Five Reasons Raising Capital Is More Difficult than It Needs to Be
This guest post was contributed by BJ Lackland, CEO of Lighter Capital. Securing funding for your growing startup can be surprisingly difficult. With stiff competition for limited sources of financing,...
View ArticleLessons From A Startup Pitch Competition
In addition to partnering with co-working spaces and business accelerators, EGFS participates in a number of events, workshops, and office hours at top tier universities including Stanford, Berkeley,...
View Article4 Tips for a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
This guest post by Geri Stengel was originally published on Forbes. Women-owned businesses start life with significantly less capital than those owned by men. How can a business grow if it starts life...
View ArticleDebt Funding Options for Startups
Did you know startups have several other funding options besides equity? Really, they do!! In this session Molly Otter of Lighter Capital and David Ehrenberg, Founder and CEO of Early Growth Financial...
View ArticleHow Do Angel Investors Make Decisions?
In some ways, getting your startup funded has parallels with The Amazing Race. It can seem like a long, winding, obstacle-strewn course. Kevin Smith of SEEDCHANGE shared his insights with us on what it...
View Article5 Ways to Convey Your Passion to Potential Investors
This guest post was contributed by BJ Lackland, CEO of Lighter Capital. Fundraising can be an arduous and time-consuming process for entrepreneurs. To survive this process, it’s critical that you stay...
View ArticleHow Entrepreneurship And Angel Investing Remove Barriers For Women
This guest post by Geri Stengel was originally published on Forbes. Opportunities are growing for women to sidestep the glass ceiling and steer clear of the glass cliff, that corporate “opportunity”...
View ArticleTop Startup Fundraising Mistakes to Avoid
This guest post was contributed by BJ Lackland, CEO of Lighter Capital. Raising money for your startup can be a 40 hour per week job—one you have to do in addition to the work-a-day job of managing and...
View ArticleAsk The VC: Make Your Startup Pitch A Winner
Since our first “Ask the VC” session was so popular, we decided to give it another go: this time with Marc Phillips, Managing Director at Arafura Ventures and author of Inside Silicon Valley: How the...
View ArticleHow to Answer Investors’ Toughest Questions
Originally published in Upstart Business Journal. What is the most difficult question that VCs ask and what is the best way to tackle it ahead of time? What is your hole? “The classic VC role is that...
View ArticleUsing Convertible Notes For Startup Financing
If you’re planning a seed round raise you need to know your way around convertible debt: what it is, how it works, and what the benefits are. While investors in some less well-developed startup hubs...
View ArticleConvertible Notes for Startup Financing
If you’re planning a seed round raise you need to know your way around convertible debt: what it is, how it works, and what the benefits are. While investors in some less well-developed startup hubs...
View Article5 Tips for Networking Your Way to Investor Referrals
This guest post was contributed by BJ Lackland, CEO of Lighter Capital. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for capital to grow your business, a key part of the process is getting a face-to-face meeting...
View ArticleCrowdfunding: Ways to Boost Your Campaign Success
With crowdfunding blowing up, in a good way, more and more entrepreneurs are considering jumping on the bandwagon. But before you upload your product video and hit the launch button on your campaign,...
View ArticleDebt Funding Options for Startups
Did you know startups have several other funding options besides equity? Really, they do!! In this session Molly Otter of Lighter Capital and David Ehrenberg, Founder and CEO of Early Growth Financial...
View ArticleFailsafe Ways to Increase Your Startup Valuation
Ahh startup valuations. It’s a topic that causes lots of angst, raises tons of questions, and definitely gets the emotions blazing. But let’s take a step back. Why are valuations even important?...
View ArticleEquity Crowdfunding: Is it Right for Your Business?
Though still not fully phased in, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) which Congress passed in January 2012, kicked off a wave of business and investor interest in (and platforms to...
View ArticleQuestions on Startup Fundraising? Ask The VC
Buffer This was the third webinar in our “Ask the VC” series. Structured as a Q&A session, Raising Venture Capital featured Sean Foote of Co=Creation Capital and Gadiel Morantes, Chief Strategy...
View ArticleWhat Is a SAFE? A Closer Look at The Simple Agreement for Future Equity
Convertible debt is a staple in startup funding. But sometimes the complexity and costs outweigh the benefits. Enter the SAFE, or Simple Agreement for Future Equity. Designed for simplicity on the...
View ArticleHow Do I Prepare For Pitching My Startup To A Venture Capitalist?
That is a question that we get here at EGFS on a regular basis in regards to fundraising. It’s important to know not only what to present to a venture capitalist, but how you get to that presentation...
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