How I Raised It - The podcast where we interview startup founders who raised capital. · Foundersuite.com - software for raising capital

Ep. 308 How I Raised It with Andrew Ackerman

·42 min·2 clips

Andrew says the ask slide should show amount, milestones, timing, and use of funds.

How I Raised It opens with Nathan Beckert framing the show around the mechanics of capital raising. Andrew Ackerman joins as a professor, investor, and author of The Entrepreneur's Odyssey. The conversation quickly turns to the work founders need to do before they ask for money. Nathan and Andrew move through pitch deck tips, investor prospecting, portfolio company jujitsu, and term sheet negotiation. Andrew spends time on the parts he thinks matter most in a deck. He wants to know how much money is being raised. He also wants to know where that money is supposed to take the company. Milestones matter because they show whether the round points to a believable next step. Timing matters too, since runway changes the shape of the raise. He says six months feels too short and five years sounds unrealistic. The episode uses a simple gas-tank metaphor to make the point. Raising too little can leave a company stranded halfway to the next milestone. Raising for the wrong target can make the next round harder instead of easier. Andrew ties the raise size back to business outcomes like ARR goals. He talks through the difference between a company that is preparing for another round and one that may not need one yet. Only after that higher-level check does he want to look at use of funds. Even then, he treats it as a sanity test first. The deeper financial model comes later. That keeps the episode grounded and practical. The close shifts to where listeners can find Andrew's book. He points people to Amazon and to his website, and the interview ends on a straightforward note.

As heard by us

A practical fundraising conversation that keeps the focus on milestones, timing, and whether the numbers still hold up.

Andrew Ackerman treats fundraising like a practical checklist: how much to raise, what milestone the money should buy, how long the path should take, and whether the use of funds actually matches the plan.

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Why you'd press play

You want a cleaner way to judge a raise before the pitch gets fuzzy.

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