Your pitch is live – woot! Your job now is to bring the crowd — usually about 60% of it — with support from our team.
Personal network
Your browser is old and unsupported. Please upgrade!
View startups funded by Y Combinator that are raising on Wefunder
Fundraising Playbook
Advice from 300+ founders on
raising a successful Wefunder round.
raising a successful Wefunder round.
Craft your pitch ✅
There are 3 broad steps to raising a successful Wefunder round:
- Create a compelling campaign page.
- Drive traffic to the page.
- Convert page visitors into investors!
Over the course of your round, you’ll speak to hundreds of investors and your pitch is your most powerful tool. Make it clear and compelling (without including any misleading info or gross exaggerations – the SEC won't like that).
*Check out our Fundraising Video Library for pitch tips & tutorials via our team, YC alums, and founders who’ve raised $1M+ on Wefunder!
Step One
Step One
Create your pitch.
Check out this guide and this step-by-step video for best practices on building your pitch. Generally...
Tagline.
Be clear and concise. No jargon. How would you explain it to a 10 year old?
*Video.
Aim for 2-3 minutes of homemade footage: landscape & high-quality. Include a hook at the start to reel investors in. Feature you (and any co-founders) talking directly to the camera. Make sure a founder continues to narrate if you splice in other footage or photos.
Showcase your company & the investment opportunity more so than the product – this video is for investors, not customers.
*Including a pitch video into your Wefunder pitch prior to launch is not required but seriously encouraged!
Examples: Immersed, Caribu, Everydae.
Highlights
Every point should elicit an "Holy crap!" Include metrics (revenue, customers, users, # items sold, etc) if possible. Mention $ previously raised. Include 1-2 points about your team – show, don’t tell how they’re the best people to do the job. Mention notable investors, partners, and/or advisors too.
*Prioritize your top 1-2 points — they'll show up on your company card in the Explore page once you hit $5K (starting in April, it'll be $50k).
Pitch deck.
See below!
Team.
Add your team members/advisors via email. Add pictures, bios, and LinkedIn URLs. For bios, include info related to their role at your company. Treat these like mini, ~3 bullet point resumes.
Examples:
B2B: GroGuru, Rad Intelligence, ThisWay Global.
B2C: Armbrust American, Firelight Camps, Leon & George.
Science: Atom Limbs, Leah Labs, Tesseract.
Tech: Caribu, Immersed, Everydae.
Retail / Food and Beverage: Copperworks Distillery, Modern Times, Vegan Fine Foods, Future Proof.
Check out Y Combinator’s cheat sheet on “How to Pitch Your Company.” Jot down short, clear responses to each question.
Your answers to these questions form the core of your pitch– whether it be a deck, your Wefunder profile, a 5-minute pitch, or a 1-hour pitch!
You’ll have the option to upload your deck right to Wefunder to build out the bulk of your pitch. If you want to go this route, here are the bread & butter slides to include.
Be sure to keep it to 10-12 slides total and put any critical slides closer to the top.
| Intro. | Introduce your company’s name, logo, and tagline. |
| Problem. | Articulate the problem your company solves in 1 sentence. |
| Solution. | Share a picture of your product/service. Also include your value proposition – the unique way your product solves the problem. |
| Team. | Introduce your team with pictures and mini bios. Throw in the logos of your team's alma maters, previous companies, accelerator programs – you name it! |
| Traction. | Provide an overview of your traction since founding. Consider a timeline of your past ~5 major milestones. |
| Growth. | Show growth with a line graph of revenue, customers, users – whatever is applicable. |
| Market. | Use a line graph to describe the market. Show both current size and projected growth, if applicable!
(Be sure to emphasize that growth estimates are projections that cannot be guaranteed if you include 'em!) |
| How it works. | Describe how your product works in 3 steps with a picture or icon for each. |
| Competition. | Include a competitive analysis chart to show what differentiates your product from others & how it's better. |
| Business model. | Outline how your company generates revenue – investors want to know! |
| Game plan. | Offer a timeline of your next ~5 key milestones for the next year or so. |
Looking for more deck tips? Check out Y Combinator’s cheat sheet on “How to Pitch Your Company.” Then, jot down short, clear responses to each question.
