After I uploaded yesterday’s blog post suggesting that startup CEOs “Always Be Fundraising”, I was reminded that my friend Ben Smith had written this similar (and excellent) article for PE Hub a couple of years ago. It hits on many of the same points that I raised but also adds some very useful advice. Ben and I have been through the wars together and I can say that he lives the advice that he gives in this article. Ben is smart, tough and focused.
I missed the earliest days of Merchant Circle but came in to lead the B round of investment while I was at IAC. As he says, we built a lean, mean growing machine that used cash efficiently. Keeping cash in the bank meant that we had strategic flexibility to both seize opportunities and absorb pumps. In the end, we had a very successful intermediate exit to Reply.com.
Definitely worth checking out Ben’s thoughts.