1-hour focused session
One hard problem. An hour together, and answers you can act on.
Some decisions are expensive to get wrong and hard to undo: whether to raise at all, how to price the round, how to split equity, what a US fund will make of your structure. You don't need more opinions. You need judgment from people who know both the investment and the business, and a clear written summary after.
Credited in full toward the Fundraising Sprint or the Fundraising Partnership within 30 days. On a deadline, like a term sheet? Say so at checkout and we'll prioritise it.
Sound familiar?
The questions that don't fit in thirty minutes.
“Do we even need VC?”
What's usually underneathSome excellent businesses can't return what a venture fund needs. Knowing that early can save a year of polite rejections.
“How much should we raise, and at what cap?”
What's usually underneathWork back from the milestone 18 months out, not from what someone else raised.
“Should I quit my job before I have traction?”
What's usually underneathSet the signals first: interviews, paid pilots, runway. And a date to stop if they don't come.
“Our IP sits with the university, and my co-founder is part-time.”
What's usually underneathNeither blocks building. Both block fundraising, and both are far cheaper to fix before a term sheet.
“Should we take the first term sheet?”
What's usually underneathNot before you know what you're giving up, and what the next round will need to see.
“Two law firms gave us two different answers.”
What's usually underneathLawyers tell you what's legal. You need to know what an investor will do when they see it.
What you get
Before, during and after.
- 1BeforeYou send materials and the question. We read everything first.
- 2During: the valueSixty minutes with us. We work it through and end with a verdict.
- 3AfterA written summary in 24 hours: verdict, three next moves, what to avoid.
Book directly
1-hour focused session
$500
One hard problem, an hour together. We read your materials first; the call is where we work it through.
- We review your materials before the call
- 60 minutes with us, entirely on your situation
- A written summary within 24 hours: the verdict, the three things to do in the next 30 days, what not to do yet, and what needs a lawyer
- Credited in full toward the Fundraising Sprint or the Fundraising Partnership within 30 days
Book the focused session, $500
Why $500
About two and a half times the diagnostic, for a different job.
The diagnostic is thirty minutes and nothing to prepare: a read on your whole raise, or one issue. The focused session is for a problem with several moving parts, where the answer depends on reading your materials first. For $301 more: twice the time, the review beforehand, and a fuller written summary.
30-minute diagnostic1-hour focused session
Time together30 minutes with us60 minutes with us
Before the callNothing to prepareWe review your materials in advance
ScopeYour whole raise, or one issueOne problem area, in depth
In writing afterA written summaryA full summary with a 30-day plan
Best forKnowing where you're stuckDeciding what to do about it
Price$199$500
Put another way: a cap table fixed after a term sheet, a round priced off the wrong market, or six months spent pitching the wrong kind of investor each cost far more than $500.
Topics
Pick one when you book.
- How much to raise, and at what valuation
- Business model and pricing
- What to see before you quit your job
- Equity, co-founders and where to incorporate
- Why investors said no
- Financial model review
- Materials and data room review
- What to do after an accelerator rejection
- Planning non-dilutive funding alongside equity
- Cross-border readiness: how US investors will read your structure
~$3M raised after the pivot
Hardware engineering team
Deep Tech · Early stage
- Every serious investor had passed
- Pivot to an industrial use case
A strong team building a consumer service with no moat, and every serious investor passed. Through monthly coaching, we dug into the industry to find where their hardware and deployment skills faced the least competition, and rebuilt the business model around an industrial use case. Then we coached them through the raise: a round of about $3M.
How we worked together1-hour focused session → Monthly Execution Coaching → Fundraising Partnership
~$1.4M raised on the new model
Hardware company: selling by unit → software-driven
Physical AI · Early stage
- Investors passed after the numbers
- Business model reworked
High marginal cost, weak repeat purchase and a visible ceiling: investors ran the numbers and passed. The GTM Strategy reworked the business model around recurring revenue and tested it with existing customers. We then coached the founders through the raise on the new model: about $1.4M.
How we worked together1-hour focused session → GTM Strategy → Fundraising Partnership
Admitted to a top US accelerator
Early-stage AI software team
AI & Software · 0→1
- Rejected without an interview the first time
- In on the next cycle
Rejected without an interview, and no feedback: the application read like a technical document. We chose the programs that fit, reworked the story around the customer and the traction, and prepared the team for the interview until the answers landed. Admitted on the next cycle.
How we worked together30-minute diagnostic → Accelerator Sprint
Anonymized to protect clients. Ask us about relevant cases during or after your diagnostic for a walk-through.
Questions
Before you book.
Is it credited if I continue?
Yes. The full $500 is credited toward the Fundraising Sprint or the Fundraising Partnership within 30 days. A $199 diagnostic isn't credited toward the focused session; they're different formats, and the session goes much deeper.
Can I see a sample report?
Yes. Two are on our home page, under What you get, with identifying details blurred: a full readiness assessment, and a session spent on one specific question.
We have a term sheet on the table. How fast can we talk?
Tell us at checkout. We reach out within 48 hours, and when there's a deadline we prioritise it. We review the terms and your materials before the call.
Is what I share confidential?
Yes. It stays with us, and we'll sign your NDA if you need one.
Do you do legal work?
No. We tell you how investors will read your structure and in what order to fix things, then refer the legal execution to counsel with a written brief so they don't start from zero. We don't take referral fees.
I bought The Raise. Is there a discount?
Yes. Within 30 days of buying the guide, the focused session is $400 instead of $500, and the $39 is credited if you book the 30-minute diagnostic instead. The links are at the back of the guide.
Bring us the hard question.
An hour with us, the review before, and the report after.
Credited in full toward the Fundraising Sprint or the Fundraising Partnership within 30 days. On a deadline, like a term sheet? Say so at checkout and we'll prioritise it.
Got questions? Connect and message either of us on LinkedIn: Alex Chen or Yvonne Wang.