Lance Cottrell

Most cold outreach fails before it even begins.

Why? Founders open with a pitch. Investors hit delete.

In my last workshop, I shared my system for turning cold contacts into warm conversations.

The trick: start with a short question investors actually want to answer.

Most founders raise money without realizing how much ownership they’re giving up.

The size of your round should balance:
Need, valuation, & dilution.

Get that balance wrong, and you either struggle to raise or give away too much, too soon.
https://www.rfr.bz/b822360

Pet Shop Boys opportunities is about finding a co-founder.

Recently, I was listening to “Opportunities” by the Pet Shop Boys (Gen X much?)

I realized that it is about a technical founder recruiting a non-technical co-founder.

Now I can’t hear it any other way.

You’re welcome.

"From Cold Outreach to Capital: Fundraising When You Don’t Have Connections" shows you how to raise without a network.

This $99 workshop can bring you $1m+ in investments.

It runs live on Zoom Wednesday, September 24th, at 10 AM PDT.

👉 Click Here to Register: https://www.rfr.bz/b6a20f2

Today, we bottled our 2024 Pinot Noir to make space for the 2025. 🍷

Many businesses have abstract results. It can be challenging to recognize the impact you have on your customers.

So, pop a cork and celebrate your successes and milestones along the way by sharing them in the comments! 🍾

Behind every failed startup is one stubborn bottleneck they couldn’t escape.

What challenges or obstacles are you facing that would unlock massive potential if you could overcome them?

I’m planning the next round of Founder Quest workshops, and your answers will help shape them.

The Seasons of Fundraising Learn the seasonality of fundraising. Timing, urgency, and planning can give your startup the edge to raise faster and win VC attention.

This NFX blog on fundraising seasonality is spot on.

They also make some other great points about fundraising that sound very familiar. 🙃

https://www.rfr.bz/bf03ed1

Most founders only build one pitch deck.
And that’s why many startups never get a fair shot.
The truth is, you need six different pitches for different moments, from a 3-minute stage pitch to a self-guided deck for email.
Miss one, and investors won’t see your strengths.
https://www.rfr.bz/bb1bee2

Startups can break you if you let them.

Don’t sacrifice your health, joy, or relationships hoping to earn them back later.

You need fuel during the journey.
https://www.rfr.bz/b9a1815

It’s better to travel the road with others. Join us at the Crossroads https://www.rfr.bz/b99c3f5

I recently watched a crew in my vineyard hand-pluck leaves and move shoots. It doesn’t scale, but it’s critical to quality.

Startups are the same. “Do things that don’t scale” isn’t just for day one. It’s how you keep real feedback flowing.

What hands-on task do you still do yourself, and why?

Raising money for your startup means owning less of it.

But it’s not because you sold your shares.

It’s called dilution. Your slice shrinks, while the whole pie grows. 🍰

👉 For more startup fundraising insights, subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.rfr.bz/b2dc42a

Strong logic isn’t enough. Investors taste with their eyes first.
Show up sharp, speak clearly, and polish your deck.
Even a great product can be overshadowed by sloppy delivery.

Ready to see if you’re truly pitch-ready?
Take the quick quiz 👉 https://www.rfr.bz/bc1a042

My Pinot grapes just hit veraison, when they turn sweet.

Startups go through the same shift: from pushing a product to customers pulling it from your hands.

If you’re there, you’re ready to pitch. But 80% of deals fail in due diligence.

DM me for details on my Surviving Due Diligence workshop.

Start pitching before you’re ready and investors will shred you.

1️⃣ Why this problem now?
2️⃣ Why are you the team to solve it?
3️⃣ What proves that customers will pay?
4️⃣ How will your raise hit clear milestones on a timetable?
5️⃣ What’s the exit size?

Take my quiz ➜ https://www.rfr.bz/b821e15

Are you struggling to raise capital for your startup?

I’m hosting a 90-minute online workshop @ 10 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 23rd, to demonstrate how my system works, so you can start implementing it yourself.