Your answers to these questions form the core of your pitch– whether it be a deck, your Wefunder profile, a 5-minute pitch, or a 1-hour pitch!
Pick 10 people, set up a 30-minute call, and ask for their feedback on your campaign page. Choose previous investors, strategic advisors, or prospective investors in your network. Excite them about your raise, too!
Identify themes in the feedback. Double down on what they find especially compelling & get ahead of common questions or confusions by addressing them on the page.
Remember that your page is dynamic – you can make edits throughout the campaign! Even after launch, keep your ear to the ground and modify your pitch as you get more feedback.
Check out this page for Google Analytics, Facebook Pixels, and your Retargeting Setup. Setting up a pixel and optimized retargeting have the lowest cost and highest ROI – they’ll help you track site traffic and “convert” more investors.
Retargeting is a must but any paid media beyond this depends on your campaign strategy.
If you want to work with a media agency, reach out to our team at fundraising@wefunder.com and we’ll connect you with the most relevant partner for your company. We’ve found a personal introduction from us is the best way to kickstart these conversations.
Thanks to new SEC rules, you’re technically set to launch after creating your pitch! That’s right – you can create your Wefunder pitch, blast out the link, and start collecting reservations. (Be sure to include these disclosures & abide by these rules in all communications – you'll have to file screenshots of them with your Form C!)
That said, we strongly encourage doing steps 2 & 3 below before you launch; they’ll set you up for max success.
Step Two
Step Two
Improve your offering (highly encouraged)
Choosing the wrong contract or setting bad terms is like trying to sell a dozen eggs for $100 – no one will invest, and you will have wasted a ton of time. Make sure your terms and lead investor are solid before you launch.
General terms
Be strategic in choosing your terms. Get feedback from angels in your network about valuation and contract terms. Consider if you’d be comfortable having your mom invest on the terms you choose. Ensure you have real investors and big checks lined up & happy with the terms you’ve set.
Early bird terms
These terms incentivize investors to act early so they’re critical for generating early momentum. Carve out ~35% of your intended raise with early bird terms; eg. a 10% valuation discount. Then set a countdown clock for the first ~14 days during which you’ll offer them. Include enough to benefit all investors in your immediate network plus some from the extended crowd, too.
More on choosing contracts & terms here.
Choose a lead who adds credibility to your campaign and generates follow-on investments. Ideally, they invest $20K to $50K via Wefunder.
Be sure to pick someone you trust – they’ll act on behalf of all investors that come in through Wefunder and become a core part of your fundraising team.
Step Three
Step Three
Invite friends & family to vouch for you (highly encouraged)
Securing social proof before you launch publicly is key! Invite friends, family, mentors, and coworkers to vouch for you and your company off the bat. We'll also ask if they want to make a commitment to invest after they vouch – so you don't have to.
Creating early momentum through these invites is the most critical step of your round! Aim for at least $5K in commitments from friends and fam before sharing your pitch more widely.
More on getting vouches here.
Keep the Ball Rollin’ ⚽
If you notice investment traffic start to slow, layer consistent communication across multiple channels to build up a pool of potential investors – keeping in mind those advertising rules.
