How fundraising forces you to re-prioritise

🏋️ What's another big challenge of fundraising?

🔬 Focusing less on other aspects of the business.

Why?

🚫 I'm fighting with myself to say 'no' to product meetings and important commercial opportunities to focus on priority #1.

What is priority #1?

💸 Get the raise done, and quickly, so you can put focus back on where it needs to be.

⏱️ I'm making these meetings shorter where I can (thanks to everyone who's been so understanding on this!).

📺 I'm shifting in-person to video if it can be done.

Are people understanding?

😄 Yes, actually, people in the ecosystem are absolutely brilliant, and very understanding when you need to prioritise something else.

🧠 I wish I had known that sooner, it's meant I can stay on a more even keel and in a better place mentally.

📥 If your in-tray is piling up... make that pile smaller.

Daniel Sawko 0:00

So one of the really, I suppose challenging things of being a founder and going through fundraising is how much you have to reprioritize.

And how much you have to leave to one side that you wouldn't normally want to do. So I have to be in fewer product meetings, I have to take fewer sales calls, or sales meetings, and also the meetings that I have with with others, sometimes I have to cancel them at short, short notice.

That's because I need to prioritize putting the documentation for example together that investors want to see, or like negotiating on particular points. Yeah, it just gets in the way it can become all consuming. And it's definitely really helpful, actually, to have a very clear sense of that prioritization, because otherwise it becomes overwhelming.

So I know that I've actually cancelled a few in person meetings, or I've had to change them to video. But actually, it's been really quite, it's been really beneficial for mental health, to actually just give yourself that breathing space. And actually, people are really understanding.

And I wish I'd known how understanding people were before starting this journey out because I think in early early rounds, like it was always just something I felt like I could never drop anything. And actually, the moment you start saying no to things or making sure that they fit fit with your priorities, it works a lot better

Transcribed by https://otter.ai