How Startup Fundraising Works

YC Partner Brad Flora has seen startup fundraising from every angle: as a founder, as one of the most prolific angel investors in Silicon Valley, and now as a YC Partner. Brad has coached hundreds of companies on fundraising. In this talk, he shares stories and advice on how modern startup fundraising works.

For detailed advice on how to actually get in touch with investors and set up meetings, check out this video: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/71-how-to-get-meetings-with-investors-and-raise-money

For YC's comprehensive guide to seed fundraising, check out this guide: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4A-a-guide-to-seed-fundraising

Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/
Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs

Chapters (Powered by https://bit.ly/chapterme-yc) -
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - Fundraising resources
02:13 - 7 fundraising myths
04:06 - Raising money is glamorous
06:51 - The need to raise money before starting a startup
10:10 - My startup need to be impressive to raise money
13:56 - Raising money is complicated, slow, and expensive.
18:04 - I am going to lose control of my company
21:58 - I need a fancy network to raise money
23:43 - If investors reject my startup its a bad startup
26:35 - Wrap up - This isn't for you