Here are some tactics to reignite investor enthusiasm:
 |
Up the Updates. Stick to weekly updates throughout the whole round, if possible. Focus updates on new business milestones – highlight growth and momentum beyond the raise. See the full list of content ideas below:
*Time-saver alert! Posting a Wefunder update will automatically trigger an email to all investors and followers. Example Updates: |
 |
Ramp up emails + social. Cycle content from your Wefunder updates through your different email lists and social media every other week. Be sure to mix up your CTA – don’t default to “Invest now!” in every email or post. Encourage people to follow the raise (via the "Remind Me" button on your page), read up on a new product release or see a recent press feature. In other words, show them why this is an attractive investment. Give people options for learning more about you and the company – include links and your phone number, where appropriate. |
 |
Get paid (media). Running paid media is an effective strategy to attract new followers to then engage via updates. We highly recommend working with an agency familiar with equity crowdfunding. We have a few 3rd-party agencies we've worked with and can make the relevant referral based on your raise strategy. Shoot us an email at fundraising@wefunder.com if you’re interested! |
 |
Tap into your customer-base. Publicize the raise via your product, platform or service. For in-person outreach, this might mean flyers, business cards, tags, poker chips, stickers, or T-shirts. Check out some stellar examples here. In the virtual realm, might be putting a line about the raise in your email signature or adding a banner onto your website or app. Get creative! |
 |
Head to LinkedIn. Post an update about your Wefunder round on LinkedIn. Then ask your investors and 1st degree network to like and share it! You can download a CSV file of your investors’ emails by going to wefunder.com/yourcompany/manage. When you do this, let us know and we’ll circulate it amongst our team too. |
 |
Perk up. Create additional investor perks to incentivize and excite your network. If possible, we suggest fulfilling perks early to drive engagement and buy-in. More perk talk here. *Perks are especially relevant and strategic for retail companies – if that’s you, emphasize them from the jump! See how Mammalz included perk details in their Story section. Feel free to put details there or include 'em in an update. |
 |
Get video testimonials. Get 4 short (1-2 minute) video testimonials from a range of external stakeholders to bump the credibility of your raise. Strategic advisors, previous investors, customers, and strategic partners can provide powerful perspectives that help sell the investment opportunity. No need for a production crew and lights for these – iPhone videos work perfectly. Rad and GroGuru got stellar testimonials and put them right in their “story” sections. We suggest posting them there, in Updates, and/or in LinkedIn posts. |
 |
Hit record. PDFs aren’t exciting but homemade cinema is – record a video of you presenting your pitch deck. A short video (3-5 minutes) of you actually walking through the deck will be much more engaging. Founders have liked using Loom to make these videos. Here are four examples: Fancy, Kingmaker, Next Door Photos, Everydae. As with testimonials, this video can go in your pitch's Story section, an update, or a LinkedIn post. |
 |
Get ahead of tough questions. Write down 5-10 questions that you know a serious investor would ask if they were considering a $50K+ investment. Then ask a reputable investor or strategic advisor to jump on a 30-minute recorded zoom call and run down that list of questions with you. Offering concise and thoughtful answers to those “elephant in the room” questions will reassure investors you’ve thought deeply about your strategy, model, etc. These videos can also go in your pitch's Story section, Wefunder Updates, or LinkedIn posts, too. Also pass them along to us – we may be able to use them in marketing materials! If you prefer, you can include these in the “Ask A Question” tab of your pitch by having a friend to submit them on your behalf. |
 |
Host a webinar. Host an extended, live version (10-15 minutes) of your pitch deck video, adding in any recent business updates. Cap it off with a live Q&A portion (also 10-15 minutes). You can use any video platform you’d like– YouTube, Facebook, and Zoom all work. |
 |
Pick up the phone. Share an update to followers and investors offering to schedule a personal call if they’re considering investing at least X dollars (e.g. $2,000). |
 |
Host weekly webinars for “1st Degree” connections. Consider hosting a weekly webinar for 5-10 people in your closer network. Give them a “look under the hood” and show your Wefunder pitch. It’s softer than a 1:1 pitch and you can encourage them to ask questions throughout. |
 |
Opt for snail mail. Send postcards to thank existing investors or recruit potential new investors. It’s old wisdom, but even today, a handwritten note goes a long way. |
 |
Join Startup Grind. Wefunder has a partnership with Startup Grind – our founders get 3 months of free membership! Startup Grind is a community of founders in which you can promote your round. |
 |
Throw a party. Invite your 1st degree network to a (virtual) launch party for your campaign. Avoid discussion of offering terms, focus on your company's value prop, traction, growth. Use the event as an opportunity to articulate a clear call to action for those in your close network. Check this out. |
 |
Get cooking. Consider holding a more exclusive dinner event for those that could invest more – be sure to answer questions about your company and raise plus educate them on investment crowdfunding, if they’re unfamiliar. |
 |
Tap into groups, programs, clubs, etc. Are there pre-formed groups or audiences you know that can help publicize your raise? Think of an accelerator you went through, your college alma mater, a customer you sell to (e.g. Good Eggs), a local Startup Grind chapter, etc. |
 |
Press. Press. Press. Cold-pitch relevant media humans through email. Reach out to bloggers, podcasters, social media groups, PR, etc. who cover topics related to your industry, your city, or you! Check out this site to get started. |
It's pedal to the metal 🏎
As you approach the end of your round, fire all pistons! We usually see a 10-20% boost on raises that ramp up communication in the final week of their rounds.
