How Do I Get Investors To Give Me Money?

Investors need to get comfortable with you and your company before writing a check. So how do you attract investors to invest, especially when you are just starting out?

First, you need to know what investors look for before investing in a startup. And then, you have to figure out how to build the pieces of an investable company. 

How do you make all of this happen and impress investors as a first-time founder?

Great news: I’ve been working for the past 10+ years to put together the ultimate support system to help you raise your first investor dollars *and* simultaneously gain the confidence to feel like you actually know what you are doing as a business owner.

Introducing Base Layer, a supportive, 1:1 strategic advisory that goes beyond the pitch deck for startup founders raising their first investor dollars

Base Layer is inspired by my childhood in the frozen tundra, where a good thermal base layer can make the difference between freezing to death or surviving and thriving. I only recently Marie Kondo-ed my 90s era polypro thermal underwear (cutting edge 20th century tech!) from the year I started as a freshman on the Mounds View High School cross country ski team. 

(Don’t worry, I kept my Smartwool set!)

I use these less in the Bay Area these days, but still…

Through my years as a cross-country skier and even as a speedskater (yes this is a real high school sport, I swear), I felt confident braving the below-zero windchill as long as I had the right gear. Without it, I would have to give up early and scuttle back to the bus or the warming house.

I’ve spent over a decade experimenting with and designing the perfect thermals to keep you, a new startup founder, warm (and alive!) as you brave the icy winds of business ownership. Everything on the frozen business tundra is designed to slow you down, freeze you in your tracks, and maybe even kill you outright. So let’s…keep the metaphor going and get you kitted out in the best gear on the market.

The Building Blocks For A Real Business That Can Attract Investors

What makes Base Layer different is that instead of just being taught how to pitch your company, you’ll work directly with me to lay the foundation for running a real company that can secure outside investment.

Most founders I’ve worked with feel great about the product they are creating, and the world is overflowing with chatter around pitching, scaling, and selling. But the nitty gritty pieces of business ownership that make you *actually investable* are often overlooked with a breezy “talk to your lawyer” or “ask your CFO.”

Having someone tell you to simply “talk to your lawyer” does not inspire confidence as a newly-minted startup CEO. Feeling like the secrets of the business universe are carefully guarded by your $850/hr attorney (or, more likely, the attorney you haven’t hired yet, don’t yet trust, and probably are going to put off talking to) is an insecurity that gnaws at you in the background as you go about the herculean task of building a new startup.

What happens when you are on your own in the startup tundra, without help understanding what investors look for before investing?

I know exactly what happens, because I’ve been there. Your brain is trying to ignore questions like: 

• What do investors look for in a startup?

• What documents do investors need?

• How do I protect the intellectual property I am creating?

• What even IS intellectual property?

• How do I make sure my employees or contractors or co-founders can’t take my valuable work and run?

• What do investors (or bankers) actually need to see under the hood of my business to feel comfortable with my startup?

• How do I get this guidance without bankrupting myself or my company?

• What is this data room thing people keep talking about and how can I put together a good one?

If you have these kinds of questions but are constantly pushing them down and addressing items on your to-do list that feel more within your control or more urgent, I can help.

Base Layer is a practical, brass-tacks approach to setting up an investable business that you can take all the way to the bank (literally).

This isn’t about being your own lawyer or becoming an expert on all things financial and business. 

Instead, it’s about:

• Understanding the universe you are operating within, and

• Being personally guided toward decision points to help you build your business savvy (and therefore your confidence). 

• Avoiding avoidable mistakes. There are so many sinkholes a new business can fall into and factors outside of your control, BUT the good news is I can help you:

  • 1) control what you can control, and

  • 2) anticipate what you can reasonably anticipate.

Base Layer is here to help you take the wheel and allow you to navigate smoothly away from danger.

This offering is a labor of love that I’ve been painstakingly developing, iterating, and piecing together over the past 10+ years. I can’t wait to work with you.

Are you ready for the details?

Base Layer Dives Into What Most Gloss Over, Like What Documents Investors Need To See And How To Create Them

Base Layer is a process designed to help you, a first-time startup founder, develop what you need under the hood of your business to attract investors, bankers and buyers.

