How to Raise Capital for your Company From Scratch – Arlan

Salepage link: At HERE. Archive:

The backstory

‍Four years ago I was on food stamps. Three years ago I was homeless and today I run a $4.5 million capital fund, with this course I want to save you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars by teaching you fundamental lessons, rules of the road, and tips and hacks to skip the mistakes many entrepreneurs make.

‍This course is for you whether you have launched your company or not

‍Arlan shares the hard-won wisdom that she picked up on her remarkable journey from food-stamp recipient to venture capitalist, along the way, she inspires us all to defy other people’s expectations and to become the role models we’ve been looking for.

‍What’s backstage capital?

‍Less than 10% of all venture capital deals go to women, People of Color, and LGBTQ founders. Other VCs see this as a pipeline problem. We see it as the biggest opportunity in investment.

‍Backstage Capital has invested over $7M in more than 120 companies led by underrepresented founders.

‍Course Curriculum

Let’s go!

• Arlan’s intro & what you’ll learn (highly recommended!) (14:32)
• Arlan’s incredible journey (5:08)
• Student introductions! [April 20, 2020]
• Portfolio company testimonials: Curlmix & Uncharted Power (0:34)
• Portfolio company testimonial: Haute Hijab (3:07)
• Arlan’s chat with Mark Cuban (40:56)

Module 1: Types of funding for your company

• Portfolio company case study: Haute Hijab (11:21)
• Funding overview (1:03)
• Friends & Family (4:39)
• Angel investors (6:12)
• Family offices (3:27)
• Venture Capital (6:24)
• Accelerators & Incubators
• Crowdfunding vs. Crowdequity (5:06)
• Debt & Grants (2:41)
• Bootstrapping (spoiler alert: Arlan’s fav!) (17:33)
• If you skipped the Bootstrapping video… (0:23)
• Bootstrapping case study: Curlmix (0:59)
• Terms, jargon, & tools (23:12)

Bootstrapping case study: Tara Reed, Apps Without Code

• Peeling back the curtain
• Tara’s first $100,000
• The business model
• $1million in 2019
• Tara’s 2-day workweek
• A downside to bootstrapping
• Convincing premium customers
• Contact Tara / Wrap-up

Module 2: Getting ed on your fundraising

• Bootstrapping vs. Raising (9:57)
• Research & Development (20:15)
• Pitching to investors (23:24)
• Pitch deck dos and don’ts (20:06)Pitch competitions (10:05)
• Pitch deck homework (3:50)
• Guest professor: Harvard’s Laura Huang | Finding your EDGE while pitching (20:41)

Bootstrapping case study: Sherrell Dorsey, The Plug

• Something Arlan doesn’t do business without…
• (video) Sherrell Dorsey – data-driven business decisions (52:16)
• (audio) Sherrell Dorsey – data-driven business decisions
• Did you catch that?

Model 3: Building a network

• Brand vs. Reputation (10:12)
• How Arlan got Mark Cuban’s attention (19:57)
• Networking vs Networks (audio)

Case study: It’s About Damn Time, out May 5, 2020

• Arlan’s book deal
• 8 lessons from the book
• How publishing = more than 1 revenue stream
• Techish: Abadesi and Michael give UK perspective

 Module 4: Negotiating

• Available in 5 days
• Negotiating skills
• Getting your first ‘yes’
• Investor relationships
• Reporting to investors after they’ve invested

Income stream case study: Arlan

• Arlan’s 7 income streams
• What she wishes she knew at 21
• How to add 1 new revenue stream *today*

‍Bonus: Raising in the age of coronavirus

• Arlan’s take on National Venture Capital Association white paper, May 4, 2020
• Inside the mind of a millionaire during a crisis
• Resilience and adapting in times like this
• Brainstorming your way to opportunities
• Self-car