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💸 When is a product/maker ready to raise money?

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At what point does a product become ready to talk to investors?

When you have users?
Revenue?
A clear business model?
A certain number of people using it?

Especially for solo or small-team makers, it feels twice as hard to reach all of these points alone - while continuing to build the product without income and bootstrapping everything.

At some point, it starts to feel like an infinite loop:

build, try to get revenue, shape the business model, build more, marketing, try to get revenue… =D

So when do you actually say, okay, now we’re ready to raise?

I’d really love to hear from people who have experience with VCs or other investors:

  • What steps should be done before approaching investors?

  • Where would you suggest applying?

  • What makes a product / maker ready for investment?

Would love to hear personal opinions and real experiences.

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revenue is useful but i dont think it has to be huge.

 Yes, I think so too. But you should at least know your growth path well, explore some business strategies and choose one, so you can actually talk to investors.

I don't think there is a single readiness checklist because different investors are looking for different signals. I think investors aren't checking boxes like 'do they have 1000 users or 10,000 dollars a month revenue. I believe if I were an investor the most important question is this " is this product or service going to keep growing without needing me to save it or pump more money into it". So I think you can start talking to investors no matter the stage of your product or service.

 Liked your pov. What do you think is the best way to contact investors?

 Well , I don't have the template for the best way to contact a potential investors. I believe between direct cold outreach/email and network contact one of these will work out. The main issue is that for most solo founders cold outreach is often the only available way to reach investors.

 Thanks for sharing your opinion!

There's always one more milestone that feels like it'd make the pitch stronger.

What I've noticed is investors don't actually want perfection, they want a trend line. A little bit of traction that's clearly moving up beats a bigger number that's flat. So instead of "am I ready," maybe the better question is "do I have 2-3 months of data showing direction, even if the numbers are small."

Also, talking to investors early, even before you're "ready," isn't wasted. Half of fundraising is just relationship-building over time.

 Thanks for your comment!

Have you had experience with this yourself, or are you still planning to?

For small reams proving the business while building is probably the hardest part.

 Agree.. But one can’t exist without the other also =/

i'd want to know what the money unlocks first. If the answer is just "more marketing," maybe the product isn't ready yet?

 Not more marketing.

Naturally, founders always have a big picture of what they want to achieve, what the product can become, how it can grow and become more functional. Makers definitely know that part.

But how to grow the business, expand the market, and so on... - that’s the part not every maker can answer.

So, ig, from a maker’s pov, money unlocks more opportunities to build more and faster.

I ll say when you have validated the PMF from a good sample of people you dont know. Early checks but not necessary big are good indication that your product has an audience with feedback and willing to pay for it.

 Yes, PMF validation is a strong signal, ig. Do you have any experience with all this?

 I do! the Lean Startup by Eric Reis is the bible for me. Build fast, with bugs is fine as long as the main premise is visible. Engage with local communities , pitch competitions, startup meetups, and collect feedback.

 Thanks for mentioning The Lean Startup - I’ll look into it a bit more.