Funding secured – so what comes next?

We recently shared a guide for founders setting out on their first fundraising journey. Here we explored how to make the most out of a cold approach and how to prepare for a successful fundraise.

I want to look a step beyond and share my thoughts on how founders can navigate the 100-or-so days after raising that all-important funding round (with the hope of many more rounds to come!).

Fundraising is a time-consuming and often stressful challenge; one that demands most (if not all) of your attention. With investors’ capital and committed support secured, it’s time to return to business-as-usual.

It’s a moment to re-engage with customers and their experience, think hard about strategy and ensure top line momentum and outstanding product delivery remains on-track. In other words, time for you to get back to what founders do best: running your business.

With that caveat established, here are a few things to keep in mind as you move into the post-investment phase.

Celebrate

The end of fundraising really marks the beginning of your next phase of growth (and everything that entails), so it’s important to take a moment to celebrate reaching what is, by any measure, a major milestone.

Externally, a LinkedIn post or press announcement can raise your profile and is an opportunity to showcase what makes your company and offering unique – not just to potential customers and partners, but also to future investors. While your next fundraising round hasn’t started, signalling that your business has secured investment will boost your brand recognition and credibility when the moment comes.

Internally, a thank you and debrief with your team – especially those involved in the fundraise process – not only boosts your team’s morale but also strengthens the vision and forward drive. It also sends an important message about the company’s future, essential for retaining key talent.

At the same time, think carefully about the money you’re receiving. Throughout the fundraising process it may seem like an abstract concept, but as soon as due diligence is complete and the funds land, it becomes very real. Make sure the cash is spread out; some money may be marked for operations but ensure that anything spare (in the near term) is generating a yield.

Set a conversational rhythm

In the early days, your interactions with investors really matter. You have the perfect opportunity to set the tone, cadence and format of your ongoing conversations – in a way that works for both sides, and builds on the strong foundations of the relationship formed during the fundraising process. The aim is to build trust and transparency, often outside of the formal, business interactions you’ll have (such as board meetings).

While investors bring their own expertise, their value-add is as likely to extend much further. For example, in their capacity to broker winning introductions with their network, in the support they can offer through your next fundraising round and, like us at Octopus Ventures, in their capacity to help you make the great hires your start-up needs.

Holistic goal-setting

Now is also the time to think about the target outcome for this funding round. During fundraising conversations, you may have agreed that you’ll be launching your next round if you hit X levels of revenue or Y product milestone within Z time period.

Establishing a set of gold-star metrics you can use to reference your performance against the cash runway of your recent raise is a critical next step. These should be underpinned by strategic goals that support your overarching target outcome. These goals will likely span go-to-market, product and operations and should cascade through the organisation. From there you can come up with objectives and key results (OKRs) that serve both as more digestible internal goals and a way to ensure alignment across your team and with your investors.

It’s also important to start thinking about your hiring plan early. People will be key to your ability to deliver on those targets. Explore what you’re looking for and decide on an approach, whether that’s leaning on your network, external recruiters or VC help, and start the search. People are, after all, at the heart of every great business – which brings me on to my next point.

Find some support

Between the operational demands, the challenge of fundraising and the weight of responsibility, being a founder can be a lonely job. Your new partner, in the form of your investor, is there to ensure you have everything they can offer to help your business thrive. Similarly, you’ll have a wealth of great business advice available from the board, particularly your Chair – but still, it’s worth looking around for some other, external support.

At Octopus Ventures, we champion the benefits of coaching. We also run a mentorship programme, connecting the founders we back with experienced operators, perfectly placed to offer guidance on the unique challenges they face.

As I wrote at the beginning, founders are the best at running their businesses. But the best of the best are bolstered by the support of talented and experienced advisers and mentors. As you set out on the next phase of your journey, now is the time to find them.

To learn more about what Octopus Ventures can do for your business journey – take a look at our guides and blogs. And if you’re building a category defining company, we’d love to hear from you! You can find out how to get in touch here.