Raising capital is a critical milestone for any startup. It requires meticulous planning, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of the financial landscape. With the right approach, you can secure the funding you need to propel your business forward. This article will guide you through the essential steps to raise capital with confidence, focusing on investor-ready financial models, pitch deck preparation, and post-funding financial planning.
Creating investor-ready financial models is the foundation of a successful fundraising campaign. These models provide potential investors with a clear and comprehensive view of your startup’s financial health and future prospects. Here are the key components to consider:
Revenue Projections: Estimate your future revenue based on market research, historical data, and growth assumptions. This helps investors understand the potential return on their investment.
Expense Forecasting: Outline your expected expenses, including operational costs, salaries, marketing, and R&D. This demonstrates your understanding of the financial requirements to achieve your business goals.
Cash Flow Analysis: Show how cash flows in and out of your business over time. This is crucial for investors to assess your startup’s liquidity and ability to manage financial obligations.
Break-Even Analysis: Identify the point at which your startup will become profitable. This helps investors gauge the viability and sustainability of your business model.
Sensitivity Analysis: Evaluate how changes in key assumptions (e.g., sales volume, pricing, costs) impact your financial projections. This demonstrates your preparedness for various scenarios and your ability to adapt to changing conditions.
By developing robust financial models, you can provide investors with the confidence they need to invest in your startup.
Our track record and talent. We are your long-term SaaS accounting partner. The US-based team we allocate to you will work with only a handful of clients at a time, ensuring they are high-touch, embedded in your business, and feel like an in-house team. Here are the key reasons why startups prefer us.
We handle the financials so you can focus on scaling your business.
Trusted by hundreds of successful startups.
We support you from seed to exit, so you never have to switch firms.
Our team consists of experienced controllers, accountants, and bookkeepers who specialize in SaaS accounting.
We develop accounting processes that fit your unique business needs.
From financial planning to tax compliance, we offer end-to-end services.
Our team comprises CFOs, accountants, investors, and entrepreneurs with extensive expertise in startup finance, accounting, and tax.
The main reasons startups choose to work with us are:
Our track record: We’ve helped countless startups grow from a few team members to hundreds of employees, and for many, we’ve scaled with them through their exits.
In-House Feel: With other firms, you’ll likely get a team from a service center that is working with 15 or 20 clients at a time. We are the opposite side of the spectrum. We are your long-term partner, and the US-based team we allocate to you will only be working with a handful of clients at a time, so they can be high-touch, embedded in your business, and feel like an in-house team.
Scalability: Hopping from accounting firm to accounting firm as you scale is not fun. That’s why startups prefer Graphite. We are a one-stop-shop. We handle everything (bookkeeping, operational accounting, CFO, FP&A, tax, etc.) and have yet to meet our match in terms of scale.
Robust Reporting: The clients that work with us receive some of the most insightful business reporting in the industry. Here is an example of our financial health dashboard that we set up for our clients. We help our operators keep a tight understanding of unit economics, growth and capital needs.
Top Talent: Our team members have worked with hundreds of startups, and have a wealth of knowledge about your specific industry.
Our pricing structure is really simple and extremely fair…it has to be, as we focus on startups and growing companies. Because we are more of a long-term finance partner (which is what you want) compared to a short term “outsourced” bookkeeping firm, all of our engagements are custom.
Most of our clients come to us from a sub par experience with another firm, so we are used to facilitating and managing transitions. Along with your direct Ledgerive team, every client is also staffed with an onboarding manager who will be the one to manage the transition so you don’t have to.
Every client we work with is assigned a dedicated team, usually consisting of two to four team members. Of those team members, we will define a main point of contact. We love Slack, so if you use it, we can create a Slack instance and communicate there. We also will create an email alias so you can simply email one email address that will go to your entire Graphite team.
We are speaking with most of our clients on a regular basis. Some daily. Others have weekly or bi-weekly standing meetings. Think of it like this: However you would communicate with an internal finance team, that’s how we will communicate.
Locations: WY HQ / Clients around the world
With team members across the country and clients worldwide, we cast a wide net.
The smartest move you’ll make for your business this week. Drop us a message below.
Alternatively, you can email us at admin@ledgerive.com
