When fundraising is a mistake

We have chisme for you, founder. Fofoca. The tea. 🔥

But hold on a minute, business comes first.

Fundraising: should you go for the money or it's not your time yet?

For Dileep Thazhmon, CEO & Founder of Jeeves, the fact that you can raise capital does not mean you have to raise it. Like, don't be so greedy, Thiago.

How to know if you’re suited to fundraise and if your strategy for that is well-focused?

👉 Dileep's line of thinking on fundraising might be helpful at times like these:

1. Capital is a trade-off for time.

If you had more capital, would you be able to reach your goal faster without sacrificing the core components of your business?

If the answer is yes, you should definitely fundraise.

2. Focus on how to get to the next level

If you're aiming for a Seed round, you need just the right amount to achieve PMF. Grab it ASAP, avoid excessive dilution, and continue working.

However, if you're knocking on Series A, you might want to look for value in a true operational fund that helps you scale.

Different stages require different tactics 💡

3. Leave some checks for Angels

When you f*ck it up – because you will f*ck it up eventually, Flavia, it's ok — you won’t be ringing the fund first. Hell no!  

You will call another founder who has f*cked it up BIG TIME like you. That's when Angel investors, most of whom have experience on both sides of the table, will become the lifesavers you didn't know you needed 👼

So leave a portion of your round for them.

📌 Still not sure if you should go for the money? How on earth are LatAm founders going to fundraise in this beautiful economy anyway? We got you covered – as always 💅

🚀 Antonia Rojas (Partner at ALLVP), Gabriel Vasquez (Partner at a16z), and Jonathan Lewy (Managing Partner at Investo) will join Dileep Thazhmon (CEO at Jeeves), and Brian Requarth (CEO at Latitud) this January 24th in a virtual event hosted by Latitud + Jeeves to break fundraising down for every pre-Seed and Seed LatAm startup out there.

Register for the Latitud + Jeeves event

In just one hour, you'll learn:

• ​When is the right time to raise venture capital
• ​How to get in front of the right investors
• ​Common pitfalls to avoid when raising capital
• ​How to stand out during conversations with investors

So come and solve all the myths about fundraising that are depriving you of your 8 hour beauty sleep.

And now, the tea

You: fill my cup 🍵

Latitud has just partnered up with Jeeves, the global financial platform that empowers scaling companies with no-fee corporate cards, working capital loans, and the ability to send wires as needed.

In combining forces, we can remove many of the barriers that exist for entrepreneurs in the region. 🚀

You know what that means, right? With Jeeves in our corner, members of the Latitud community can now leverage a complete suite of financial solutions including multi-currency corporate cards, expense management software and non-dilutive funding options. 💪

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Want to learn more about this chisme partnership?

Maybe you can ask Dileep and Brian yourself in the Latitud + Jeeves webinar! (You'd come for the tea and not for the educational content? Shocking. But do come, please.)

Otherwise, we have it all explained in our blog 👇

The fellows asked

About fundraising too!

Jonathan Lewy, one of the guests at our event with Jeeves, has also been a speaker in the Explore Fellowship.

In his session on "How to pitch and develop a fundraising strategy", one of our fellows from LF4 asked:

📌 How do you measure the value that an investor, VC or Angel, can bring to you when comparing to others? How do you choose between investors A and B?

1. Talk to other founders.

Not just one, but many. Try to talk with different founders from their portfolio companies and you'll have a better understanding if you have a good investment idea or not.

2. Ask questions.

You're not there just to sell your idea, but also to find the right partner for your startup. Jump into the conversation and ask about their processes, how they bring value, if they've had a company similar to yours, and what they've done for it.

If you go to the meeting with intelligent questions, you might be able to turn the tables and start listening to why they are so valuable to you.

👉 Jonathan Lewy spent 30 minutes answering similar questions. But how does an Explore Fellowship session work exactly?

• Do founders get to ask whatever they want?
• What are all these classes about?
• Can they pitch their projects to our mentors?

🚀 We get you might have some doubts about it, so why don't you join us next January 26th for an online Q&A live dedicated entirely to solve all your concerns about the Explore Fellowship. It will be hosted by our co-founders Brian and Gina (so dad jokes will be made.)

⛵ Hot News Ahoy!

💪 MX & CO team up!

Colombian cleaning services startup Hogarú and Mexican cleaning services startup Homely have announced their merger after more than a year of negotiations.

👩‍💻 Female First

Amplifica Capital, the first VC in Mexico to invest in startups led by women or focused on female products, announced the closing of its first fund, at US$11M.

💸 A genius round

Genial Care raised a US$10M round with General Catalyst to sustain the company's pace of growth. The investment also included other funds, such as Atlantico and Canary.

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-> Every time one of your friends subscribes to our Newsletter, they avoid unnecessary fundraising - and get the tea ✨ So ask them to subscribe!

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