You need to know how to create and protect financial value in your company because that's what investors, bankers, and buyers are looking for.

This framework is based on my 15+ years of experience working with diverse founders as a business attorney, startup founder, accelerator director, and venture capital fund manager.

I know Base Layer works; I’ve seen firsthand what it can do for the dozens of founders who I have personally supported using this framework.

I developed the first version of the Base Layer process (formerly known as Lunar Everywhere, RIP) in conjunction with Minnesota’s first inclusive accelerator, Lunar Startups, and our 77 amazing Lunar cohort companies. Base Layer has also supported our Tundra Ventures portfolio founders.

Shout out to the 77 Lunar founders who helped me develop this MVP!

In addition to helping attract outside capital, Base Layer also helps founders:

• Save money and precious time

• Increase business survivability

• Avoid common, business-killing mistakes

• Impress business associates with founder savvy, and

• Increase confidence and ability as a startup CEO.

The Base Layer Path To Impressing Investors:  A Bespoke 1:1 Experience

1. Choose Your Funding Path:  A 10,000-foot view of available funding options and associated pros and cons. Select a funding strategy to fit personal and business goals.
   

2. Ownership & Power: Ensure legal control, develop a cap table, and understand how to protect personal assets. Create a setup that makes funders feel comfortable.
   

3. Lock Down Your IP:  Discover how to prioritize and protect different types of intellectual property. Learn how to keep valuable IP from leaving with contractors & employees.
   

4. Back It Up:  Learn about due diligence and how to build a solid data room for prospective funders (including financials, legal documents, market research, and more).
   

5. Make The Ask:  Practical tools for getting more than just a first investor meeting. Covers meeting and follow-up etiquette, marketing materials, and stakeholder updates.

Because I’ll be providing 1:1 implementation support, we’ll prioritize the parts of the framework that are most urgent for your business while also ensuring we address every piece over time.

We’ll start where it’s most helpful and move at a pace that fits your timeline. You’ll also have 24-7 access to a searchable digital support platform.

Also great news - everything we work on together and all of the Base Layer tools here will help you do two things at once: 

1. Put your business in a position to attract OPM (other people’s money) AND

2. Help you set up a well-run operation even if you decide to never take a dime from someone else.

As Michael Scott would say, it’s a win-win-win.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting an in-depth overview of each part of my framework so you can get a sneak peek into what you need to build a real, functioning startup business.

You can also sign up for the 1:1 waitlist to hear directly from me about how we could work together.

For now, though, I’ll give you a preview of my favorite tool I use with founders: The Base Layer Milestone Tracker.

Quickly Assess Your Needs, And Then Track Your Progress Toward What Investors Look For In A Startup

One of my favorite things about the Base Layer process is that it is designed to be exactly tailored to what your business needs. It’s the polar opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach. 

When I was taking my sports tech startup through accelerator programs, I discovered that although they were all at least somewhat helpful, and I often walked away with a new business friend or two, there was something missing. And what was missing was *actual practical help* tailored to ME and MY BUSINESS. 

So, when I was helping to create the Lunar Startups accelerator, my pitch was that we should of course provide the traditional accelerator benefits BUT ALSO provide a tailored success plan for each company — and an experienced startup coach (me) to work with each founder. They loved the idea. 

We ditched the cookie-cutter approach, focused on filling the unique gaps each founder needed to work on, and watched these companies thrive with custom support.

A handful of our rockstar Lunar Startups cohort founders went on to become Tundra Ventures portfolio companies, securing hefty pre-seed investment checks. And some went on to become multi-million dollar companies who secured bank financing and didn’t need investor dollars. I love to see both pathways come to fruition.

The Base Layer Milestone Tracker is the tool you will use to figure out your custom fit. (No one wants ill-fitting, scratchy long underwear.)

You can:

• Self-assess your company baseline against the Base Layer milestones,

• Keep track of your progress through the process, and

• Easily access milestone-specific digital support and tools for 24-7 needs (more details on this below!).

• Once you complete the self-assessment, we’ll go through it together in detail and discuss how to best reach your goals during our work together.

You’ll own your Milestone Tracker forever, and you can easily refer back to it as needed as your company grows.

