Not subscribed to our weekly updates? Sign up here

This week we're featuring a guest post by Brent Franson, Founder and CEO at Most Days. He started Most Days in March, fundraised in late June and early July, then successfully closed a $3M seed round by August with top investors. Read the full step-by-step process on how he raised a seed round he published on our blog.

For more funding stories, listen to our new podcast series, Funded. We also update you on last week's Pitch Deck Interest metrics, and invite you to enter to win a $500 Amazon gift card by filling out the DocSend Fundraising Research survey.

How Most Days Raised a $3M Round

Brent Franson is the Founder and CEO at Most Days, a Life Improvement Platform to increase quality of length of life. Below is a summary of the step-by-step fundraising process Brent used to close a $3M seed round to build Most Days.

Can you raise money in a pandemic? Absolutely. Early fears about the impact of the pandemic have given way to a fundraising environment that’s hotter than ever. But as we well know, there are still adjustments to running the process remotely. My company -- Most Days, a life improvement and social support platform focused on promoting behavior change -- just went through it to emerge from stealth this week after starting our process in March and closing a $3M seed in August. 

We were fortunate. Our unique approach to helping our members make progress on mental, physical and emotional health goals was relevant prior to the pandemic. But it’s even more salient now because - unfortunately - people are struggling so deeply with the continuing effects of the pandemic and economy. Most Days delivers three core elements: healthy routines developed by both medical experts and our members; the ability for members to curate a trusted community for support; and a way to track progress on goals related to depression, worry, sleep, stress, and general wellness. 

What was surprising about pursuing a raise in a pandemic? How normal the process was. Sure, adjustments had to be made: pitching virtually, of course, is a bit different. But the key elements - like getting tight on your narrative, structuring your target investor list strategically, building momentum and leveraging it to find and select the right lead investor - are the same no matter what. 

This is the at-a-glance, high-level process that brought us across the line.

• Step One: Get to know the landscape. Understand what kind of firms you want to work with and rank them.
• Step Two: Draft your deck. Focus on telling a great story that answers the questions you anticipate. Be prepared to iterate rapidly.
• Step Three: Build a target investor list. Be comprehensive - it’s not just about listing the right investors but also creating a game plan.
• Step Four: Schedule first pitches. Best piece of advice (from Russ Heddleston at DocSend, actually!): get 30 pitches on the books in a two-week period. Adjust if you get no leads.
• Step Five: Pitch, pitch, pitch. Adjust your deck after each pitch to cover questions and feedback.
• Step Six: Generate momentum. If you get interest (e.g., a forthcoming term sheet), you can leverage it to encourage and accelerate conversations with others.  
• Step Seven: Pick a lead. Look at the investor’s brand, network, and ability to provide business advice.
• Step Eight: Fill in the round. Chase smaller checks now that you’ve solidified your lead.

Click here for a deeper look into the step-by-step process that worked for Most Days

Pitch Deck Interest Metrics Update

During Thanksgiving week, we saw the largest drops in Investor Interest and Founder Links Created in 2020. Last week, we recorded that Investor Interest has rebounded sharply by 21.12%. Time spent reading went above 3 minutes per deck for the first time since June and links created jumped 10.5%. (retweet our tweet)

Read our analysis of last week's fundraising marketplace activity.

Last chance to win $500 by completing our survey

If you've enjoyed all of our fundraising research this year, contribute to the next round by completing our fundraising survey. Founders and investors from anywhere can submit their responses. All data is aggregated and anonymized.

Fill out the survey to enter into a drawing to win a $500 Amazon gift card 👇

Recommended Reads

Lessons for early stage founders

Calvin French-Owen, Co-Founder of Segment, shares a list of lessons for early stage founders he wishes they’d figured out earlier at Segment.

Read the full post on his blog

How to drive community growth with email marketing

Helena Ronis, Founder and CEO of AllFactors, sat down with me (Nick Frost), to discuss how I think about building a thriving DocSend community and how my team uses email marketing to enhance content reach and engagement.

Read the full post on the AllFactors blog

Have a content suggestion? Reply to this email to recommend content to feature

Listen to Funded on your favorite podcast app!

The Funded podcast features some of the entrepreneurs you’ve always admired to tell a story you haven’t heard before — how they raised millions in venture capital.

Subscribe to Funded on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or search "Funded"

If you enjoy our newsletter, please consider sharing it with your friends on Twitter.