In 10 Easy Steps!

"FFA" stands for Friends, Family, and Associates. This guide will show you how to set up and validate an FFA funding campaign for your startup.

This service is part of your $199 Startups.com advisory membership.

• Problem
• Solution
• Market Size
• How it Works
• Business Model
• Go-to-Market
• Competition
• Team
• Traction
• Ask

We will advise you if you need any other slides.

You will also complete your company details, such as how much you seek to raise and how. Again, we will help you with all of this.

Start with simple black-and-white text (like what you see here). You will get feedback, and then when you're ready, you can invest in some design. This is the simplest and fastest way to ensure you have the best pitch deck.

Here is an example of a problem slide:

*American Psychological Association (APA)

Here is what it might look like after design:

• Problem
• Solution
• Market Size
• How it Works (Competitive Advantage)
• Team

• Friends
• Family
• Associates

Then rank them by:

• A: Close Personal Contacts
• B: Professional Contacts
• C: Contacts that you’re A/B’s refer.

BUILD A CRM! (A simple spreadsheet will do.)

Don’t contact VC investors yet. You will later.

• Send the link to your Fundable.
• Ask them to give you feedback on your campaign.
• Don’t ask them to invest (they will assume they can).
• Ask who else you think you should speak with.
• Ask them to introduce you if they can.
• Referrals go into the C-list.
• Ask to keep them updated.

Keep refining your pitch until it's perfect—you’ll know when. This is when you should start adding design and graphics to your pitch deck.

• Compelling subject line.
• Reason for the contact.
• Your UVP in one sentence.
• Team sentence.
• Traction sentence.
• Ask sentence.
• Link to your Fundable listing.

We will help you with this!

• Contact them.
• Follow up.
• Ask for feedback.
• Ask to keep them updated.
• Do NOT ask for referrals (they will offer).

• Contact them.
• Follow up.
• Ask for feedback.
• Ask to keep them updated.
• Do NOT ask for referrals (they will offer).

Should you use your Fundable link? That depends on the contact and type of investor. You may want to upload your deck and send out a link to it.

Use the proper search filters.

Do NOT send out Fundable links—upload your pitch deck and send that link instead. Institutional investors like VCs prefer decks directly.

Everything an investor will need to see during due diligence, including but not limited to:

• Executive Summary
• Pitch Deck
• Business Plan
• Financial Statements
• Cap Table
• Product Documentation
• Market Research
• Legal Documents
• Team Bios
• Customer & Sales Data
• NDAs are usually signed first.

You can include some of this on your listing page. We'll work with you on what and how to do this.

• Use inflection points to update potential investors.
• Update your campaign listing with news.
• The more traction, the easier the raise!

Get into an accountability program with us! We will coach you.

• 50% of your time working on traction.
• 25% talking to customers.
• 25% talking to investors.
• Update your listing with news.
• Send regular updates to your list.

• Because of securities regulations, some of your slides, like financials and the ask, will have to go into the "Business Plan" section.
• Make sure you're filing the proper exemptions when you raise capital. Learn more about Regulation D (Reg D) Fundraising here >
• You must file Form D within 15 days after the first sale of securities, even if you use a SAFE. Even though a SAFE doesn’t immediately provide equity, it's still classified as a security, and the regulatory requirements apply.
• We are not lawyers and cannot provide financial or legal advice, but we can refer you if needed.

Click here to get your code >

If you need more help than the DIY package, we have a DWY (Do it With You) membership available. Ask your dedicated Startups.com advisor.