Step 1: Checklist to see if you are (truly) ready to start a fundraising process or not:

1. Do I have enough runway? (ideally, 8+ months)
2. Can I tell a compelling story to tell VCs?
3. Have I demonstrated solid growth over the trailing 8-12 months? (ideally, >2.5X revenue YoY)
4. Does our solution deliver a strong learning value proposition?
5. Is the company in a good place and can I trust the team to run the show while I’m talking to VCs? (Fundraising will take ~70% of your time!)

Step 2: Getting ready

** Story **

A good story includes the following elements: (1) an exciting vision for the next 4-6 years, (2) proofs of momentum/traction, (3) strong market tailwinds (also proving it is a must-have solution), and (4) relevant previous experience from the founders coupled with a deep knowledge about the space.

Example of blurb:

“We are the in middle of an environmental crisis and we need to act now if we want to meet our climate goals. Buildings are one of the largest sources of energy consumption, and yet there is a massive shortage of professionals in Europe ([XXXk] missions professionals!) who are qualified to work on the necessary renovations to make them more efficient. After spending a few years working in the space, we are creating that supply of professionals for the years to come by building a training platform for technical professionals - in both professional (B2B) and personal (B2C) contexts - who are looking to reskill, upskill or pivot career in the renovation energy sector. We started a few months ago, we have proven X and X so far, and we can’t keep up with the demand. We are fundraising now to validate Y and Y hypotheses and fuel our growth.”

** Pitch deck **

Once you have the high-level story, you can create your pitch deck around that story.