Haves and Have Nots

I’ve been keeping tabs on several early-stage founders who are aiming to raise capital before the end of the year. Their funding experiences so far are on the extreme ends of the spectrum (for various reasons). From what I’m hearing so far, it sounds like funding rounds will end up in one of two camps.

  • Fundraises will be extremely successful and engender a high degree of interest from several firms. These founders will likely be given offers to raise materially more capital than they set out to raise (which isn’t necessarily a good thing).
  • Fundraises will be completely unsuccessful, with zero interest from firms. If these founders are running out of runway, they’ll likely struggle to raise a bridge round.

These initial thoughts are subject to change as the market changes. But if they hold, it sounds like an extreme case of haves and have nots this fundraising season.