You want to raise money for your startup, but you’re not full-time on it yet. VCs slam the door in your face. Why is this so important?

Here’s why you have to be full-time to raise venture capital…

We Need a Full Commitment

When investors back you, they’re committing their hard-earned money and that of their LPs.

How can they do that if you’re not fully committed? If you’re not full-time on your startup, investors will view your commitment as partial. 

What If You Fail? 

Startups fail all the time. If a VC invests in a part-time founder and the company fails, how will he explain that to his LPs?

“Yeah, I gave this guy money to work on his side project.” How do you think that’s going to play?

You’re Not Fundable

Even if one VC gave you money while you work part-time, he knows others won’t.

That means he’ll be your sole source of funding. That’s untenable.

Whenever we make an investment, we want to see that the company will be investable down the road. 

You’ve Got Competition — Tons of It

For every investment I make, I say no to 200 startups. That number is pretty consistent across VC funds and active angels.

So I never need to invest in a part-time founder. I can just pick one of the hundreds of other full-time founders I’ve met. 

Too many entrepreneurs think that investors are going to make an exception for them. Unless you have an incredible track record, there’s no reason for a VC to do that.

He just goes to the next email in his inbox.

How to Afford Going Full Time

“But I can’t afford to go full-time! That’s why I need to raise money!”

There are three common solutions to this. 

The first is to bootstrap. You build the business until it’s making enough money for you to take a salary. Then, you quit your job.

The second is to live off your savings. Save enough to live for a year and see if you can make the startup work.

Finally, there are accelerators. They accept companies at the very early stage. You can get $125k or $500k, quit your job, and build.

Of these options, I like the accelerator route best. Assuming you don’t have a ton of savings, it gets you full-time the fastest. 

Wrap-Up

If you want to raise venture capital, there’s no way around being full-time.

I don’t care if you work 40 hours or more on your startup while you do something else. There simply cannot be a “something else”. 

Remove all distractions. 

Even then, running a startup is incredibly hard! Don’t make it harder by dividing your efforts.

Are you full-time on your startup? What would it take for you to go full-time? 

More on tech:

Three Tips for a Smooth Fundraise That Brings in Millions

Your Deck Probably Sucks. Here’s How to Fix It.

How I Found 149 Investors Following Me on X – Plus 2 More Tools to Close Your Round Faster

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