Become an undeniable fundraiser – TechCrunch

As a founder, “Of course, we’ll make it up!” It’s easy to say. But actually pulling the pole is not an easy task. How do you prepare yourself for success in this new world? Which levers should you pull first? How can you ensure that you can secure capital when needed, or that your company is irrefutably funded?

Nowadays, being undeniably funded should be every founder’s north star. It indicates that you have built a viable company that will undoubtedly receive capital attention and funding when the time comes.

Analyze performance KPIs

You must prioritize KPIs that represent efficiency as you begin your path to undeniably funding. Vanity metrics have taken a backseat in this new world, and if you don’t ensure you’re efficient there will be few ways forward.

There are five key performance measures:

1. Growth Rate: The rate at which your annual recurring income (ARR) is growing. Can you still grow 2x or 3x over a year? How should your product change?
2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The amount of money you spend on sales and marketing to get one customer.
3. CAC Return Time: The time it takes to recover the cost of acquiring a customer. Shoot for no less than 20 months.
4. Gross Margins: The value of serving customers with both your technology and your people. The industry standard is about 75%.
5. A lot of burning The amount you spend to generate additional ARR. 1x is amazing but less is even better. This metric, popularized by David Sachs, has been a guiding light for my current company, because this metric doesn’t lie. You cannot hide expenses or hide expenses in other departments. It exposes the cold truth about your costs, growth and fundraising.

Examine your business and change your priorities

Once you have a good understanding of your effectiveness metrics, it’s time to take action. Regardless of your department, industry or type of client, I believe you should do the following.

Check your budget and cut it down to the essentials.

As a founder, you should delve into every department’s budget – don’t leave it to others. There is no soft spot.

Consider staff costs