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Fundraising, decoded.

Insights on seed-stage fundraising, VC meetings, and startup evaluation.

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David Rakusan · June 19, 2026

How Much to Raise in Your Pre-Seed Round (2026 Guide)

Most pre-seed rounds raise $500K to $2M, but the right number is the cash that buys 18 to 24 months of runway to reach the milestone your next investor needs to see. This 2026 guide shows how investors read your number, the real cost of under-raising (running out of capital) and over-raising (a down round next time), and a four-step milestone-backed method to size your round, with current Carta, PitchBook, and Forum Ventures data.

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David Rakusan · June 16, 2026

Technical Due Diligence for Startups: What Investors Check in 2026

Technical due diligence is how investors confirm the engineering behind a startup is real: that the product scales, the security holds, the code is maintainable, and the company owns its IP. This guide breaks down what reviewers check line by line, what a polished demo hides, the AI-generated-code question reviewers now ask, and a seven-step readiness checklist so the same checks do not slow down every round.

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David Rakusan · June 15, 2026

How to Build an Investor Target List (2026)

Most founders treat an investor target list as a contact dump, then wonder why the deck disappears. A target list is really a proof-routing problem: which investors have the thesis, stage, check size, and capital to act on your startup, and how do you get each one proof without repeating yourself fifty times. Here is the five-criteria method to build a fit-matched list in 2026, how big it should be, how to tier it, and the tools that source it.

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David Rakusan · May 6, 2026

We Analyzed 4,690 Founder Posts About Fundraising. The #1 Problem Isn't Rejection.

Original research across 4,690 founder posts on LinkedIn, X, Reddit, and Quora. Timeline drag is the #1 pain in seed-stage fundraising, ahead of rejection, deck feedback, and investor ghosting combined. Here is what founders themselves say is breaking them.

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David Rakusan · April 28, 2026

How to Answer Difficult VC Questions: A Founder's Field Guide for 2026

Difficult VC questions are proof tests, not traps. When a partner asks how you found your first ten customers or what breaks if a competitor copies you, they are checking whether the claims in your deck hold up under pressure. This guide breaks down the four categories of hard questions you will actually face in a 2026 seed meeting, why rehearsed answers fail, and how to build a proof layer that turns interrogation into validation. Written by a founder who spent 7 years on the investor side.

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