Learnings from Tom Coburn: How to Raise $20 million Miniseries

“In general, once you take on money from investors, everything changes”. Tom’s first piece of advice to our cohort came with a dose of reality: funding from investors only makes running a business more strenuous. The level of responsibility you take on drastically alters, with investors expecting a return for the faith they’ve placed in you.

Tom Coburn, co-founder and CEO of Jebbit, stressed throughout his four sessions the importance of recognizing this reality, because once you get on the wheel of raising venture money, it’s extremely difficult to get off.

Some of Tom’s tips for how to effectively raise venture funding are as follows:

1. It’s always better to oversubscribe. Pitching a lower number rather than a range allows you the opportunity to hit a realistic mark and impress your investors.
2. Customers and the product are the most important components at this stage. It’s much more important for a young startup to have quality customers and a quality product than substantial funding.
3. Getting the first commitment is the hardest part of the process. Keeping a level head throughout this process is very difficult, but very important. You can’t let what you’re hearing from the investor world get you too high or too low.
4. The best entrepreneurs are the ones who are self-aware, coachable, and willing to receive feedback. As a founder looking to receive funding, you must delicately balance being transparent with investors and sticking to your convictions.

Raising venture funding is an arduous, stressful, and ultimately grueling process. It provides an opportunity for sustainable growth, but comes with its fair share of drawbacks. As a founder, recognizing this reality and understanding what your particular needs are is essential for success. As Tom stated, keeping a level head throughout the process is what will ultimately help you thrive along this journey.