Episode 7

#7: Coffee Talks with Mik & Trav - Handling the first investors

Episode 7 of Growing For It - 4th Coffee Talk about Airflight!

Mikkel and Travis discuss their journey of raising a pre-seed round for their company, starting with the emotional high of the grant funding and the subsequent challenges with a co-founder who gave up his equity. Afterwards, They aimed to raise $180,000 for 10% equity, initially feeling optimistic but learning the hard work involved. Despite initial setbacks, they refined their pitch, contacting 50 investors weekly, and eventually secured an investment. This investment, along with previous grants, allowed them to transition from bootstrapping to being fully funded, enabling them to hire staff and proceed with their product development of the flying crane.

Key take-aways

Importance of Honest Communication and Recalibration: The founders were able to resolve the co-founder issue through open and honest communication, and they quickly recalibrated their expectations and approach when facing challenges during the fundraising process.
Building a Strong Pitch and Investor Relationships: The founders put in significant effort to refine their pitch, becoming more confident and articulate in their presentations. They also focused on building genuine relationships with investors, which helped secure their first investment.
Transitioning from Bootstrapping to Funding: The investment from Peter marked a pivotal moment, allowing the founders to move forward with hiring, purchasing equipment, and building their product. The importance of having a compelling vision and building trust with investors was crucial in this pre-seed stage.

Chapters:

[0:00:00] Team Dynamics and Co-founder Challenges

[0:02:50] Fundraising Goals and Initial Optimism

[0:04:35] Developing the Pitch Deck

[0:07:09] Investor Outreach and Handling Rejections

[0:11:30] Improving Pitch Skills

[0:14:39] Meeting Peter and Securing the Investment

[0:20:01] Celebrating the Success

[0:21:39] Importance of Vision and Trust

If you wanna learn more about our "Elite Founders Fundraising" program, DM us on our socials listed here:

Mikkel on LinkedIn: https://growing-for-it.captivate.fm/mili

Travis on LinkedIn: https://growing-for-it.captivate.fm/trali