How early is too early? To bring in a fundraiser

By Caroline Sai, Angels Santé (Angels4health) Director & EBAN Board Member Let’s be honest: unless you’re one of the rare startups that grabs VC attention at the true seed stage, most of you will need to pitch individual business angels or angel networks and make your case in person. When raising a seed round, you’re often still at the POC phase—with limited traction, let alone revenue. Your first real investors will base much of their assessment on you as a CEO: your team dynamics, your capacity to inspire, and your ability to handle tough questions and tough environments. They expect you to hit the pavement, understand what investors want, and navigate the fundraising game yourself. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲, but when a fundraiser steps in to connect with seed-stage investors on your behalf, it feels a bit like hiding behind a proxy. Fundraising is all about 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. If you’re not the one making the first moves, it can come across as a lack of confidence in your pitch, inability to attract investors on your own, or simply unwillingness to put in the time for the necessary groundwork. If that’s the case, think again! We look for CEOs who know their stuff: their market, their local fundraising landscape, and how to build relationships. It requires patience, preparation, curiosity, and networking. At this early stage, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 are the face of your project—and no proxy can replace that. When we invest our money in your company, we want 𝘆𝗼𝘂 to persuade us. We want to see that you appreciate our time and due diligence, and that you’re the right person to lead this venture to success. We want to connect with you and your team, bring you smart money, and build a relationship that motivates us to become your best advocates. How often do we see fundraisers approaching angel networks for €20M rounds? They clearly do not understand what angels invest in. It’s a waste of everyone’s time. Let’s not forget: most angel networks will charge a success fee, which stacks on top of what your fundraiser takes. Not exactly the best way to use your investors’ money. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲? Once you’ve grown past the seed stage and are raising a Series A or beyond—when your national network has become too small and you need to reach international VCs—then, and only then, does it become a plausible solution. A good fundraiser can open doors, offer industry-specific advice, and act as a valuable sounding board before introductions that could be game-changing. They can indeed increase the likelihood of securing funding faster while you are busy driving your company’s business forward. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 At Seed stage a fundraiser is most probably counterproductive as investors want to see you in the driver’s seat. Save the fundraisers for when you’re ready to scale. About the Contributor Caroline Sai is the Head of Angels Santé (Angels4health) & EBAN Board Member. The European Health Investor Network is a European network of healthcare investors dedicated to supporting healthcare startups in their fundraising journey. It is a fundraising programme managed by Angels Santé. To learn more about how to join our program as an investor or a startup, click here.