Getting Funded

By Bill Yucatonis, CEO of CoupMe and GoodTwo

As of January 18th, 2011, I had never heard of TCN, which is strange because I consider myself to be fairly connected especially in start-up world. Believe me, I’ve attended countless hours of other so-called entrepreneurial networks in the Boston scene, and I’ve paid fairly for what they delivered - a cheap glass of wine and a cold buffet. Thanks for the heartburn.

Call it fate, but on January 18th my bookkeeper, Smartbooks, introduced me to Michelle Hipwood, Executive Director of The Capital Network. I had just launched a new brand, GoodTwo, and we were raising money to capitalize its success and spin it out into its own company. GoodTwo is a free fundraising platform for fundraisers of any size and structure. We offer deals and rewards to donors who support your mission: the donor buys a deal and money goes directly to your cause. Think of it as your own Groupon fundraiser. In particular we’re helping a lot of run-walk-ride-athons achieve their goals, so if you’re doing this year’s Jimmy Fund Walk or Pan Mass Challenge we’ll be there. GoodTwo - Good Deal. Good Cause.

So I’m the CEO, the guy that’s supposed to know it all, but since I never will, I believe it’s important to surround yourself with smart, passionate people. Thank you TCN for surrounding me, because the minute I was exposed to your group there have been countless, immeasurable benefits. I don’t where to begin, but I guess I’ll start from the beginning:

Chapter 1: Michelle introduces me to Ben Littauer, a TCN Mentor, to offer free mentoring services. Free? Seriously? OK, I’m skeptical but I’ll take it. Fast-forward to today. Ben has spent dozens of hours listening to my spiel, sharing a cup of green tea, and giving me great feedback from an investor’s perspective. Ben has gone above and beyond, and will hopefully become a partner in the company in a greater capacity.

Chapter 2: A few weeks later Michelle sends me an email that Babson is looking for entrepreneurs to pitch their company as part of this year’s VCIC competition. We entered and were selected as one of the finalists. The VCIC competition is pretty cool – I encourage any new company to participate if able. Student groups from Babson’s MBA program act as mock VCs and listen to your 10-minute pitch, engage with you in individual group QA (e.g. due diligence), and then if interested offer you a term sheet to negotiate on the spot. This is all being judged be REAL investors by the way, so the exposure is unbelievable. Think of it as a dry run with wallets watching.

Chapter 3: Ben Littauer, my TCN Mentor, introduces me to Boston Harbor Angels. Either Ben has had enough of me, or really believes there is value in my company, but either way I get intro’d into one of the best structured Angel groups in the area. This chapter is still playing its way out, but I’m happy to report as of today that we’ve not only passed their screening committee but was invited in to pitch their entire investor team, and are now two weeks through due diligence with a group of about 11 interested investors.

Chapter 4: Coming off the screening meeting with Boston Harbor Angels I was intro’d one of the legal screeners to spend some more time on my pitch before I got in front of the entire group. Another couple hours of priceless feedback, and I can now add Jeremy Halpern to the list. Who’s that? Well I didn’t know either, but I find out at the end of the meeting that in addition to being a legal sponsor of BHA, he is the Chairman of The Capital Network. Are you getting the warm and fuzzies yet?

Chapter 5: Somewhere between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 I attended another TCN event and met my likely future CFO. David Fogel of Swifton CFOs has been helping me with a new rigorous financial model and has really brought defensible techniques to my financial story. Shocking, I know, but I later found out he’s a Sponsor of TCN. Another notch in their oh-so-strong network belt.

Chapter 6, 7, 8, etc: Who knows what’s next, but what I do know is that this has been the best 90 days of my entrepreneurial career. Ever. You can raise money in Boston, believe me, but it’s only through groups like TCN that you can really demystify the process and meet people who will help you navigate the community. Ben and David have been invaluable resource, but none of this would have been possible if not for my dear friends and partners at Smartbooks who made the introduction to TCN. Forget the fact that I owe them more than my monthly retainer is for all of the intangibles, namely the TCN connection, but they are the most competent, capable, and cost-effective Accounting team for hire you could ever ask for. Calvin, Jenny, Ryan and the Smartbooks team - thank you!

Finally, I’ve got a bone to pick with TCN, and that is do a better job marketing. It shouldn’t have taken me so long to find you. Wave your flag bolder, brighter, and louder because this IS the group in Boston for entrepreneurs raising money. My other issue is that since you’re a stage-based group focused on raising capital, I’ll be kicked out soon. I know this will happen, so my only option is to score big and come back as a mentor. Count on that.

Read more about Bill Yucatonis and find out how TCN can help you build your company and get funded.