A glimpse of the Base Layer Milestone Tracker

As we work together to check off each milestone, you’ll quickly become a smarter, savvier startup founder.

I've seen it happen over and over again; the confidence founders gain from having this foundational Base Layer knowledge — plus individualized support — truly skyrockets CEO capacity.

It’s possible to go it alone, of course. I’ve done it. But I can tell you from hard-won experience that trying to figure out everything piecemeal is SO much more expensive, time consuming, and emotionally draining. And it can kill your company before you even get going.

Your big idea deserves a fighting chance. That’s why I built the Base Layer process. It’s what I wish I had when I first started out.

Let’s talk about the Base Layer investor-readiness digital support platform that helps you get startup funding for your business

The platform is battle-tested, easy to use, and available at 3 a.m. when you can’t sleep.

The modules within the Base Layer digital support platform — each one linked to a specific Base Layer Milestone — contain searchable video and/or text content alongside downloadable resources, templates, and tools that will make your life as a new founder so much easier. And I’ll be there to answer questions and offer guidance along the way.

Based on my many years of work with dozens of pre-capital ready startup CEOs, the Base Layer support platform is designed to:

• Meet first-time founders where you are

• Minimize overwhelm

• Be highly searchable (including in-video search)

• Accommodate both visual and aural learners

• Allow for both structured and just-in-time learning 

• Validate and support a variety of funding pathways

• Acknowledge structural inequality in funding

Furthermore, in addition to the practical, real-world skills and knowledge you’ll gain, you’ll also feel more confident as a startup CEO. 

And we all know that in the startup world, projecting confidence can take you much further than it really should.

May we all have the confidence of a bro in a Patagonia vest.

So What Can I Expect To Get Out Of Working Through The Base Layer Process With Amanda? 

Here are some of the immediate benefits that founders I’ve worked with have reported:

• Obtain a clear picture of the universe of startup funding opportunities available to you,

• Understand the pros and cons of each funding pathway, 

• Figure out how your vision for the future of your company affects the type of funding you could potentially receive, 

• Identify critical business foundation gaps and get help creating a step-by-step plan toward investment readiness, 

• Learn how to set up your company (or make tweaks to your existing company) to best protect the financial value you are creating, 

• Discover the major ways to protect your intellectual property and when you can DIY or not,

• Get your arms around the documentation needed to successfully attract investment,

• Get a handle on investor etiquette and best practices for building trust with investors,

• Select a funding pathway for your company and/or realize what funding pathway you are already on and what that means for you and your startup, AND

• Calm your brain down by having more certainty about what running a real business actually looks like, and how you could make that happen IRL.

Once we get a little ways into the Base Layer process and start working on the documents investors need before they invest, you can expect the following results:

• Start building the pieces of a great data room with basic legal and financial documents, 

• Begin protecting priority intellectual property, like your business name or trade secrets, 

• Gain an understanding of where you do or do not need paid expert help in each area of your business, and

• Work on setting up repeatable systems to keep track of financial data,

• Feel more confident approaching investors and bankers for the first time, 

• Write the first draft of your forwardable investor blurb, 

• Make progress toward checking off the unique-to-you priority Base Layer milestones that are the cornerstones for a strong business foundation, AND

• Build momentum toward a resilient new mindset of unshakable CEO confidence.

Here’s how you will be able to impress investors when we complete the Base Layer process together:

• Instead of getting ghosted, you’re set up for a series of productive conversations with serious investors who could participate in your pre-seed round, 

• You’ve built a fully functional business foundation that can scale in whatever way makes the most sense for you and your startup,

• You have created a solid data room with the documents investors want to see before they invest,

• You have critical legal documents and protections in place to avoid common business-killing sinkholes,

• You’ve got a solid set of key financial documents (P&L, Balance Sheet, projections, tax docs) that ensure you aren’t skating on thin ice,

• You have a set of targeted and concise materials to attract and build trust with the right investors (short email forwardable, pitch deck, stakeholder update template), 

• You know what NOT to say to investors and how to avoid disqualifying yourself as a potential investment,

• You know how to save money by understanding when it does and doesn’t make sense to hire expert help, AND

• You get to move through the world with the unshakable confidence that you have upleveled your founder savvy and dramatically increased your ability as an investable startup CEO.

