Capwave AI

📍 Headed to NY Tech Week? So are we!

Capwave AI will be joining the festivities, and our Founder & CEO Charlotte Ketelaar will be on the ground repping 🙌

If you’re attending panels, happy hours, or just soaking up the energy, we’d love to connect IRL. We’ll be around all week and down to talk fundraising and what you’re building.

Let us know if you'll be there in the comments or shoot us a message to meet up! 🚀

We’re excited to announce that Charlotte Ketelaar, our Founder & CEO, is joining the judging panel for the .

Proud to see her representing Capwave on a stage that celebrates innovation and impact in financial technology.

Where are the startups of 2018 now? The data is in. 📊

Peter Walker recently shared data on 4,369 US startups launched in 2018, revealing just how difficult the venture-backed path really is.

Key Takeaways (as of Jan 2025):

56.4% raised a seed round, but only 36.4% made it to Series A.

By Series C? Just 4.4% remained.

Over 60% of these startups have shut down.

Only 15 companies IPO’d (0.34%), and 5.5% were acquired.

💡 Capwave AI's Take:
Getting past seed is hard. The biggest drop-off happens between Seed and Series A.

Raising venture capital isn’t just about securing a round, it’s about making sure your business is built to survive the next one. The startups that succeed focus on capital efficiency, market fit, and sustainable growth.

Curious to see the full breakdown? Swipe through for the data or navigate to https://lnkd.in/gbhRUdSq to see the original post. 📊

What’s your biggest takeaway from these numbers?

Are solo founders a red flag for VCs? The data suggests… maybe.

According to Peter Walker's latest analysis, solo founders are becoming more common, but when it comes to securing venture funding, the numbers tell a different story.

Between 2015-2024:
- Solo founders made up 25% of startups
- But only 18% of funded startups had a single founder
- And just 12% of unicorns were solo-led

This suggests that VCs still favor teams over individuals. The more complex the business and the bigger the ambition, the more investors seem to bet on founding teams with diverse skill sets rather than a single visionary.

But is this trend changing? With the rise of AI and automation, can solo founders do more with less?

If we zoom in on 2022 and beyond, there’s been a small uptick in solo-founder startups, but it’s too early to tell if this will shift VC behavior.

Capwave AI's take:
While having cofounders can help with investor confidence, it’s not the only path. Solo founders who succeed in fundraising often:
✅ Have strong ex*****on & a clear vision
✅ Show investors they can build a great team around them
✅ Have an unfair advantage, like deep industry expertise or technical skill

What do you think? Are solo founders at a disadvantage in today’s market, or will AI and lean startups make them more competitive? Drop your thoughts below.

Check out the original post here: https://lnkd.in/gj-pHx9m

VCs don’t just invest in good ideas, they invest in defensibility.

In a world where competition is fierce and startups can pivot overnight, having a strong moat is what separates fundable companies from forgettable ones.

What’s a startup moat?

It’s the unique advantage that makes your business difficult to copy, outcompete, or replace. Without it, competitors can replicate your product, undercut your pricing, or out-market you.

Types of moats that attract investors:
🔥 Network Effects. Your product gets stronger as more people use it (e.g., Airbnb, LinkedIn).
🔥 Proprietary Tech or Data. Unique IP, algorithms, or datasets that competitors don’t have.
🔥 Brand & Community. Deep customer loyalty that builds trust & retention.
🔥 Distribution & Partnerships. Exclusive channels or deals that give you an edge.
🔥 Switching Costs. It’s too costly or inconvenient for customers to leave.

How to showcase your moat in your pitch deck:
💡 Solution slide → highlight how your product solves the problem in a way no one else can.
🏆 Advantage slide → make it crystal clear why competitors can’t just copy you. Use data, traction, and unique IP to prove your defensibility.

💭 What’s your startup’s moat?

The reality? Investors rarely write a check after one call. What happens next is just as important as the pitch itself.

How to follow up effectively:
1) Before you leave the meeting, set up next steps by referencing something the VC asked about. Show you're thinking ahead.
2) Send a structured follow-up email that includes:
⚡ A concise company summary (remind them why you’re a great bet)
⚡ Key traction and KPIs that reinforce your momentum
⚡ Answers to their biggest questions (this shows you listen and execute)
⚡ Clear action items and next steps (keep the conversation moving)

The best founders don’t just “wait to hear back.” They drive the process forward by keeping investors engaged, answering questions proactively, and setting clear next steps.

Swipe through to see how to structure your investor follow-up for better results.

What’s your best tip for VC follow-ups?

📢 VCs receive hundreds, if not thousands of emails per month. How do you stand out?

Most cold investor emails go unread. Not because VCs aren’t looking for great deals, but because founders fail to make their outreach clear, relevant, and compelling.

If you’re mass-emailing investors with a vague “We’re raising, interested?” you’re wasting your shot.

Here’s how to break through the noise and get a response:

- Make it about THEM: VCs invest in markets they understand. Show you’ve done your homework by mentioning relevant portfolio companies, their thesis, or why your startup aligns with their focus.

