Name: Acquiring Funding - Bootstrapping Vs External
Uploaded: 2023-10-04T13:20:18.540Z
Duration: 220.52

FF1 ACQUIRING FUNDING_1.mp4

FF1 ACQUIRING FUNDING.vtt

ENGLISH


{{00:00:08}}
I think the key to getting started
with funding is finding groups that

{{00:00:12}}
invest in companies like yours.

{{00:00:14}}
I think in my early days as a
founder, because I'm a first time

{{00:00:17}}
founder, I wasted a lot of energy
talking to venture capitalists

{{00:00:21}}
that weren't a fit for my company.

{{00:00:23}}
Either they were investing in
business to be consumer applications

{{00:00:27}}
and we're business to business,
or they were investing in AI

{{00:00:32}}
and we don't have AI, right?

{{00:00:34}}
And so really doing the due diligence
and making sure you're matching

{{00:00:37}}
with like minded venture capitalists
who really invest in businesses

{{00:00:40}}
like yours is a way to get started.

{{00:00:43}}
The other key to getting started
is to make sure you have revenue.

{{00:00:45}}
Revenue is the key to everything.

{{00:00:47}}
If you have some early pilot customers,
the sooner you get to revenue, the

{{00:00:51}}
easier capital raising will be.

{{00:00:54}}
So when we think about bootstrapping
versus maybe a more VC minded and hyper

{{00:01:00}}
growth oriented business, we looked at a
lot of the opportunity that exists within

{{00:01:04}}
our total adjustable market, what our ACV
is, what our client profiles look like.

{{00:01:09}}
There's a lot of opportunity that
sits as you go upmarket, especially

{{00:01:12}}
into the enterprise, but you have
to think about a lot more ongoing

{{00:01:16}}
OPEX costs and build costs.

{{00:01:18}}
You have to think about integrations,
you have to think more about security.

{{00:01:21}}
So there's a lot of opportunity that
comes as you move up market, but you need

{{00:01:25}}
the money to make that dream a reality.

{{00:01:27}}
So when you think about bootstrapping
versus a hyper growth round, I think

{{00:01:33}}
a lot of it just comes to looking
at that trajectory and saying, Hey,

{{00:01:36}}
where will we be if we remain on the
current trajectory bootstrapping?

{{00:01:40}}
And if we get these funds,
how will we put them to work?

{{00:01:42}}
Because once you have the
money, people tend to spend it.

{{00:01:45}}
So it's a really unique challenge
that a lot of founders find themselves

{{00:01:48}}
in, is it's responsible growth.

{{00:01:50}}
and knowing what a dollar in equals
when you think about the dollars

{{00:01:53}}
that are going to come out of that.

{{00:01:55}}
Yeah, there's definitely an ebb and flow
to bootstrapping versus getting funding

{{00:02:00}}
and it's really, there's a number of
factors that go into that, including

{{00:02:05}}
market conditions and just timing
and in terms of our revenue growth.

{{00:02:12}}
The signals that we're putting
on the market that are going

{{00:02:13}}
to help us attract investors.

{{00:02:15}}
Sometimes we just got to keep
our heads down and we got to

{{00:02:17}}
focus on building the business.

{{00:02:19}}
And then other times the business
is doing extremely well and the

{{00:02:22}}
market conditions are great.

{{00:02:24}}
Then we have to go out
and raise some capital.

{{00:02:26}}
Bringing on new external funding was
event driven at Panacea Financial.

{{00:02:31}}
So initially it was finding that.

{{00:02:33}}
that seed that, really seed to get
us launched and to get us live.

{{00:02:37}}
Our follow on rounds have been around
recognizing that we're hitting an

{{00:02:41}}
inflection point and that scalability
was going to be compromised without

{{00:02:46}}
drawing in new outside financing.

{{00:02:49}}
And so it was really those events
that drove us both the initial launch

{{00:02:52}}
and now the, scalability and hitting
that, the J point or the inflection

{{00:02:56}}
point of the curve that have driven
our Goal to go out and raise a rent?

{{00:03:01}}
Twofold.

{{00:03:02}}
I think you gotta match the market the
external market, the public market cycle.

{{00:03:07}}
So you gotta see the timing's good, but
also I think the more important factor

{{00:03:11}}
is, You can clearly see how you're
going to deploy it for business growth.

{{00:03:16}}
That's, I think, that is
the key decision in my mind.

{{00:03:19}}
It's so if you're solving a particular
problem where you've got particular

{{00:03:23}}
milestones, you go, okay, I'm
there now or I'm getting there.

{{00:03:26}}
I've got all the proof points.

{{00:03:27}}
Now I need to raise capital so I can
triple down or triple down on it.

{{00:03:31}}
Yeah.

I think the key to getting started
with funding is finding groups that

I think in my early days as a
founder, because I'm a first time

founder, I wasted a lot of energy
talking to venture capitalists

Either they were investing in
business to be consumer applications

and we're business to business,
or they were investing in AI

And so really doing the due diligence
and making sure you're matching

with like minded venture capitalists
who really invest in businesses

The other key to getting started
is to make sure you have revenue.

If you have some early pilot customers,
the sooner you get to revenue, the

So when we think about bootstrapping
versus maybe a more VC minded and hyper

growth oriented business, we looked at a
lot of the opportunity that exists within

our total adjustable market, what our ACV
is, what our client profiles look like.

There's a lot of opportunity that
sits as you go upmarket, especially

into the enterprise, but you have
to think about a lot more ongoing

You have to think about integrations,
you have to think more about security.

So there's a lot of opportunity that
comes as you move up market, but you need

So when you think about bootstrapping
versus a hyper growth round, I think

a lot of it just comes to looking
at that trajectory and saying, Hey,

where will we be if we remain on the
current trajectory bootstrapping?

And if we get these funds,
how will we put them to work?

Because once you have the
money, people tend to spend it.

So it's a really unique challenge
that a lot of founders find themselves

and knowing what a dollar in equals
when you think about the dollars

Yeah, there's definitely an ebb and flow
to bootstrapping versus getting funding

and it's really, there's a number of
factors that go into that, including

market conditions and just timing
and in terms of our revenue growth.

The signals that we're putting
on the market that are going

Sometimes we just got to keep
our heads down and we got to

And then other times the business
is doing extremely well and the

Then we have to go out
and raise some capital.

Bringing on new external funding was
event driven at Panacea Financial.

that seed that, really seed to get
us launched and to get us live.

Our follow on rounds have been around
recognizing that we're hitting an

inflection point and that scalability
was going to be compromised without

And so it was really those events
that drove us both the initial launch

and now the, scalability and hitting
that, the J point or the inflection

point of the curve that have driven
our Goal to go out and raise a rent?

I think you gotta match the market the
external market, the public market cycle.

So you gotta see the timing's good, but
also I think the more important factor

is, You can clearly see how you're
going to deploy it for business growth.

That's, I think, that is
the key decision in my mind.

It's so if you're solving a particular
problem where you've got particular

milestones, you go, okay, I'm
there now or I'm getting there.

Now I need to raise capital so I can
triple down or triple down on it.

Fintech Founders

Expert Insight

In this brief video, fintech founders share their learnings on how to attract funding.

Our Fintech Founders mini series explores various funding aspects and how to attract investment.

This brief video features first-hand insights from fintech entrepreneurs and founders including Kathleen Craig, Plinqit; Chase Neinken, Chimney; Michael Duncan, Bankjoy; Ned Palmer, Panacea Financial; and Karan Jain, NayaOne.
