In a challenging fundraising climate, formal processes are insufficient. SpliceBio's CEO secured their lead Series B investor by starting informal conversations a full year before the official round. This long-term relationship-building establishes trust and allows investors to track execution over time, which is critical when capital is tight.

Beyond pitching to investors, biotech conferences like BioEquity Europe offer emerging companies a critical opportunity to connect with industry analysts and media. This builds relationships that lead to inclusion in market analysis and content, providing invaluable visibility and third-party validation.

The founder of Simple Mills pitched so many investors (8 per day) that two potentials randomly met in a Whole Foods aisle while looking at her product. This serendipitous moment led directly to her lead investor signing on, proving that sheer volume in fundraising can generate its own luck.

The founder of Source sent Drew Houston $1,000 on Venmo with a pitch in the description to get noticed. Houston, who had previously sent the founder $200 for a domain name after a brief meeting, responded by Venmoing back a $200,000 angel investment. This highlights the power of creative, direct outreach to high-profile investors.

Iterion CEO Rahul Aras argues that being outside a major biotech hub is a real fundraising hurdle. The issue isn't overt investor bias, but rather the loss of natural networking opportunities—like bumping into investors at a local coffee shop—that are common in dense ecosystems and must be overcome with proactive outreach.

Before committing, Allo's founder validated his idea by pitching it to 70 top entrepreneurs he knew. When 30 invested, it not only gave him the confidence to proceed but also created network effects that attracted VCs. He found convincing industry angels was harder, and more valuable, than convincing VCs.

The initial capital for a new fund-of-funds doesn't come from cold outreach to institutions. The process mirrors an emerging VC's first fundraise, relying on a personal network of operators, VCs, and high-net-worth individuals who already believe in the founder. The strategy is to work the existing network outward, not pitch institutions from day one.

Early outreach often fails by pitching an unproven value proposition. Instead, founders should use "Founder Magic"—leveraging their unique background, story, or mission to make themselves so interesting that prospects agree to a meeting out of sheer curiosity. The outreach should be product-agnostic and focus on being compelling as a person.

In a tough funding climate, Ovelle successfully raised capital by focusing on investors who personally understood the problem of infertility. This strategy sidesteps the need to educate uninterested parties and instead builds a base of long-term partners who share the company's vision, proving more effective than a broad approach.