- Context matters: be specific about your market, industry, and why your timing is right. Instead of "We’re building AI for e-commerce," say "We help Shopify brands reduce cart abandonment by 30% using AI-powered checkout optimization."

- Prove traction FAST. Investors don’t fund ideas, they fund ex*****on. Share standout KPIs, customer wins, partnerships, or revenue growth.

- Keep it short & structured. No walls of text. No fluff. A well-structured email is 10x more likely to be read. (Swipe through this post for a simple format that works!)

Pop quiz: What do Slack, Zoom, Spotify, and Netflix have in common?
Hint: It’s not just growth, it’s their ability to keep customers.

📌 Answer: They all had strong Net Revenue Retention (NRR) before scaling.

What is NRR?
NRR measures how much revenue you keep (or expand) from existing customers after churn and upsells.
💡 Formula: NRR = ((Starting Revenue + Expansion – Churn – Contractions)/Starting revenue)) x 100

Why investors love NRR:
✅ NRR > 100%? Customers spend more over time → 🚀 Growth without aggressive sales spending
✅ NRR < 100%? Investors will ask hard questions about churn

What’s a “good” NRR?
120%+ → World-class (think Slack, Snowflake, AWS) 🔥
100%-120% → Solid retention & expansion 📈

💡 Only 1% of VC-backed startups (that raise over $3M) make it to $100M ARR within ten years.

That means the majority don’t. But does that mean they failed? Not necessarily.

Venture capital is all about high risk, high reward bets: investors aren’t looking for safe bets.

They’re searching for outliers that can break through every growth ceiling and return 10x, 50x, even 100x.

📉 20% of startups never make it past $1M ARR.
📉 20% make it past $1M but never reach $3M.
📉 20% stall between $3M and $10M ARR.
📉 20% fail to scale past $30M ARR.

🏆 Only a small % of startups transition from $30M ARR to $100M+.

And even then? Less than 5% of those companies actually make it past $100M ARR.

So why do VCs keep placing bets?💡
Because they only need a few big wins to return an entire fund.

They know most startups won’t scale to $100M+ ARR, but the few that do make fund-sized returns.

That’s why VCs ask:
✅ Is this a category-defining company?
✅ Can this startup grow exponentially, not linearly?
✅ Does this have the potential to return 10x+?

What this means for founders:
✅ If you’re building a unicorn, be ready to scale aggressively.
✅ If $100M+ ARR isn’t realistic, focus on capital efficiency, profitability, or strategic exit opportunities.
✅ If you raise too much too soon, you may limit your flexibility and exit options.

🚀 Capwave helps founders navigate fundraising smarter. Whether you’re aiming for $100M ARR or a profitable, sustainable outcome.

What stage is your startup in? Drop a 🚀 in the comments!

Source: Notion VC

🚨 Most fundraising advice is just noise. 🚨

So what actually gets the deal done? After helping founders raise $400M+, here’s what Capwave AI CEO Charlotte Ketelaar learned:

1. Only target the right investors. A curated list beats mass outreach every time. Tailor your pitch to fit their thesis.
2. Strengthen your outreach. Fundraising isn’t just about sending emails. It’s about standing out in an investor's inbox.
3. Deliver a pitch that hooks. It’s not just about your deck. Investors buy into vision, traction, and market potential in under 5 minutes.

Too many founders waste weeks on tactics that don’t work - time they could have spent growing their business. Get laser-focused on these three, and you’ll raise capital faster and with less stress.

That’s why we built Capwave AI: so you can cut through the noise and raise in weeks, not months.

💡 Get 24/7 investor-grade pitch deck feedback
💡 Access proven fundraising methods & masterclass materials
💡 Match with 60,000+ VC and angel investors who actually want to fund you

🚀 Ready to raise? www.capwave.ai

📊 2025 Startup Fundraising Quick Guide: Where do you stand? 🚀

Fundraising benchmarks matter. Based on Carta's latest data (Q4 2024), here’s a quick snapshot of post-money valuations, cash raised, and dilution at different funding stages.

🔹 Pre-Seed: $8M–$18M valuation | $0.6M–$1.3M raised
🔹 Seed (SAFE): $14M–$25M valuation | $2.4M–$3.7M raised
🔹 Priced Seed: $11M–$29.6M valuation | $2M–$6M raised
🔹 Series A: $33.3M–$93.8M valuation | $5.4M–$18.5M raised

Knowing where you fit in helps you negotiate smarter and set realistic expectations.

Are these numbers in line with what you’re seeing in the market? 👇

We are officially the Investor Readiness Sponsor for Seed The South Capital Summit! 🎉

Fundraising is one of the biggest challenges founders face. To help, we are offering every Seed the South applicant one free month of Capwave AI to refine their investor materials and connect with the right investors.

At Capwave, we do more than match founders with investors. We make sure they are investor-ready. Our AI-powered platform analyzes 60,000+ investor portfolios and provides pitch feedback to take the guesswork out of raising capital.

Excited to support Seed the South’s founders on their fundraising journey. Let’s make this an unforgettable event.

Apply now: https://lnkd.in/dt3KDZsB