Reply "Framework" or message me for pricing, link, and details.

You don’t scale by clutching every task like Gollum and his ring.

Hire → train → watch the newbie fumble → resist grabbing the wheel.

Painful? Yes.
But the faster you delegate, the faster the company grows. That’s the CEO loop.

Where are YOU still the bottleneck?

Investors kill deals fast when founders lack Founder-Market Fit: the hard evidence you’ve “lived” the problem.
Credibility, Insider insight, and Real access show up pre-seed, long before P/M fit.

I break down how to spot & fix FMF in today’s Feel the Boot: https://www.rfr.bz/bb4a17d

Startup fundraising is a weird side-quest inside the main startup game.
Win it or you’ll never get back to building your unicorn.

Stuck on the money mini-game? Join our free founder community, The Crossroads, and dive into all the resources.

https://www.rfr.bz/b447e9d

https://www.rfr.bz/b6b50d0

Strong logic isn’t enough. Investors taste with their eyes first.
Show up sharp, speak clearly, and polish your deck.
Even a great product can be overshadowed by sloppy delivery.

Ready to see if you’re truly pitch-ready?
Take the quick quiz 👉 https://www.rfr.bz/baa6907

San Diego police admit license plate reader data breach in early days of program The SDPD's license plate reader database was searched nearly 13,000 times during the early weeks of its use in 2023 and 2024.

Vendors like Flock have been successful in part by "creating this false sense of security that a individual police department’s use policy is going to be enough to govern whether or not a city’s ALPR data gets out,” EFF’s @tsnvaa.bsky.social told Times of San Diego.

Founders are getting tossed out of investor meetings because they trust ChatGPT too much.

Don’t be that founder.

Watch the new episode: https://www.rfr.bz/b39ad48
#startups #fundraising #AI

🚨 New startup scam alert:

Fake investors offer to fund your whole round—then ask you to pay for “investment insurance.”

You pay. They vanish.

Breakdown in this short vid: https://www.rfr.bz/b51f27f

#startups #fundraising #scamalert

Most founders don’t fail because of their idea.
They fail because fear stops them from starting.

I sat down with mindset coach David Neagle to talk about what separates stalled founders from successful ones.

Read/watch: https://www.rfr.bz/bdd3ad3

Analysis | The MAHA Report’s AI fingerprints, annotated The Post reviewed the more than 500 citations in the MAHA Report. Here are the patterns of AI use we found.

A clear case of fraud, abuse and waste.
wapo.st/3T6PF6d

Nobody visits wine country to see the vines bloom—but it’s the most critical week of the vintage.

Fundraising is the same. A short phase that sets everything in motion.

Get it right, and the rest has room to ripen.

(Photo: grape bloom. Tiny. Crucial.)

Nobody visits wine country to see the vines bloom—but it’s the most critical week of the vintage.

Fundraising is the same. A short phase that sets everything in motion.

Get it right, and the rest has room to ripen.

(Photo: grape bloom. Tiny. Crucial.)

Thinking about devastating cuts to NSF: US gov-funded science has been the engine upon which most of the tech wealth was generated. But the oligarchs (currently hoarding much of that $) think it’s their own brilliance & not the accident of standing close to the scientific engine that made them rich.

That’s why I built the Funded Founder Framework™ to work without a network.
With strong validation and investor-friendly messaging, you don’t need backdoor access.
You need a startup that screams:
“This is a smart bet.”
Join the community: ftb.bz/crossroads

Tepid investor intros are worse than useless.
They make you look unbackable.
If someone won’t endorse you, that intro says:
“I don’t know this founder, but they asked me to pass this along.”
That hurts more than it helps.

Most founders raise money too early—and pitch the wrong story when they do.

Paulo Andrez has helped over 200 startups. In our interview, he shares brutal truths and smart fixes for early-stage fundraising.

Read it here: https://www.rfr.bz/bdf3478