Ricardo Jimenez

PSA: if you're curious about what careers in VC can - and do - look like, and how to get started, check out the Careers in VC collection on the Blume Ventures website which has a great compilation of written and video content specifically about this topic. Based on regular inbound requests by many young professionals that our team has received over the years, we've created what I believe to be best-in-class learning content about what working in VC is really like, how you can get started, and more importantly, how you should shift your mindset to ready yourself for a long and rewarding career in this industry. I recommend starting with the Youtube playlist Careers in VC followed by reading Venture Capital: A Deep Apprenticeship, Breaking Into VC: A Rough Guide and Compounding Careers in VC. Questions welcome in the comments below! https://lnkd.in/gviGfm3r

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5 MAJOR Changes Coming to Fundraising in 2025! The fundraising is evolving fast. If you're still relying on pitch decks and "warm intros" alone...you're already behind. Here are 5 shifts we’re seeing across 1,500+ founders we’ve supported: 1. Investors want data, not dreams. A clear, dynamic forecast is becoming more powerful than a flashy deck. 2. Runway is under a microscope. VCs want proof your money won’t vanish in 6 months. Generic headcount math doesn't work. 3. Founder clarity beats charisma. Confidence backed by numbers > storytelling without substance. 4. Scenario planning is the new secret weapon. You need to show what happens if things go wrong. Or right. 5. Raising without a model = Red Flag Every investor has seen a pretty deck. Few have seen founders walk in with investor-ready numbers. Bottom line: 2025 fundraising will reward founders who are sharp, transparent, and financially clear. If you're planning a raise soon, start with the one thing most founders skip👇 A model that actually builds trust. Want help getting yours in shape? Book a free strategy call with our team here → https://lnkd.in/ePXBVpiE P.S. We helped Wasted earth raise $5M with a model we built together. Happy to show you how it works.

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Mildly spicy take: Seed investors should almost never be on the board. If you need to invoke board governance at the seed stage, you’ve already lost the game. Why this matters for founders: Series A and B investors usually require board seats. I’ve seen too many cases where seed investors refuse to step off, leaving founders stuck with three preferred seats before even raising a Series C. Suddenly your board needs to be seven people just to preserve founder control and make room for new investors. That’s a governance mess, especially for a company still relatively early.

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Funding advice to all founders: the stuff no one tells you. Founders act like they suddenly need money. So they show up to VCs they haven’t spoken to in 8 months with a random deck and no context. Don’t do that. Here’s what I’d tell any founder prepping to raise: 1. Start the conversations early. Not to pitch but to learn. Reach out to investors in your network, and just get their advice. Low pressure. High value. Let them see your curiosity and conviction. 2. Send monthly updates even if they have passed on you One email. Your learnings, insights, progress. Helps the VC build comfort and keeps you top of mind. Because when they do hear your pitch later, they won’t need 50 slides to catch up. 3. Don’t chase “top-tier” funds first. Talk to the accessible ones. They’ll often go deeper, move faster, and genuinely want to help. They don’t see 200 deals a week so you’ll get time, not templates. 4. Do reference checks. Not all money is the same. Ask around: • What happens when things go wrong? • Do they back out last minute? • Do they micromanage the founder? You’re not just raising capital. You’re picking a co-pilot. Founders please choose wisely!

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I recently chatted w/Clay Norris about building VC funds. We talked about everything from misconceptions about starting a fund to being transparent with founders. My fave part was our exchange on the underappreciated role of luck. You can read the interview at: https://lnkd.in/edWfktGG

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Since posting our guide on how to price AI software, I've been inundated with founders looking to talk through pricing strategies for their startups. Unfortunately, most are skipping the critical first step.   They are spending lots of cycles iterating on "how" to charge (e.g., usage-based, outcome-based, hybrid, etc).   But they're neglecting the most foundational element: how much to charge. We're finding that with proper ROI frameworks, AI products are able to capture 25-50% of created value, which is significantly higher than traditional SaaS's 10-20%.   Here's how the best founders are achieving these pricing levels:   1️⃣ They bring pricing discussions into the sales conversation early   The worst thing is waiting until procurement to talk about pricing. The role of enterprise procurement departments is to minimize spend, not to assess value. They lack budget categories for 'AI that does the work of 3 people'—so they'll try to squeeze you into their existing software line items.   When prospects seem hesitant to discuss ROI upfront, don't push. Instead, propose a value audit session. Sit down with them after they've used your product for a few months and calculate ROI together based on real usage data.   I've seen founders use this brilliantly during negotiations: "I'll give you a discount, but in six months we need to do a value audit." It's a fair trade that shifts the conversation to outcomes.   Here's a bonus move: always offer outcome-based pricing even if customers don't choose it. Simply presenting it signals confidence and willingness to share risk. When positioned alongside a fixed fee, it makes the fixed fee look fair by comparison.   2️⃣ They calculate ROI holistically, not just hard savings   Most founders focus only on labor reduction or vendor spend cuts. But that leaves money on the table.   Factor in the opportunity cost of time efficiencies. Include potential implementation cost differences compared to traditional SaaS. In many cases, AI products deploy faster and cheaper, which should be reflected in your ROI calculations.   Work with buyers to agree on ROI inputs upfront. Once they've signed off on the framework, challenging the outputs becomes much harder.   3️⃣ They use the "acceptable, expensive, prohibitively expensive" technique   Rahul Vohra used this exact approach from Madhavan Ramanujam’s "Monetizing Innovation" to price Superhuman:   To gauge willingness to pay, ask three questions: 1. "What would be an acceptable price?" 2. "What would be an expensive price?" 3. "What would be a prohibitively expensive price?"   Willingness to pay typically lands near the "expensive" point.   --   I've watched too many brilliant AI founders build incredible products only to leave millions on the table by treating pricing level like an afterthought.   Don't be one of them.   P.S. The complete pricing guide (with the decision framework and tactical playbooks) is live on our website. Link is in comments.

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Investors often talk a lot about product market fit, but we often overlook the other half of the equation: FOUNDER MARKET FIT When the founder is deeply connected to the problem, be it through lived experience, domain knowledge, or genuine obsession, they make better decisions, handle setbacks, and build stronger bonds with the people they serve Founders should avoid chasing just a big market. They should choose the one they are uniquely built to serve.

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Don’t tell a story that no longer fits the room. The pitch that worked at Seed won’t get you a Series B, Because every stage of funding comes with a different ask. At Pre-Seed, they’re betting on you. At Seed, they want proof the market cares. At Series A, it’s about showing the product works. By Series B, they’re asking: Can you win the whole thing? It’s not just “show more growth” or “add more metrics.” It’s a completely different conversation at every stage. 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 Talk about the why. → What problem keeps you up at night? → Why are you the one to solve it? 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 Talk about the signals. → What’s the early pull from customers? → What proof shows this has legs? 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 Talk about the product. → Is it working in the market? → Can it scale without breaking? 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 Talk about the edge. → What makes this defensible? → Why won’t someone bigger just copy you? 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖+ Talk about the outcome. → What’s the exit story? → How does this become a $500M+ return? So, if you’re still pitching the same way... same narrative, same framing, same focus. You’re pitching to the wrong room. Your pitch should grow with your business. Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter for more frameworks, founder examples, and pitch strategies. 👉 https://t2m.io/FWZ1hUX Image credit: Adioma #fundraising #entrepreneurship #pitch 

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