Aligned Fundraising... it's all the rage
This week I gave the keynote for Rockstart’s AgriFood Selection Day.
If you don’t know Rockstart, they are an incredible accelerator + fund supporting companies in the food, energy, and emerging tech sectors.
I have been working with them for the past 2 years providing executive leadership coaching to the Founders in their portfolio. I can truly say that they offer an incredible, thoughtful, and high value-add program and community for purpose driven companies.
To get into the program, startups go through a rigorous process including being interviewed by the Selection Committee, which is bound to bring up nerves.
Rockstart brought me in to provide an inspirational keynote to the prospective startups to make sure they walk away with value even if they aren’t selected for the program. The keynote was also designed to prime the Founders to be their authentic selves through the interview process.
That might sound strange (like no duh Analisa), but very often in fundraising Founders will put on an act.
They try to be who they think the investors want them to be rather than who they really are.
My keynote on Aligned Fundraising is a perfect fit for this kind of setting.
It goes over the formula I teach all my clients on how to attract investors that align with their company vision and values. This formula starts with being honest and transparent about where you and your business are. Doing so builds trust and brings forth investors who will truly be supportive of your journey.
The response to the talk was overwhelming.
Startups came up to me and said:
“That was absolutely brilliant”
“So refreshing.”
“I needed to hear this today.”
And I totally get it.
As a Founder, it’s easy to lose confidence in the fundraising process.
You get a lot of nos and a lot of feedback, which can cause you to question yourself and drift from your purpose.
Staying true to your vision and values — while difficult — is the secret for attracting the right investors and for maintaing long-term relationships that will drive success.
Doing this work is fundamental for building any business. It creates the foundation for everything to come and will pay many dividends over the long run.
If you’re interested in booking a keynote on Aligned Fundraising for your portfolio companies or a startup event, send me a message and we’ll set up a call.
PS: Watch this vid to the end. There’s a great testimonial from one of the startups that sums the whole conversation up.
Hugs from a quick trip to Copenhagen,
Analisa
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PPS: For the last 1.5 years, I’ve been fundraising for Top 50 Farmers, a non-profit project to scale regenerative agriculture by spotlighting the farmers who are leading the way. We’ve closed almost €1 million in funding from vision and value aligned investors and later this month we’re hosting a free webinar on how we did it.