You Can Raise VC in the Summer Despite the Myth

Founders - you can raise VC in the summer, but kicking of a new fundraise in the next few weeks is...not great.

I know the prevailing wisdom is VCs shut up shop during July / August and all decamp to their villas on Lake Como.

But that's just not true! Most VCs (in particular your favorite emerging managers) are full go during the summer. We appreciate their work :)

Notes on the data:

• Date is reflective of when the deal is 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱. Which means most of the deals in June, for instance, did not begin life in June. Do your prep work early!

• I'm not sure I would kick off a new fundraise with a bunch of cold emails in the next couple of weeks. But if you're already raising, don't just turn it off.

• BTW - run an actual fundraising process. Don't just take scattershot meetings. Your calendar during the raise should be jammed with specific, well-organized meetings in a particular order. Poor planning kills many a fundraise.

• I'm not sure if anyone has good data on how long an active fundraising process takes these days. I used to hear 2-3 months, now I'm hearing longer for many and much shorter for a special few.

Fundraise into momentum, pure and simple. If you can time that momentum is start September 1st, even better.

Good luck out there!

#startups #fundraising #founders