Whitney Wolfe Herd's Startup Fundraising Advice

Whitney Wolfe Herd is the first female founder to take her startup to an IPO, and one of the youngest female billionaires. Her rocky journey to success, leaving Tinder to found Bumble, is one of the greatest and most famous startup founder stories. Here are some of her tips on raising startup capital: - Believe first: You have to be the biggest believer in what you're building. Your self-belief must trump the doubts investors will keep casting at you. Your faith in your future success will inspire investors and win them over. It won't happen otherwise. Your belief in yourself is also what will keep you going through the inevitable rejections and setbacks you will face. - Rejection is your fuel: Don't let rejection discourage you. Instead, use it as fuel to drive your motivation. Investors will doubt your mission or your ability to execute it. Some of them won't be nice about it. Don't lose heart. Push yourself to prove the doubters wrong. - Focus on your mission: Get investors aligned with your mission, not just your business plan. A clear, meaningful mission will attract investors who believe in your vision and align with your values. Focusing on a meaningful vision will strengthen your pitch, and also help you build stronger, long-term relations with the right investors. - Demonstrate that you have a real market: Show investors that there's a real need for your product, especially if you're targeting an underserved market. Many investors might not fully understand your market and the opportunity you see in it. Clarify it with data and explain the market gap your solution is solving. - Integrate success stories in your pitch: Find examples of specific customer success stories to give investors confidence and spur their imagination. You want them to understand the real-life impact of whatever you're building. For Bumble, that meant sharing stories of relationships built on the platform and how those in turn attracted new users. References/recommended deep dive: Interview at the Stanford School of Business, Talk at Elevate