Hey— it's Christine,

If you subscribe to my newsletter (which you should!) then you'll know that I provide founders with the latest advice on building your company.

It also means that you may have read the start of this article (as part of my once-a-week Startup Secrets newsletter). If this is you, keep scrolling down so you can get to the good stuff!

But otherwise... 

On my mind this week:

This week I had lunch with a friend who is raising a round of equity crowdfunding for his business. 

I hesitate to call his company a "startup" because he is beyond the zero-to-one phase and is well on his way to scaling a working model.

But he ...

In this blog post, I’m going to tell you something that ALL other blog posts on venture funding won’t tell you.

Most blog posts would answer the question “How To Get Venture Funding” with a list of things you should do:

1. Find investors
2. Pitch investors
3. Get a term sheet
4. Close the round

etc. etc.

But if you subscribe to my once-a-week Startup Secret newsletter (which you should!) you’ll know that I don’t give you generic, Chat-GPT generated, advice.

I cut through the noise and get to the heart of what really matters. 

And what matters today is that I help you raise money and not fall into the traps that 99% of newbie foun...

I’ve been part of the startup ecosystem for over 15 years and I’ve personally raised money up and down the ‘fundraising stack’.

I know what it’s like when you’re just starting out - you need guidance on what type of funding is available (and how to go out there and get it!).

That’s what this blog post is all about. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The 11 different ways you can raise money for your business

1. Bootstrapping
2. Friends & Family
3. Business Incubators
4. Accelerators
5. Traditional Crowdfunding
6. Equity Crowdfunding
7. Angel Investors
8. Venture Capital
9. Grants
10. Bank Loans and Lines of Credit
11. Private Equity

Hi, I’m Christine Outram, the owner of Startup with Christine. I’ve personally helped hundreds of founders raise money for their business - I’ve even raised over $2.1M myself! 

But it wasn’t always easy for me... 

I learned the hard way the difference between angel investors and VCs, family and friends rounds, equity crowdfunding, private equity, grants, and everything in between.

And I made mistakes (lots of them!) that almost certainly cost me some deals.

I don’t want this to happen to you, which is why I write this blog.

I want growth and fundraising to come much more easily to you than it did to me.

Ready to be enlightened in under ...

Hey there founders!  

I'm Christine Outram and I’ve spent the last ten years helping founders (like you!) create pitch decks that will close deals and raise a round of funding, fast. Here’s all my advice wrapped up into a ten-minute post so you can raise more and stress less.

What you’ll learn:

• What Is a Pitch Deck?

• When you should NOT use a pitch deck?

• The slides you must have in a pitch deck if you want to raise money (with visual examples)

• The Ultimate Fundraising Launch Checklist - swipe it for free here!

Ready to dive in? Of course you are!

What is a pitch deck?

First, the basics. What is a pitch deck, any...

 TLDR;

Pitch Decks are concise, visually stunning, business presentations that are designed to convince potential investors, customers or partners to take action. This can include giving you money for a fundraising round or buying your product or service. The best pitch decks go beyond business facts and tell a story that resonates with and captivates your audience. If you want to know how to do this (and when to use a pitch deck vs. a business plan) you'll find the answers below.

PS: Have a business presentation that needs designing but don’t know where to start? If you want a professional to do it for you, then book a free consultation...

What we'll cover:

• VCs are attracted to a founder's conviction
• People Pleasers let their desire to be liked get in the way of unleashing their own beliefs.
• How this plays out for woman and minority founders
• What VCs can do
• What founders can do

Where this came from:

They say that through hardship comes growth. Well this year, I’ve grown. A lot. 

Not just in the usual way—handling all of the startup obstacles that are standard for any founder—but in an internal way: examining behaviors that may have subconsciously sabotaged my goals.

Through this ‘research’ I’ve come to a conclusion: People Pleasers  (of which I am a first-class exa...