Get Backed isn't just about startup fundraising. It's a handbook for anyone who has an idea and needs to build relationships to get it off the ground.
Over the last 3 years, entrepreneurs Evan Loomis and Evan Baehr have raised $45 million for their own ventures, including the second largest round on the fundraising platform AngelList. In Get Backed, they show you exactly what they and dozens of others did to raise money-even the mistakes they made-while sharing the secrets of the world's best storytellers, fundraisers, and startup accelerators. They'll also teach you how to use "the friendship loop", a step-by-step process that can be used to initiate and build relationships with anyone, from investors to potential cofounders. And, most of all, they'll help you create a pitch deck, building on the real-life examples of 15 ventures that have raised over $150 million.
What's in the book?
• The original pitch decks and fundraising strategies of 15 ventures that raised over $150 million • Email scripts that will get you a meeting with angel investors, venture capitalists, and potential board members • Pitching exercises developed by startup talent beds like Stanford University's d.school and Techstars • A breakdown of the 10 essential pitch deck slides, how to create them, and what questions you should answer with each • An overview of the 5 main funding sources for startups, the pros and cons of each, and who the big players are • A crash-course in visual and presentation design that will make any deck beautiful • Templates for 4 stories every entrepreneur should know how to tell • The story of one entrepreneur who showed up in Silicon Valley with no network and six months later had investments from Fred Anderson, Bono, and Peter Thiel
Get Backed will show you exactly what it takes to get funded and will give you the tools to make any idea a reality.
"When entrepreneurs start with just a dream, they need a great story to grab investors' attention. Get Backed shows how to turn a pitch deck into the stuff of legends."
Thomas R. Eisenmann, Harvard Business School
"That book, I think, does an excellent job of covering a good framework for how to do a presentation..."
Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars, and managing director of the Foundry Group; as seen in
"Telling the right story in a compelling way is the key to connecting with your audience. In Get Backed, Evan Baehr and Evan Loomis show how to craft your message to build the relationships that will sustain your business (and maybe your life too)."
Nancy Duarte, CEO, Duarte Design; author, slide:ology and HBR Guide to Persuasive Presenta
