How to Raise Your Seed Round in 90 Days Without Warm Intros
The exact 5-step process that's helped 200+ founders raise $500M+
Nick Holmes a Court
Qualification: I've been all sides of the fundraising table
Founded 3x VC Backed Startups
Personally raised $30M+, 2 Exits
Met with 1,000+ VCs
as both founder and investor
Venture Capital Team
at Amazon Web Services
Helped 400+ founders
With US and Global fundraising through Workshops and Accellerators
But My First Fundraise? It was a disaster
No network. No warm intros.
Sent 1000's of cold emails, met 100's of VC
Took 2 years to raise what should have taken 90 days.
Then I Learned What Actually Works
Fundraising isn't about who you know.
It's about having clarity and a process.
By the End of This Webinar, You'll Know...
Exactly who to target (and who to ignore)
How to write emails that get opened (and meetings booked)
How to create urgency so investors move fast
RAISE ACADEMY
How to Raise
Why Most Founders Fail (And How to Fix It)
Why Most Founders Fail at Fundraising
Targeting the wrong investors
Sending pitch decks VCs never open
Pitching too early (before having clarity)
Fundraising sequentially, not in parallel
Understanding the Fundraising Stages
1
Pre-Seed ($100K-500K)
Incubators, Angels, Pre-Seed Funds
2
Seed ($1M-3M)
Angel Investors, Early-stage VCs
3
Series A ($5M-20M)
VC Investors
4
Series B+ ($20M+)
Growth VCs
RAISE: Treat Fundraising Like a Project
Planning
Plan, tasks, team, timelines
Project Duration
Typical project: 6 weeks to 9 months
Embrace Resilience
Failure & rejection is normal
Parallel Progress
Parallel execution beats sequential
What Happens When Fundraising Takes Too Long?
Burn through runway
Miss market timing
Lose team morale
Competitors raise first
Forced to shut down
Introducing: The RAISE Method
R - Research & Prepare
A - Articulate Your Story
I - Initiate Contact
S - Secure Meetings
E - Execute the Close
Founders Who've Used This Process
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"Raised $2M in 12 weeks"
— Ryan De Coteau, Lumiate AI
"made a complicate concept finally make sense - and i raise a round"
— Kym Treasure, Audacia Audio
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"Went from 0 to term sheet in 9 weeks"
— Tim Williams, Astrasync AI
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Ryan De Coteau
Founder & CEO of Lumiate AI
Let's Dive Into the 3 Secrets
These are the game-changers that separate successful fundraises from failed ones.
Secret #1: Investor Selection Success
Why most founders target the wrong investors (and how to find YOUR perfect 75)
There over 18,000 VCs Globally. How Do You Choose?
Most founders either:
Spray and pray
(email everyone)
Only target big-name VCs
(who ignore them)
Give up
because it's overwhelming
The 3-Filter System
01
Stage: Do they invest at your stage?
(Pre-seed, Seed, Series A)
02
Industry: Do they invest in your category?
(SaaS, FinTech, HealthTech, etc.)
03
Geography: Do they invest in your region?
(US, ANZ, Europe, Asia)
Result: 18,000 VCs → 75 perfect-fit investors
Let Me Show You How This Works
Example: You're a SaaS startup raising $2M Seed in Australia
Watch how we go from 18,000 VCs → 75 targets in 5 minutes
Your Perfect 75 Investor List
What you now have:
75+ VCs who invest at your stage
In your industry
In your geography
With right person and contact details
Now You Know WHO to Target
Let's Talk About WHAT to Say.
Secret #2: What Actually Gets VC Attention
(And How to Get Warm Intros When You Have No Network)
Why VCs Don't Open Your Pitch Deck
Too busy
100+ decks per week, can only review 5-10
Too much noise
95% of pitches are outside their mandate
Attention scarcity
They protect their time ruthlessly
What Gets VCs to Stop Scrolling and Read
Three elements that capture attention:
01
Emotional connection with the problem
(they feel it viscerally)
02
Clarity + Quantification
(what problem, why it matters, measured impact)
03
Intrigue
(enough curiosity to want a conversation)
An email teaser that creates intrigue
1
Problem
(quantified + emotional)
2
Solution
(clear, differentiated and unique)
3
Proof
(traction that matters)
4
Intrigue
(open loop)
How to Get Warm Intros When You Have No Connections
The Insight
Attention is the scarce resource—even for the person making the intro, they wont analyse my deck or come up with investors
The Solution
Draft the intro email FOR them (make it effortless)
The Process:
- Use LinkedIn to find mutual connections to your target VC
- Look at the VC's portfolio—find founders you have connections to
- Draft a intro email for your connector
- Ask: "Would you be comfortable forwarding this to [VC]?"
The Email You Draft For Your Connector
Subject: [Your Company] - [One-line description]
Hi [VC Name],
Wanted to introduce you to [Your Name], founder of [Company].
