may want to skip ahead to…
Win🏅: Sent our first investor update email of the year
Loss 🤕: No’s from 2x Angel Syndicates and 1x fund
Lessons 💡: It’s normal to feel a low after riding a high
Hack💥: How to use LinkedIn to find potential investors
Resources 📚: Investor email update templates and advice
As always, I appreciate feedback, so feel free to leave comments or reply to this email with your thoughts.
🎯 Objective
Get 2x more investor commitments
Now that we have the support from our first investor, my focus has shifted to closing a portion of the round each month. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to communicate that progress via these weekly updates, so bear with me! But, I’ll start by sharing my objective of gaining two more commitments in the coming weeks.
This means I’ll be working on:
Booking calls from my cold outreach and email automations
Looking for warm intros from my current network
Following up with investors who have shown an interest (or supported me) in the past
A lot has happened so far this year and, considering we’re all of two weeks into 2024, I can already feel that fundraising season is in full swing. This means I’ll be taking advantage of the momentum built to the end of last year, and last week to keep me going.
🔋 Progress recap & highlights
Biggest wins
WIN 1️⃣: Sent our first investor update email of the year 📧
I’ve heard Founders and investors say time and time again how important investor update emails are, but I didn’t really get it. In 2023, I reckon I sent 3x updates — it often wasn’t a priority, just a nice to do if there was time to spare.
Yet, without fail, at every event I attended and during most feedback conversations I had, someone flagged how important investor update emails are. But, the penny really dropped when a seasoned Angel investor said people will forward these updates to people who may be interested, even when they aren’t. Dealflow for investors will typically come from their network or people they trust and respect, so it does pay to send these updates as you never know what they could lead to.
So, I’ve made it my mission to get a monthly update out to my list of 65 investors and Founders, because it will help us to reach more of the right people.
I sent our first update this time last week and it didn’t disappoint. Here’s what happened:
6x people replied
1x offered some advice on our objectives for the quarter
1x made a formal introduction to another investor who may be interested
1x conversation started with our Angel investor
2x congratulated us on a great update and positive start to the year
While I don’t have an open rate (as I’m sending this directly from my email), I do know that it gave me a chance to start conversations with various people in my network, and that was a huge win. The outcome was beyond what I expected from the first update, and it encouraged me to keep at it.
TIPS FOR INVESTOR UPDATES IN HARD TIMES: It's far more difficult to send an investor update during the hard times. You can over think, worry about what people think of your failures or shortcomings, and wonder if it will damage the sense of trust you've worked hard to build. But nothing really trumps honesty and you'll be surprised how many people may jump in to help where they can. WIN 2️⃣: Introduced to 2x founders 👩🏾💻 / 3x potential investors and had 3x investor calls 📞
Last week was busy with phone calls and introductions, many of which came from a combination of cold outreach, warm introductions and responses to LinkedIn posts.
1x Founder reached out via LinkedIn after reading one of my updates
1x Founder connected after we met at an event in 2023
2x completed and 1x scheduled investor call from cold outreach
1x completed and 2x scheduled investor calls from warm introductions
In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned needing to have at least 100 calls to close the round. Last quarter, I managed to book 27 calls and, this quarter, I’ll need to double that at least.
This not only means doubling down on outreach by sending more automations, but also starting LinkedIn outreach (more on that next week, when I’ve ironed out the kinks), and having the additional people power necessary to close the round.
To have 3x calls lined up last week, and another 3x this week is a good, start but in reality, I need to book time with more people. So, over the next few weeks, I’ll shed more light on what I’m doing to increase my call volume to help anyone else who has a similar goal.
TIP FOR OUTREACH: One channel is probably not enough to close a round. Given fundriasing has become trickier, you're better off combining various channels (email, LinkedIn, events, introductions) to gradually connect with as many people as you can. WIN 3️⃣: Started organising our very first in-person event with SheDid & Parrish 🎟️
At the end of last year, I had the joy of being introduced to Jessica Parrish, Founder of SheDid, and we got on like a house on fire.
Fast-forward to a month later and we’re planning our first joint event for afro and curly hair stylists, which will be happening in March this year. I’m excited about this because… it’ll be our first event 🥳 and, after experiencing first-hand just how valuable events can be, I want to make sure people get as much from this as possible.
The details are still to be confirmed, but plans are very much in motion so I’ll share more about this as we make the final decisions.
WIN 4️⃣: We’ll soon have a Product & Fundraising Advisor 😱
When I kick-started this funding round, it didn’t occur to me that I could have an advisor who has been there, done it and worn the t-shirt to support me along the way.
Then I was fortunately introduced to someone who has not only been in my position and fundraised before but truly believes in me and Mane Hook-Up as a business, enough so that they offered to be an Advisor.
We’re still ironing out the details, but I’m sharing this now to emphasise how important it is to speak to Founders, Start-Up Operators as well as Investors when you’re trying to close a round. One interaction has the potential to turn into a huge opportunity, and it does pay to speak to as many people as you can.