As you can see, your potential Base Layer benefits are huge. 

Please note, though, I’m not trying to tell you that if you work with me and implement all of the pieces of the framework that investors will immediately start showering you with checks. That’s not a thing.

Can You Guarantee Investors Will Give Me Money?

There is no program or accelerator or consultant in the world that can guarantee investor checks, and anyone who says otherwise is lying right to your face.

Even the softest, warmest, most tailored-to-you long underwear can’t turn you into an Olympic skier (believe me, I know - I was NOT a very good cross-country skier. Just trying to keep in shape for soccer season, folks!)

What I can guarantee is that if you go through this process, you’ll have access to the most efficient and practical guide I’ve seen to building an actual business that can endure and attract the funding you need to grow beyond the initial startup phase. 

You’ll be arming yourself with so much more than just a product and a pitch deck. You’ll have access to a solid mental map of the rules of the game and how to get better at playing, faster. 

Let’s get you set up with what investors look for in a startup

Need help getting to the top?

If you made it all the way down here and you’re interested in premier protection from the slippery slopes of the startup tundra, here are some ways to dig in further:

• Check out the next article in the Base Layer blog series: How To Raise Money For A Startup: Sell The Right Vision

• Join the Base Layer Corporate to Capital Readiness Waitlist here

• Follow me on LinkedIn

**** I don’t use AI to write my posts. But one way I do use it is to help me summarize my posts into FAQ sections like the one below so that the bots can find my work. It’s a good summary!****

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Investors to Give You Money

1. How do I get investors to give me money for my startup?

Investors give money to founders who help them feel confident and comfortable about the company’s potential. To do that, you need more than a pitch deck — you need a real, fundable business foundation. The Base Layer process guides founders through the specific milestones investors look for, including a clean data room, basic legal and financial documentation, and a clear understanding of ownership, intellectual property, and funding strategy. When your company looks organized, credible, and investment-ready, investors are far more likely to write the check.

2. What do investors look for in a startup before investing?

Investors look for signs that your business is legitimate, legally protected, and financially sound. They want to see that you:

• Understand your funding pathway and business goals

• Have clear ownership and control structures

• Have locked down intellectual property (IP) so no one can take your ideas

• Maintain a solid data room with essential financial and legal documents

• Know how to make the ask and follow up professionally

These are the pillars of the Base Layer framework, which helps founders show investors that their company is a safe and strategic investment.

3. Why do investors care about intellectual property and legal documents?

Because these elements protect the financial value of your company. When your IP is secured and your legal house is in order, investors know they’re backing an asset that can grow without unexpected ownership disputes or compliance risks. Having employment contracts, IP assignments, and formation documents ready builds immediate investor trust.

4. What documents do investors need to see before investing?

Before investing, most investors expect to review the contents of a well-organized data room, which includes:

• Corporate formation documents and operating agreements

• Cap table and ownership details

• IP assignments and protection strategies

• Financial statements (P&L, balance sheet, projections, tax documents)

• Market research and key contracts
  

These documents help investors verify that your business is structured properly and capable of scaling responsibly.

5. What’s the fastest way to become “investor-ready”?

The fastest path is to focus on building your Base Layer — the core business infrastructure investors expect to see. Instead of chasing trendy startup advice or endlessly refining your deck, prioritize the fundamentals: get your legal, financial, and operational systems in place; understand your funding options; and practice confident investor communication. Founders who complete this groundwork not only attract more investor interest but also run stronger, more resilient companies.

6. Can I impress investors even if I haven’t raised money before?

Absolutely. Investor confidence often comes from your preparation, not your experience. When you can clearly explain your funding strategy, show organized documentation, and demonstrate that you’ve protected your intellectual property, you position yourself as a serious founder. The Base Layer framework was specifically designed to help first-time founders make this leap — from uncertainty to investor-ready professionalism.

7. What will I gain from working through the Base Layer process with Amanda?

By going through the Base Layer process, you’ll gain:

• A clear understanding of how to raise money for your startup

• A strong legal and financial foundation

• A ready-to-share investor data room

• The confidence to talk to investors and bankers

• A sustainable, scalable company structure
  

In short, you’ll stop wondering what investors look for before investing and start building the kind of business they want to back.