How to Raise Money, and How to Succeed Long-Term - Stanford CS183F: Startup School

Jess Lee (Partner at Sequoia Capital) and Aaron Harris (Partner at YC) discuss raising money as an early stage company, and how to think about the fundraising process. Ali Rowghani (CEO of YC Continuity, previously CFO, COO @ Twitter, CFO @ Pixar) shares his thoughts on how to be a great leader and succeed long-term.

[muratyasar]

Omg. Thank you for giving the world the opportunity to get these advice from these awesome personalities. Thanks a lot!!

[EtienneJuneau]

Thx! Too bad Jess hit her mic and the sound is a little rough. Here are my notes:

1. Daring founder
2. Can explain the problem well
3. Big market

Fundraising is a process. Dedicate yourself to it. Prioritize the funders you want to work with. Allocate more time to them. Run is as a competitive process. Set a timeline and inform your funders of deadlines. Build a speadsheet (CRM style). Track conversations. Probably weigh these conversations.

Pick investors you like. You'll work with them for years. Get a sparring partner. Not a best friend.

2ND PART

How to be a great leader

1. There's no single personality type for great leaders
- Be yourself and be authentic
- Great leaders think and communicate clearly. Take more time to think. Plan. Clarity of thought precedes clarity of language.

2. Great leaders show good judgment about people

Don't rush it. People who you already know. Be aligned on values. Fire quickly.

Great leaders have exceptional personal integrity and commitment

3. Trust is a leader's most important success metric

Think about the leaders you follow in your own life. Try to use every challenge to generate more trust in you as a leader.

[fernfawfaw]

Thank you so much for the experience and orientation.

[Alex-llxm]

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you greatly

[normanmtv]

Wonderfully helpful. However the guest’s hair is rubbing against the mic the whole time. That is why we have sound engineers.

[alec]

The mic static is awfully distracting.