What is the Process to Become "Funding Ready"?

​Given our experience working with both entrepreneurs and investors, we've built a powerful set of tools and distilled a streamlined yet comprehensive process:​

• You'll work with Foodshed Investors as an Advisory Services client, focussing on Fundraising Readiness. 
• You'll be paired with dedicated FI Experts and Staff to mentor, coach, and guide you through the Foodshed Investors Fundraising Readiness process.
• While we review your existing plans and materials, you'll use our proprietary tools to identify the "gaps" between your current state and being "Fundraising Ready".
• Together, we'll create a customized work plan to get you up to speed on key concepts, including:
  • how to "think like an investor" and how investors do "due diligence";
  • using "milestones" to link investment in with expected results;
  • tying industry and company key success factors to your team's (and to-be-hired list's) experience to prove competence;
  • how to be compliant with securities laws;
  • your "bankability", using the ratios and factors banks and credit unions use for credit underwriting;
  • crafting an overall fundraising strategy;
  • matching your intended "use of funds" with potential "sources of capital";
  • segmenting, targeting, and reaching investors, including discussing the pro's and con's of crowdfunding vs. accredited investors;
  • exploring a variety of deal types - that is, the financial vehicles and their terms - relative to your goals and plans, discussing the range of reasonable terms for those deal types, and outlining the implications of those decisions down the road;
  • ​and much more.
• Depending on your needs, we'll introduce you to FI Experts for added help in things like financial forecasting, marketing strategy, food safety, or whatever topic needs attention.
• You'll build a lean investor package suitable for the most professional investor, including fair and understandable legal documents.
• You'll use our secure online "DD Dataroom" to coordinate workflow, collaboration, and document management system. Through this, you'll build a comprehensive "due diligence" data room enabling any investor to become comfortable with the quality of your business and your deal.
• We'll practice pitching investors and handling Q&A sessions.
• When you, and your deal, are "investor ready", you can hit the fundraising trail on your own, or work with us through the Foodshed Investors Funding process, where we'll waive our typical Funding Onboarding Fee.