Articles on startup funding, venture capital, and raising money from Cre8tive Capital—practical guidance for founders navigating the raise.
If you’re building in Chicago, you’ve probably felt it: the product is solid, the traction is real, and the round still takes longer to close than it would in San Francisco or New York. That’s not a story you’re telling yourself. It’s a structural pattern in how venture capital works right now, and it’s worth […]
The Chicago Funding Gap: Why Your Raise Is Taking Longer (And How to Fix It) Read More »
Preparing a VC pitch deck can be a demanding job. Imagine that you have a wonderful idea, and you want to sell it to that stranger sitting at the opposite of the table, who has probably seen similar kinds of ideas thousands of times. How could you ensure your presentation beat everyone else’s? The key
Why You should be Infusing Storytelling into Your VC Pitch (UPDATED) Read More »
As 2020 comes to a close, many small businesses struggle to earn revenue. COVID-19 is still a huge threat to many small business owners and employees. Early last week we saw Congress pass a new relief package recently signed by President Trump. Within this stimulus bill there are a few key advantages for small business
2020 COVID-19 Stimulus Package, and How it Affects Your Small Business Read More »
For years, the gender, racial, and ethnic disparities in venture capital industries have been striking. Noteworthy estimates that 70% of venture capital investors in 2018 were white, a mere decrease from 74% in 2016. The gender gap is even stronger, with only 18% of investors being women. While the data may show a slight improvement
Increasing Diversity in Venture Capital Read More »
When you are preparing for a VC pitch, don’t expect to have the green lights on with only the strength of your colorful slides and your well-practiced speech. Investors want to know all the things you left out, the unexplained truth, and how you came up with the assumptions you made. Be prepared to impress
How to Prepare Q&A for a VC Pitch: the 5 Areas You Need to Master Read More »
Whenever we talk to founders, the question of valuation tends to come up. In this article, we’ll dive into some of the methods for calculating startup valuations. So welcome to your crash course on valuation. Large, established companies are valued using methods like discounted cash flow, comparable company analysis, and precedent transaction analysis. But for
A Crash Course on Valuation Read More »
What is the Difference? When asking yourself how to fund your business, knowing the difference between angel investors and venture capital investors is important to make the right financial choices for the future of your business. Both angels and venture capitalist firms cater to innovative startup businesses, and hope to earn a healthy return on
How to Fund Your Business with Venture Capitalists or Angel Investors Read More »
It’s not surprising that the most popular source of financing for a startup is using the personal savings of the business’s founders. There is a misconception that entrepreneurs must go into debt to start a business. There is not a perfect formula to starting a business, but through smart saving techniques it is possible to
How To Start A Business Using Savings Read More »