Should I change to web3 to fundraise? Hell n…maybe? + Fundraising Fieldnotes - 1.21.22
Hey - it’s Jason Yeh 🕺🏻
This is my Friday recap of thoughts I’ve had while helping founders solve their fundraising challenges this past week (1.21.22)
If you have any questions, please reply! I try to get to every comment/question I get :)
On to the Fieldnotes for 1.21.22…
Should I change to web3 to fundraise? Hell n…maybe?
I chat with entrepreneurs all day, everyday. They range from founders of companies my old firm invested millions in, to tiny angel investments of mine, to random internet strangers looking for feedback.
Over the last few months the most common conversation I’ve had with each of the aforementioned founder types has been around the web3 craze and whether or not they should be adding web3 into their pitch to improve their chances of fundraising.
I don’t blame them. If you’re in the startup world, you would have to be wildly oblivious to not wonder what this movement’s impact on your company is.
Do I think it’s a big deal?
When you see investors like my good friend Julia Lipton of Awesome People Ventures 100% shift their investment strategy to web3 it’s hard to ignore.
Btw - this is not a struggling investor deciding to hard pivot to save her career. Julia switching to web3 would be like a baseball player who already batted .370 right-handed switching to batting lefty because she *knew* she’d do better. For you non-baseball fans out there, it meant she was already great and chose to change to be even greater.
That is the kind of hype you have to pay attention to. And so do I think it’s an important wave? Yes, I do.
That said, I treat this question the same way I treat any other question that asks “should I do X to increase my chances of fundraising?”
To that, my answer is “no.”
No, you shouldn’t make your company a web3 company to improve your fundraising chances.
No, you shouldn’t find a co-founder to eliminate doubts about being a solo founder during fundraising.
No, you shouldn’t first build a prototype or run an MVP test just to entice investors.
No, you shouldn’t close your first sale to enhance the outcome of your fundraise.
But those things sound good… why not?
Good thought. Here’s the catch:
Weekly Fieldnotes 👇
He’s not wrong
Another reminder to launch fast and iterate
Till next week. Stay adamant and be chased.
Jason
p.s. The Steelers had just a 9% chance to make the playoffs before the last week of the regular season. I’m proud of them for even making it even tho they got smoked by the Chiefs (wompwomp).
In case you missed it…
Last week’s post demonstrated how to overcome the anxiety of asking for help & my top tips for making an effective request.
Small asks!
If you thought this was helpful or enjoyable in any way, I’d love for you to:
Forward this newsletter to others who would enjoy it
Follow me on Twitter where I’ve begun building in public (my course, my podcast, etc)!
Listen with a friend to Funded, my podcast that tells the rollercoaster stories of how founders raised millions (and subscribe🙏)
Ask me your fundraising questions so I can help you and cover them in a future issue