[Problem + Solution in 2 sentences]
[Proof + Intrigue in 2 sentences]
Thought this might be relevant given your focus on [their thesis]. Let me know if you'd like an intro.
Now You Know WHO to Target and WHAT to Say
Let's Talk About HOW to Close Fast
Secret #3: Driving Competitive Tension to Close Fast
Why single-investor fundraises take forever (and the parallel pipeline strategy)
Why Fundraising Takes 9 Months
Most founders fundraise sequentially:
Meet Investor A → Wait → Get rejected
Meet Investor B → Wait → Get "maybe"
Meet Investor C → Wait → Get "come back later"
Repeat 20 times → 9 months gone
The Parallel Pipeline Strategy
Meet 10-15 investors in the same 2-week window
Benefits:
Creates competitive tension
Accelerates decision timelines
Gives you leverage in negotiations
Increases probability of multiple term sheets
Tier Your Investor Meetings
Tier 3: Practice investors
(lowest desire) - Phase 1
Tier 2: Good-fit investors
(medium desire) - Phase 2
Tier 1: Dream investors
(highest desire) - Phase 3
What to Do in Your First VC Meeting
30-minute structure:
First 5 mins
Team, problem, solution, market, traction (no product demo)
Next 20 mins
Q&A with investor (you ask questions, not just answer)
Last 5 mins
Ask for intros or next steps
Ask Questions to Show You're Strategic
- "Have you seen anything similar in this space? How does this compare?"
- "From your perspective, what parts of this opportunity feel most exciting?"
- "If you were working on this business, what would you focus on?"
- "If you were chief strategy officer for a day, what would your top 3 priorities be"
- "What would you want to see in our next meeting?"
Get full meeting guides from the Raise Academy Website
Understanding What VCs Really Mean
Signals of strong interest:
"This is exactly what we're looking for"
"How quickly are you planning to close?"
"Can you send the data room?"
"Let me bring this to my partners"
The Polite 'No' (And How to Spot It)
Soft no signals:
"Really interesting, but it's a bit early for us"
"We'd love to track this, can you send monthly updates?"
"This isn't squarely within our thesis"
"Come back when you have more traction"
How to Use 'Soft Interest' to Create Urgency
When 2-3 investors show interest, tell the others:
"We're in active conversations with [Firm A] and [Firm B]""We're planning to close in the next 4 weeks""Would love to include you if there's mutual interest"
These 3 Secrets Are Just the Beginning
Recap:
Secret #1: The Investor Selection Framework
Secret #2: What Actually Gets VC Attention
Secret #3: Driving Competitive Tension to Close Fast
But there's a lot more to learn...
Introducing Raise Academy
Raise Academy
Learn the complete 5-step process to raise your Seed round in 90 days
What's Inside Raise Academy
5 Core Training Modules
(RAISE Method)
18,000 Global VC GPT
Weekly Live Workshops
Private Founder Community
Templates & Systems Library
5 Core Learning Modules
Lesson 1: Research & Prepare
(build your 75-investor list)
Lesson 2: Articulate Your Story
(craft your pitch)
Lesson 3: Initiate Contact
(get warm intros and send outreach)
Lesson 4: Secure Meetings
(drive competitive tension)
Lesson 5: Execute the Close
(negotiate term sheets)
18,000 Global VC GPT
Full contact details
(email, LinkedIn, Twitter)
Investment stage, industry, geography filters
Portfolio companies and recent investments
Saves months on VC discovery
Weekly Live Workshops
Pitch Workshops (Wednesdays)
Practice your pitch, get feedback
Office Hours Q&A (Fridays)
Bring your questions, get coaching
Private Founder Community
Weekly co-working sessions for investor outreach
Peer feedback on emails, decks, pitches
Direct access to Nick
Accountability partners
Templates & Systems Library
90-Day Results Guarantee
Promise:
Book 10+ quality VC meetings in 90 days or get a full refund
Requirements:
- Complete all 5 modules
- Complete all exercises
- Attend at least 4 workshops
Investment: $1,697 USD
Payment options:
Pay in Full
$1,697
3-Month Plan
3 x $653 = $1,1959
Value: Less than 1 week of runway for most startups
ROI: If this helps you raise 3 months faster, you've saved $30K-60K in burn
This Isn't for Everyone
Who this is FOR:
Pre-seed to Seed stage founders
Raising $500K-$5M
Ready to start this month
Willing to put in the work
Here's What Happens Next
3 Simple Steps:
Fill out 2-minute application
I'll review it within 24 hours
If you're a fit, we'll book a 25-minute strategy call
Ready to Raise Your Seed Round in 90 Days?
December Cohort Full - Next cohort starts January 1 — only 15 7 spots available
Questions?
Let's take 5 minutes for Q&A