Step One
Step One
Create the content.
Possible routes to take:
- A 3-5 minute video of you talking about the road ahead.
- A simple thank you – share gratitude and appreciation for the journey (check out this emotional appeal for inspiration).
- Highlight big milestones, benchmarks, or metrics that you've hit since you launched the round.
- Spotlight a superfan – a strategic investor or advisor sharing what about the company inspires and energizes them.
- Encourage investors to double down and increase the sizes of their investments.
Bear in mind those advertising rules in this final push.
Step Two
Step Two
Choose the channels to ramp up.
- Wefunder updates. We advise posting an update per day in the final week and 5 on the final day – founders typically count the days down in the last week. Remember: these updates will trigger an email to every investor and follower!
- Emails. Send a couple of mass BCC mails to your personal network wrapping up the whole raise.
- Contact bigger potential investors directly. Send personalized emails to strategic investors who haven’t yet invested. They've likely been sitting on the sidelines to see how things play out – make sure they don't miss the deadline. Send thank you’s to current big-dollar investors too. Who knows, they may be planning to invest more!
- Social media. Create a series of posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or any other mass exposure platforms you're a part of.
- Ads. If you’ve been running paid media throughout your round and found it to generate a good Return On Ad Spend (ROAS), ramp up in the final week. Spend 2x your typical budget.
We suggest cycling 5 pieces of content across all available channels in the final week. Do this at the 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 day marks.
And that's a wrap!
Do the legal stuff & get the 💰
After you hit $50K in funding commitments, and you’ve taken care of the legal work, we can kickoff the close process!
Step One
Step One
Submit compliance info.
The bulk of the legal work is us filing a Form C for you.
The filing takes about 5-7 business days but we’ll need your disclosures before we get that ball rolling. Also, the SEC requires 21 days between filing the Form C and your first close.
The bottom line – submit your financial records to us early (if possible, while you're raising!) to expedite the whole process.
Step Two
Step Two
Close & secure the bag.
After we’ve filed your Form C, and you’ve got $50,000 in commitments in escrow , we’ll initiate a normal or rolling close and transfer funding to your account within about a month. Boom!
Full closing guide here.
For a normal close, your round will close on the date set in the Form C as the deadline to reach the (minimum) target offering. If you've reached your minimum by then, we’ll start the administrative process of clearing blocked investments and disbursing funds to you.
For a rolling close, you'll be able to withdraw a portion of available funds while the round remains open.
Important notes: your raise must have been live for 21 days, we give investors 5 business days to reconfirm their investment or opt out of the tranche, if you clear $500K, you can become eligible for a second rolling close.
Step Three
Step Three
Post-close care.
We'll send you a zip of all the contracts and your final investor list. Review the contracts and Form C to see what is owed to investors (i.e. repayments, stock certificates, perks, etc.) and prepare to delight your supporters by making good!
Your investors form a community of your most committed users/supporters. They’re your most passionate brand ambassadors, so keep them updated & mobilize them in your favor!
This looks like posting monthly updates (here’s why) via Wefunder, filing an annual report, and notifying both your lead and us of any future raises or M&A.
FAQ
Investors
Yes! View your dashboard at wefunder.com/yourcompany/manage. There, you'll see important dates (when your round started, when it’s closing), your deal structure, terms summary, SEC filings, and all of your investors' contact info.
Your dashboard (wefunder.com/yourcompany/manage) will show you a list of your investors, the status of their investments, personal notes they’ve sent you, and their emails. Download a CSV file for their full info, including their emails and more.
