Your fundraise is taking forever. You thought it would be 3 months. Here you are at month 5 wondering what you did wrong.

Spoiler alert: probably nothing.

Let's talk about what really changed.

📊 Timeline shock: Seed rounds went from 68 days to 142 days this year. That's double the waiting - the longest in 12 years.

🚀 Female founder wins: Some amazing women just raised huge rounds.

💰 Policy progress: France made a rule that 30% of funded companies need female founders. Funding for women went up 35%.

My take: The waiting sucks. But smart founders use the extra time to get better numbers and make friends with investors. Check our Free Money section while you wait for responses.

Remember when Elle Woods got into Harvard Law and everyone thought it would be easy? That's what fundraising used to feel like. Quick, straightforward, done.

Now it's more like Legally Blonde 2 - way more complicated and takes forever. 😅

Last year, founders closed seed rounds in 68 days. This year? Try 142 days. That's more than double. If you're a female founder, add 30-40% because due diligence takes 1.7x longer.

The Timeline Reality Check

We've gone from a 3-week sprint to a 6-month marathon. Investors who used to make decisions over coffee? Now they want three meetings, two phone calls, and about 47 documents before they say yes to anything.

This isn't about your business. It's about the market shift that started in 2022 and became permanent by 2024. They have the same money but they're being super picky about who gets it. 🔍

The numbers are frustrating but clear:

And guess what? Research shows companies with female founders do just as well. Sometimes better. But they still make us wait longer because they think we're "riskier." 🙄

You need way more money saved up before you start asking for investment. If you thought this would take 3 months, plan for 9 months instead.

Your pitch will change during those months. You'll get new customers and hit new goals. Your presentation from January won't work in June. Plan to update it every few months.

The Good News (Yes, There Is Some)

All this extra time can actually help you. You get more chances to prove your business is working. You build real friendships with investors instead of rushing through meetings.

Some female founders who take longer to raise money end up getting bigger checks and better deals. Why? Because they proved their business was solid for months, not just weeks.

Save up 18 months of money before you start. I know, I know. But trust me on this one.

Set goals for what you'll achieve each month. Month 1: meet 10 investors. Month 3: follow up with favorites. Month 6: update everyone on your progress.

Start making friends with investors before you need their money. Like, way before. Think Regina George's burn book, but for investors you actually want to work with.

Take breaks. Seriously. When you're exhausted, investors can tell. And tired founders don't get funded. 💪

Honestly, fundraising got harder. But it's not impossible. The founders who understand this new timing and plan for it? They're not just surviving. They're raising bigger rounds from investors who really believe in what they're building.

Your 6-month fundraise isn't you failing. It's just how things work now.

📋 Meeting Cheat Sheet: Tips that helped female founders get way more money during long fundraises.

Get Your Cheat Sheet Here

🎯 Tell me your story: Reply and tell me how long your fundraise is taking. I'm collecting stories for next week. ✨

Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily funding reality checks.

Next week: What should I write about? Hit reply and tell me what's driving you crazy right now. 📩

Galaxy Grant - Hidden Star Foundation $2,950 for U.S. women who own businesses Takes 30 seconds to apply (seriously) Deadline: September 30, 2025 Apply here

StartHER Grant - Texas Woman's University $5,000 (they're giving out 10) For Texas women with small businesses (5 people or less) Deadline: September 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM Apply here

Amber Grant - WomensNet $10,000 every month + $25,000 at year end Women-owned businesses in US/Canada (costs $15 to apply) You can apply anytime Apply here

IFundWomen Universal Grant $5,000-$25,000+ (lots of different companies give money) Fill out one form, get connected to multiple grants Apply anytime Apply here

Molly He - Element Biosciences Just got $277M for DNA stuff. She used to work at a big science company called Illumina. Now she's building machines that could change how we study genes.

Christina Cacioppo - Vanta Made $100M in yearly sales and raised $150M for security software. She started Vanta after getting frustrated with compliance at her old jobs.

Kristen Fortney - BioAge Labs Raised $170M and is going public for drugs that help people live longer. Her company uses computers to find new medicines for aging.

Ritu Narayan - Zum Got $140M for a app that makes school buses better. She used to work at Uber and saw a chance to fix how kids get to school.

These women prove that taking longer to raise money can lead to bigger wins when you use the time smart.

Your 6-month fundraise isn't you failing. It's just how things work now.

Talk soon,
OnAgenda Team

P.S.

Fun fact: A founder told me her 8-month fundraise felt like a disaster. Then she realized she ended up raising 3x more money than she first wanted. Sometimes the wait is worth it. 💪