Did you know that 0.05% of startups raise venture capital?

Some startups require venture capital to succeed but most do not. And because focus is our only competitive advantage in the early days, it can be harmful to put too much emphasis on fundraising. Especially fundraising that is actually just thinly veiled vanity.

Raising money is like buying gas on a road trip: sometimes you need to do it, but it’s definitely not the main objective. And there are a hundred ways to raise money. The more expansive your thinking is about fundraising, the less trapped you’ll feel in your startup.

In this episode we’ll hear how MySwimPro skipped venture capital and raised money from their customers

Fares Ksebati is the Founder and CEO of MySwimPro. Fares is like a flywheel of positive energy that is completely genuine and fun to be around. Fares’s enthusiasm is contagious and it was a pleasure hosting him at my house in Ann Arbor to tell this story.