Your weekly read in one sitting.

• Venture News (In-House)
• That's A Big Deal: Forecastr
• Adventure Capital: Justin Renfro and Pipe
• Case Study: Pigeon Loans
• Dream Raise: Undock

Volume 2 has arrived, which means there's more rumblings in the grapevine worth sharing. This week, we're giving you a more focused view of (y)our world, filling this edition with more potent and shareable goodies/insights/info.

Now, off we go, starting with Venture News!

A tad more Home Team driven, plus such lovely progress and perspective.

• Izzy Lugo, Just accepted a new role as Head of Content at Tradeblock, a platform where you can trade for the kicks you want without breaking the bank! And we know he’s going to do an amazing job because of all of the cool content he’s been creating with his brand Strange on Purpose. Look out for some founder interviews in the future as well!
• A bunch of us are going to be at SXSW this year checking out events and throwing a couple of our own *wink - wink*. There’s going to be a guaranteed WefundWednesday (shout out to Adie’s wit on that one) and more. Hit the Sign Up link if you have plans to go and want to stay in our loop. Free coffee and tacos for the first 50-100 people!
• Our VP of Fundraising, Jonny Price, wrote an insightful op-ed on the benefits of creating a community of delighted customers without breaking the bank, and the best way to do this - community ownership. There’s not too many people whose perspectives are respected more, so go get some of that chicken soup for your entrepreneur soul. Read here.
• Lizelle van Vuuren has joined Wefunder! Taking on Founder in Residence. We are beyond a fan of Lizelle. The heart flutters are very present today.  Oh the joy and quite the announcement to make on International Women's Day!

We have a Big Deal here for Founders from our friends over at Forecastr. For those of you who don't know, Forecast is a platform of startup finance experts that specialize in building unique financial models that make sense to you so you can look great in front of investors, and have confidence in your plans. 

Oh, also, Wefunder Founders get 25% off of their first year subscription!

Here are some kind words from Ryan Kuder - Managing Director of Techstars.

Also, here’s a previous Adventure Capital we did with their Co-founder Steven Plappert. Listen here.

A solid business model can be the difference in going from a good business staying afloat to a great one that scales. So take some time to research more of their offerings, start a Community Round if you haven’t already, and Sign Up with Forecastr to see how their models can aid in your different areas of growth. Don’t forget the discount!

This past week, our Adventure Capital squad sat down with Wefunder’s Senior Director of Growth, Justin Renfro, and Pilot’s Founder and CEO Waseem Daher.

Waseem gives us a run-through of his Entrepreneur journey and the lessons learned along the way (there are two major acquisitions under his belt), and Justin offers an absolute Masterclass in Marketing.

If these conversations get you fired up and ready to Raise then let us all get started on that Community Round!

Let's look back on a Community Round Case Study that is a good inspirational story of how a small family business can become a YC backed company. We see these as good things to think about if and when you decide to raise with us.

Pigeon Loans is a platform that allows you to create or track loans from your friends, family, and loved ones. A combination of letting the investors know how much they were valued, and diving into the trenches as much as needed was the difference-maker for Brian Bristol and crew’s campaign. Here are a couple on Pre-Launch and Day of Launch Tactics.

Pre-Launch

• “Treat Wefunder investors just as highly as accredited investors”: As a previous unaccredited investor himself, Brian is aware that there are many extremely knowledgeable investors using Wefunder even though many are not accredited. For this reason, he made sure to engage with them in a way that acknowledged their wisdom, therefore, earning their respect and increasing confidence. 

Day of Launch

• Be an extension of Wefunder’s support team: Making yourself available is just another method to gain the support of investors. Brian recommends hopping in the support thread and working through problems with the community if possible. He also held webinars and zoom calls where he made himself available to answer specific questions and talk to investors individually. 

Read the Pigeon Loans Case Study, as well as others, in full here. Also, check out their pretty cool podcast The Chirp and its conversations that will hopefully educate you on the world of loans, its impact on relationships, and how we can remove the stress of lending with friends and family.

Every now and then we sit back and daydream a bit about a company we believe would have the best Community Round for their people. Today we’re thinking about Undock and their Super Calendar. This right here is the fastest way to find time to meet with anyone with their scheduling that works like autocomplete.

Check out how Undock Scheduling works below.

Also, here’s a treat from before my Wefunder days when I helped out with a product launch. Look at that hair!

They’re beyond cool. Wouldn’t you love to invest in their Community Round? We sure would so let's let them know!

That'll do for now. We look forward to continuing this conversation and building more segments over time that will hopefully feed your Investor and/or Founder soul. In the meantime, let us know what you found enlightening, what you would hope to see in the coming months, and sign up to start raising for your own Community Round!