Raising capital
Raising money from investors is a sale, and the product is a share of your company. Like any sale, it goes better when the business is prepared, the price is defensible and the process is run rather than improvised. We help BC owners get investor-ready and run the process with discipline. The legal side of issuing securities belongs with your securities lawyer.
What you leave with
You know what you are raising, what it is worth, who you are asking and what you are offering.
Who it is for
- Founders with proven demand who need growth capital
- Owners who want to bring in a partner or investor rather than more debt
- Companies preparing for a round and unsure how to value themselves
What we deliver
- Capital needs analysis: how much, for what, when and what it should achieve
- A valuation and a view on what dilution the raise implies
- An investor memorandum and financial model built for scrutiny
- A target investor profile and outreach plan, with you making the asks
- Term sheet review alongside your securities lawyer, and due diligence preparation
How it runs
01Readiness
A Strategy Session covers your plan and numbers and whether a raise, debt or a growth partnership serves you best.
02Prepare
We complete the valuation, build the memorandum and model and get the data room ready.
03Approach
We help you identify and approach suitable investors and prepare for every meeting.
04Terms and close
We advise on the business terms and coordinate with your securities lawyer and CPA to closing.
Engagement and fees
Starts with a 90-minute Strategy Session at $499. Preparation and advisory are quoted as a fixed fee or retainer. We do not sell securities, take commissions on capital raised or advise anyone on whether to invest. Every engagement is scoped after a call and confirmed in writing. See consultations and fees.
What we do and what we leave to others
We prepare the business, build the materials, help you find and approach investors and advise you on the commercial terms. We are not a registered dealer or adviser and we never recommend an investment to anyone. Your securities lawyer determines how the offering must be structured and documented and which rules apply. Your CPA handles tax. Investors make their own decisions with their own advisers. Keeping these lines clear protects you and your investors, and it is how a raise in BC should be run.
Is a raise actually the right move?
Equity is the most expensive money you will ever take, because you give up a share of everything the company becomes. Before you raise, ask whether debt, a vendor-financed acquisition or a growth partnership would get you there without dilution. Many owners who come to us for a raise leave with a financing plan instead. Those who do raise do it with a clear purpose: a specific plan the capital funds and an understanding of what the investor will expect in return.
Running a disciplined process
Investors respond to momentum and are repelled by desperation. A disciplined process means you approach a defined list of suitable investors over a defined period with a complete package, you answer diligence questions from a prepared data room and you negotiate from a valuation you can defend. It also means knowing your minimum acceptable terms before the first meeting. Founders who improvise end up taking the first offer on the worst terms. Founders who run a process choose between offers.
Industries where we run this most
Questions about this service
Do you find investors for us?
We help you identify the right kind of investor for your stage and sector, prepare you to approach them and support the conversations. You make the asks. We do not act as a dealer or take commissions.
How do I value my company for a raise?
The same way a buyer would, starting from normalised earnings or, for earlier-stage companies, from the plan and comparable transactions. We produce a defensible range and show what each raise amount means in dilution.
What do investors in a BC private company usually want?
A clear use of funds, a credible path to a return, honest financials, a capable team and protections in the shareholder agreement. Your securities lawyer advises on the legal terms. We help you decide which business terms you can accept.
Should I take money from friends and family?
Only with the same discipline you would apply to a stranger: documented terms, a securities lawyer involved and a clear understanding of the risk. Informal money can cost both the business and the relationship.
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell Ali where the business is and what you want to happen next. You leave with a straight read on value, timing and the two or three moves that matter, whether or not we work together.