How to Set Yourself Up to Fundraise Like a Queen

Fundraising is not a game of luck. It’s a numbers game where persistence works. Keeping your head in the game matters more than you think.

You Can’t Sort Of Fundraise, Just Like You Can’t Be Sort Of Pregnant

I think of it as my NBA playoff game. It’s going to kick my butt. It’s going to be hard. It’s going to drain me. I’m going to get flooded with no’s while I look for the yes’s. It will test my endurance. It will test my belief in what I’m building. It will make me wonder if I am ever going to close the round.

When I fundraise, I only fundraise. It’s game time for me.

Have A Tight Fundraising Process That You Can Rely On When Things Get Tough Out There

My system starts with a well researched list of investors. I set up email templates ahead of time for intros and follow ups. I use a Notion fundraising dashboard to track everything from pitch deck iterations to my pipeline.

Nurture Yourself Like You Would a Toddler

I am extremely nurturing and gentle with myself while fundraising. I reward myself every day. It’s a big deal that I showed up to do it all over again after how hard it was the day before. I reward myself for getting as many “no’s” as possible.

And just like an NBA player, you need to be well rested, present and on your game to close as fast as possible.

Don't Give Any Thought To What Anyone Else Is Doing.

Keep your head in the game. This is NBA game time for you. You cannot get distracted by anyone else. Someone raised a billion dollars on a napkin idea - who cares. Don't let anyone mess with your head. Head down, ruthless focus on what you're doing. Only speak to people who hype you up right now.

Although social media loves to tell us how easy it is to raise globs of money, for most of us it will be one of the hardest things we do. Set yourself up to fundraise like a queen.