You can answer questions in the “Ask a question” tab at wefunder.com/yourcompany/ask. (Avoid answering detailed questions about your raise off the Wefunder platform.)
Remember, if someone submits a question on your page, you’ve got their attention and they’re a valuable lead! A slow or ill-formed answer is a wasted opportunity – act fast.
Oodles (who raised raised $111,393) made it their policy to answer all investor questions posted on their profile within 72 hours.
Why it worked: The answers were well-researched, thorough, prompt. Oodles expertly used investors’ questions as an opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and commitment to investors.
You can say we’re a platform that let's founders raise from their biggest supporters – with investments as little as $100. On Wefunder, you're not donating; you’re investing. That means you can directly put capital into your favorite restaurant or that tech startup you believe is the next Uber. You’re no longer just an avid fan, you’re an owner. Plus you'll get owner perks, too: discounts, food credits, free merchandise, etc.
Check out this blog post "What if… Oculus Rift?" In 2012, VR pioneer Oculus Rift closed a Kickstarter campaign of $2.4 million. Two years later, Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion. If the donations had instead been investments, Kickstarter backers would have seen a 154x return.
Point them to our Investor FAQ for more on equity crowdfunding (and how to use the Wefunder platform). Also give it a read yourself so you’re well equipped to field questions that often pop up.
Direct 'em to support@wefunder.com!
Investors are able to invest using their IRA using a partner platform, AltoIRA. Especially for larger investments, we recommend letting investors know about this option. On average, investors funding their investment with an AltoIRA invest 4x as much as non-Alto investors on Wefunder.
Check out this site to learn more or reach out to Alto's Partnership Success Director, Kate Mellinger, at Kate@altoira.com.
After helping hundreds of founders fly past their goal, our fundraising team wrote a plan outlining how we would run a campaign. Every campaign has different assets so it’s not a one size fits all process! That said, this was our best shot at creating a generally applicable tool.
Legal
Thanks to new SEC rules, you're able to start advertising immediately after you launch – as long as you avoid any mention of specific offering terms and always link back to your Wefunder pitch. Get the full lowdown on advertising here.
While marketing is often about generating hype for crowdfunding raises, hyperbole or misleading info will get you in trouble with the SEC! So, stick to the facts. Also, don’t include any terms of your offering – direct people to your Wefunder pitch instead.
We're the best donut shop in the world and we're gonna grow HUGE!
In 2015, XYZ Donuts made $1.1 million in sales. And with a single location, we’ve doubled our sales annually.
The one rule here is that all investors must have equal access to your information about your Wefunder round. For example, if you livestream a Q&A with investors, you must then upload a recording to your pitch page.
Nope! You cannot discuss these 6 terms of your offering outside of the Wefunder website: 1) the number of securities you're offering, 2) the type of the securities, 3) the price of the securities, 4) your closing date, 5) your planned use of funds, 6) your progress towards meeting your goal.
While you can say you're raising on Wefunder, always direct potential investors to your pitch for contract details.
We are fundraising on Wefunder. Early bird investors will receive a discount rate of 90%. To get a guaranteed return on investment, invest here.
We love our customers more than anything. That’s why we wanted to give you all a chance to become part-owners of our restaurant. Check us out and invest on Wefunder.
Wefunder Platform
Check out this guide or watch this tutorial on how to build your pitch. Check out our new video library for some of the best pitch videos, investor testimonial videos, and more!
You can turn the clock on or off anytime by clicking the “five steps to launch” on the right-hand side of your overview page. We suggest using it as a deadline and implicit CTA for your audience. Note that your raise won’t show on the Wefunder Explore page while your countdown clock is on.
Go to your "Updates" tab or wefunder.com/yourcompany/updates. Click the green button that says “Update your followers."
Closing
We won’t take any commission on checks of $25K+ if you send us an email with the investor's information prior to their investment.
In a "rolling close," founders can withdraw money when the raise hits its minimum amount in funds available (ie. everyone who said they were going to send a check actually sent a check, people who needed to provide accreditation information did so, etc).
Note you'll have to wait 21 days between us filing your Form C and initiating the close. (File early! 📣)
