Resources for Extending your Runway

You keep hearing that you need 24-30 months of runway during this time. You’ve already pivoted, scoped down your product offering and improved your revenue stream -- and you don’t want to take out a loan. What are your options?

Here are (un-affiliated) resources to help you get in front of VCs:

• Investors that are still writing checks: indie.vc and dot.la list (May) and The TechCrunch list (July)

• Get introduced via FounderNest or Valence

• Pitch in front of potential investors and get feedback to build the connection, as recommended by Gary Livingston, co-founder of 805 startups. Here are my favorites:

  • dot.la pitch showcase (monthly)

  • January Ventures’ PitchCollective (June 11 deadline)

  • Women Founders Network Fast Pitch (July 19 deadline)

  • IFundWomen pitch day (Sept 4 deadline)

  • StartEngine pitch competition (Sept 18 deadline)

  • TechSparks CONNECT Pitchfest (Oct 10 deadline)

  • VCs investing in minority founders

Not every start-up is a fit for VC; here are (un-affiliated unless otherwise stated) alternatives to venture funding:

• Equity Crowdfunding via StartEngine or Crowdcube or WeFunder

• Grants, as recommended by George Le. Here are my recommendations:

  • Black Founders: SoGal and lists of emergency relief resources

  • Black women-owned business: Visa

  • Grants available to minority founders

  • Grant and virtual workshops from Tory Burch Foundation (Nov 12 deadline)

  • SBIR

  • National Science Foundation (NSF), as shared by Amanda Bender, founder of Kilo

  • National Institute of Health: NIH and NCCIH

  • South LA Founders (October 9 deadline)

• Networking opportunities:

  • Finding co-founder through CoFoundersLab* or an adviser

  • Pay It Forward resource for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs, shared by Jesse Ruiz

  • Lunchclub

  • Global InvestHer Community of founders and investors

  • 805 start-ups (weekly, virtual) community check-in

  • Mentoring through First Round Fast Track Mentoring Program, shared by Harlem Capital

  • dot.LA Summit (October 27 & 28)

• Cloud computing credits: AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft technologies + Azure, IBM

• (Free) Course on Venture Deals and Financing from Kauffman Fellows and Techstars

Please reach out and let me know which resource helped you.

You may also like:

• Talk on systematizing Product Market Fit from the very beginning

• YC Startup Library of previously published advice, based on work with 2K+ start-ups over last 15 years

• How to Get Funding For Your Startup That’s *Not* Venture Capital, by Gefen Skolnick and Miki Reynolds

• A Pitch Deck Masterclass: Lessons for founders from reviewing ~1000+ pitch decks, by Samantha Wong

*Irina is an advisor on the CoFoundersLab platform