Hey 👋🏾
I’m sick and tired of hearing this from founders:
“Crowdfunding is what I’d do when the VC says no.”
Because CF can be the smartest, most deliberate move you make to raise money — specifically when you’re not ready for a full priced round yet, but you need cash to hit the milestone that earns you a full raise.
This is a bridge round. And most female founders don’t know it’s on the menu, let alone that they’re sitting perfectly positioned to run one through the crowd.
What a bridge round actually is
You’re not negotiating a full valuation today. You’re raising with a SAFE or convertible note — structures built to buy runway to a specific milestone, without pinning a price on the company right now.
Girl Math Translation: you get the cash-mula without the fight.
Why crowdfunding is basically built for this
Here are 3 reasons this is better than you’d think:
You skip the valuation stand-off with a lead investor. The note structure lets you push that fight down the road.
Your own customers and community can come in with smaller cheques — exactly the profile a bridge wants. Lots of fast yeses, not one slow, painful VC back-and-forth.
It buys you the runway to hit the milestone that earns a better valuation next time, instead of pricing a full round now at a number you can’t defend yet.
Where founders mess up
The ones who get burned, treat the bridge like an acne flare up. Panicking - Ready to pop it - They’re saying. “We need money, please.” to anyone with investor title on their linkedln.
p.s. Never put yourself in a position of Desperation in front of Investors ( It’s Gross & Ugly)
The founders who win treat it like:
“I need £150k to prove X before my next raise. Here’s exactly what happens if you’re in.”
Same money but totally different experience for the person deciding whether to back you.
Never ask yourself “how do I get cash fast.”
Fast cash isn’t suitable for long term growth instead Ask yourself “What’s the one thing that needs to be true before I raise a proper round — and can my community get me there faster than anyone else?”
If yes, you’re not settling for crowdfunding. You’re using it exactly how it’s meant to be used.
📌 This week in your world
Four things worth your reading….
I went digging this week and found a genuinely useful spread — Enjoy!
1. A Bristol biomaterials firm just showed exactly what a well-run crowd raise looks like
Ponda closed a £1.4m round on Republic Europe — seven times its £200k minimum target — bringing in 256 new shareholders at an £8.9m post-money valuation. The listing offered 15.8% of the company at £12.54 a share. I'm pulling this one apart properly in a future issue, but the headline lesson for now: they didn't raise the minimum and hope. They built demand past 7x. That's the "warm crowd before launch" thing I keep banging on about, playing out in real time, this month, in the UK.
3. DivInc just relaunched its accelerator with a new CEO — and it's completely equity-free
Tauri Laws-Philips takes over, and the 10-week hybrid programme (accepting applications now) takes zero ownership stake, specifically to stop further diluting founders who've already been underfunded. If you're pre-bridge and still building your proof point, this is worth a look — no dilution, real curriculum on capital readiness. Worth flagging: 89% of the last cohort reported gaining sustainable traction, and two-thirds said they reached or made real progress toward product-market fit.
→ Read more: Forbes — DivInc Names Tauri Laws-Philips CEO
Until Next time…..
