How much money (and when) should you raise for your startup?

Common wisdom tells new founders to sell 30% of the company, to keep 60%, to raise as much as possible. It’s all wrong. The principles of corporate finance intersect with how you make a plan and put it into action. You will learn why the common answers are wrong, and how they are wrong.

We will show you the specific approach you need to understand to ensure that raising money helps you build your business and get to the next milestone. We start by explaining how your company increases in value so you can see what drives your fundraising decisions (hint: it's not your day-to-day costs). Learn about how to identify appropriate milestones, how to set a budget and a risk factor, how to set fundraising targets, and how to handle common problems with valuation and deal size. Most importantly, learn how to focus your fundraising efforts so they support your development needs so that they build value in your company by building value in your business. This session will be particularly valuable to startup founders who do not have a business and finance background. You are not expected to already understand corporate finance, capital allocation, or the valuation process to be able to apply these lessons to your business.

Rick Colosimo provides "bet-the-company" corporate governance advice to founders, investors, directors, and stakeholders in closely held businesses. Rick’s representation of startups build on a wide array of legal experience: he practiced in both New York City and in Silicon Valley at large national law firms, invested in small businesses, and worked in small law firms. Rick is a graduate of Cornell Law School and has been admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, and California. Before law school, Rick was an Infantry officer in the US Army, stationed in Hawaii and Georgia. He is a graduate of the Officer Candidate, Airborne, and Ranger Schools.

Steve Literati, MBA, CFA, advises start-ups and growth-stage companies on monetizing intellectual property as well as equity placements, business sales and acquisitions, strategy development, business plan creation, product commercialization, and finding and structuring deals with strategic partners to leverage the growth potential of companies. He is an adjunct faculty member of New York University and the New York Institute of Finance. Steve was previously the CFO of a $1.2 billion (revenue) business, where he successfully closed over 50 acquisitions, equity investments, and joint ventures. Steve has a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts from Lafayette College.