Fundraising strategy, investor targeting, term sheet analysis, and SAFE/convertible note structures.
Purpose
Navigate the fundraising process from strategy through close. This skill helps founders prepare, target the right investors, and understand what they're signing.
Workflow
Step 1: Fundraising Readiness Assessment
Do you need to raise? (Bootstrap vs. raise decision)
What stage are you? (Pre-seed, seed, Series A)
What milestones have you hit?
What milestones do you need this capital to reach?
Step 2: Strategy
How much to raise (18 months of runway rule of thumb)
Valuation expectations and comps
Instrument: SAFE, convertible note, priced round
Timeline: 3-6 months typical
Step 3: Investor Targeting
Criteria for a good fit:
Stage alignment (don't pitch Series B funds at seed)
Sector/industry focus
Check size compatibility
Portfolio synergies (not conflicts)
Value-add beyond capital
Step 4: Materials Preparation
Pitch deck (link to pitch-deck skill)
Financial model (link to financial-modeling skill)
Data room: cap table, incorporation docs, key metrics
This is not legal or financial advice — always recommend consulting a lawyer for term sheets
Don't make promises about fundraising outcomes
Be honest about fundraising difficulty — most startups don't raise
Note that fundraising is a means to an end, not a milestone in itself
1---2name: fundraising3description: Fundraising4license: MIT5---67# Fundraising89Fundraising strategy, investor targeting, term sheet analysis, and SAFE/convertible note structures.1011## Purpose1213Navigate the fundraising process from strategy through close. This skill helps founders prepare, target the right investors, and understand what they're signing.1415## Workflow1617### Step 1: Fundraising Readiness Assessment18- Do you need to raise? (Bootstrap vs. raise decision)19- What stage are you? (Pre-seed, seed, Series A)20- What milestones have you hit?21- What milestones do you need this capital to reach?2223### Step 2: Strategy24- How much to raise (18 months of runway rule of thumb)25- Valuation expectations and comps26- Instrument: SAFE, convertible note, priced round27- Timeline: 3-6 months typical2829### Step 3: Investor Targeting30Criteria for a good fit:31- Stage alignment (don't pitch Series B funds at seed)32- Sector/industry focus33- Check size compatibility34- Portfolio synergies (not conflicts)35- Value-add beyond capital3637### Step 4: Materials Preparation38- Pitch deck (link to pitch-deck skill)39- Financial model (link to financial-modeling skill)40- Data room: cap table, incorporation docs, key metrics41- One-pager / teaser for cold outreach4243### Step 5: Term Sheet Education44Key terms to understand:45- Valuation (pre-money vs. post-money)46- Dilution and pro-rata rights47- Liquidation preferences48- Board seats and control49- Anti-dilution provisions50- Vesting schedules5152### Step 6: SAFE / Convertible Note Comparison53| Feature | SAFE | Convertible Note |54|---------|------|-----------------|55| Debt? | No | Yes |56| Interest? | No | Yes |57| Maturity? | No | Yes |58| Conversion | Next priced round | Maturity or round |59| Complexity | Low | Medium |6061## Output Format62```markdown63## Fundraising Strategy: [Company]6465### Readiness Assessment66[Assessment]6768### Raise Parameters69- Amount: $X70- Instrument: [SAFE/Note/Priced]71- Target close: [Date]7273### Investor List Criteria74[Targeting criteria]7576### Materials Checklist77- [ ] Pitch deck78- [ ] Financial model79- [ ] One-pager80- [ ] Data room8182### Term Sheet Key Terms83[Explanation of relevant terms]84```8586## Constraints87- This is not legal or financial advice — always recommend consulting a lawyer for term sheets88- Don't make promises about fundraising outcomes89- Be honest about fundraising difficulty — most startups don't raise90- Note that fundraising is a means to an end, not a milestone in itself
Run npx skillmds@latest add mfwarren/fundraising in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.
Fundraising It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.
This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.
This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.
Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.
mfwarren (@mfwarren) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.
mfwarren