TIP FOR CHOOSING ADVISORS: Your advisors are like a sports team. Each person plays a different role and, to win, you need to have a great line up. Make sure you have a balance of skills, experience and personality types. But most importantly, choose people who believe in you and will bring out the best in you as a Founder. The relationship needs to be healthy and strong for it to benefit the business in the long run. Is this helpful? Share the 240 Days newsletter with your community.
Biggest L’s 🤕
LOSS 😩: No’s from 2x Angel Syndicates and 1x fund
Toward the end of last year, I made it my mission to complete a lot of Angel Syndicate applications through the likes of Gust and Dealum.
I did this in the hopes that I would be first in line to get a response from the Syndicates in the New Year and, while I was right about the application process, I’ve had a couple of no’s so far.
Fortunately, as time has gone on, I’ve become more resilient to the no’s and started to use them as an opportunity to either stay in touch (by adding investors to my updates email list) or by asking for referrals to other Angels or funds that may be interested.
Remember that a ‘no’ can sometimes mean ‘not now’. I plan to circle back to some of the Syndicates that have said no when I’ve either raised more money or have built up more product engagement to see if that piques their interest.
TIP FOR FOLLOWING-UP AFTER A NO: Remember that deal flow for investors usually comes from recomendations. Just because an Angel, Syndicate or Fund isn't interested, doesn't mean that all of their contacts aren't. So, when you get a no, use. it as an opportunity to ask for referrals and warm intros to other investors in their network. 💡 Lessons learned
Quote of the week
It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.
— Scott Belsky
LESSON 👩🏾🏫: It’s normal to feel a low after riding a high
The first week of January was amazing.
After getting a ‘yes’, from our first Angel investor, I felt so relieved, happy and confident about what I’d been doing for the past few months.
This feeling lasted for about a week, and then I started to go in the complete opposite direction 😅. Just sheer panic.
I started to question if I could close the round, who would be interested, will more people believe in our product, and so on. The list of conflicting and negative thoughts went on for a while and sapped a lot of my energy.
So, by Wednesday/Thursday last week, I was exhausted and feeling pretty low. But what’s worse is I was confused about it. How could I, after months of painstakingly pushing for a yes, now be so down and stressed? Surely I should still be celebrating?
Luckily, I have a lot of great people around me (who are also more experienced) to help me along the way. And after speaking to my old mentor, it turns out this is pretty normal. Jeremy described this as my brain shifting from one objective — getting the first yes — to ‘oh damn, now you have to raise the rest’.
While I had taken some time to celebrate and acknowledge the win, what I hadn’t planned for was the transition from getting my first yes to getting many more.
At the end of our conversation I felt a lot better (and less worried that I was a total weirdo), and more certain that this was, in fact, an emotional wave I was riding that would eventually come to an end, and it did about a day or so later.
So, to any Founders who are feeling the same, you’re not alone. Fundraising is full of highs and lows, and this is just one of many.
TIP FOR BOUNCING BACK FROM A LOW: Give yourself some grace and feel whatever you're feeling. But also, do something nice to celebrate your win. No matter how big or small, make the time to acknowledge the milestone and then move on to the next goal. Without these small moments of gratitude, a lot will pass by without you taking note. 💥 Hack of the week
How to use LinkedIn to find potential investors
Investor outreach can be done in many ways, cold emails, warm introductions, events, LinkedIn and more. The beauty of LinkedIn is, that you’re able to do some research into a potential investor’s background and (if they have an ‘about me’ section), you may even be able to get their investment thesis down too.
But, you have to find them first. Here are a few ways to help you get started:
Review the connections of people you’re close to: 2nd and 3rd degree connections are often the best place to start as your existing connections may be able to get you a warm introduction. So, start by heading to the profile pages of a few people you’re close to, click on their connections list and filter the list by job title. Use words like ‘angel’, ‘investor’, ‘VC’ and ‘fund’, to narrow the list down. Once you have a list of potential investors, reach out to your close friends and colleagues to ask for introductions. But, do your research first to make sure it’s a good use of everyone’s time.
Search for Senior Executives in your industry: Some high-net-worth individuals, who are very senior in their field, may invest privately. While they’re more difficult to pinpoint (as they probably won’t have the term ‘investor’ in their LinkedIn profile), it’s worth looking for them. Use LinkedIn search to filter by location, seniority, job title (think C-Suite, CMO, CPO, CTO) and your sector (Beauty, Finance etc). This will provide you with a list of people who might be interested in your product but also in theory have the financial power to invest in your business.
Of all the social networks, Linkedin is one of the most powerful for Founders who are raising. It’s worth using it to your advantage!
TIP FOR ANYONE USING LINKEDIN FOR FREE: The free version of LinkedIn limits the number of searches you can make a month, so use them wisely. Otherwise, you can often get a 1x month free trial of LinkedIn premium from the platform or ask someone in your network for a 2x month free trial through their referral link. 📚 Resources
If you made it all the way to the end of this newsletter, you deserve a reward. So here’s a list of the best resources I came across last week to help you with your raise.
Investor update email templates & advice
🧰 Founder’s toolbox
Nothing to share this week! I’ll be back next week with more tools!
Questions? 🤔
Feel free to drop any questions in the comments below! Until next week,
J x
P.S. Here are some of my other posts:
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