Entrepreneurs need capital and often raise it from investors. This requires a lot of things. The time has to be correct. The key to timing is easy, according to this CEO.
Entrepreneurs and investors share lessons from their own experiences. Front CEO and co-founder Mathilde Collin knows how to raise money. She raised $138 million from venture capital, including from Frederic Kerrest, COO of Okta. They spoke on several topics, and the entire event is available on the internet.
When you feel great, like you, the founder, look for outside investment, because timing can make or break a fundraise. Sometimes this doesn't correlate with your company's numbers.
She said that it could be you hired someone amazing.
Why? According to Collin, investors are very good at assessing if a founder is genuine in their motives, which is related to confidence and excitement for the company. She always starts her presentations with why she is doing something, even if it gets more complicated as it goes on.
Frederic Kerrest wants to spend his time with people who care and are interested.
She evaluated investors based on the needs of the company. When it came to Front's later-stage Series C, she turned to several operators who could provide capital and an Insider's take on the industry and corporate guidance.
Collin says that it continues to be helpful to turn to Sequoia for its Series B. She felt the need to change the wheel as her company grew. She turned to people who had been through the same situation and they were able to give her guidance. This turned out to be a group of industry leaders such as Michael Cannon-Brookes from Atlassian, Eric Yan from Zoom, and Frederic Kerrest from Qualtrics.
Kerrest said that these people get their hands dirty in the running and building of businesses.
Kerrest said there is a lot of great value you can derive from institutional investors. They will bring a lot of networks. They will have a lot of ideas on how to grow. They will bring a lot of ideas to the table.
Kerrest said there is more to building a company. He said to build a sales team or scale internationally. Operators can help with critical steps like the CEO of a larger business.
As the rounds progress, it doesn't get more predictable. As the company grows, it becomes harder to raise money.
She said that you need to have good reasons to raise money. It doesn't get easier.
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