CustomerDiscoveryPros.com
Raise Ready
Raise Ready
for Startups
Investment Readiness Bootcamp for Startups. Built for founders who are ready to raise from Friends and Family through Angels and beyond, with the story, strategy, and confidence to close.
Apply for the Next Cohort
Format
Live Zoom + Online Course
Duration
8 Weeks, Cohort-Based
Cohort Size
10 Companies Max
Investment
$899+ to Enroll
“Most founders pitch too early, to the wrong investors, with the wrong story.
Raise Ready for Startups fixes all three.”
Our Difference
Why Raise Ready for Startups Works
□
Focus on Raising Funds
Every session, every deliverable, every piece of feedback is oriented around one goal: getting you to a close.
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Find the Right Investors
We teach you to identify, research, and target investors who are the right fit for your stage, sector, and raise size.
□
Prepare You to Speak with Investors
From your narrative to your Q&A responses, you will walk into every investor conversation prepared, confident, and credible.
□
Position You for Success
We help you build the story, materials, and investor relationships that put you in the strongest possible position to raise.
□
Share-the-Risk Model
Our deferred compensation and warrant structure means we only win when you do. Your success is not just our goal, it is our motivation.
The Problem
Investors Pass on Founders Who Are Not Ready
Most early-stage founders pitch before they are ready. They have not validated their customer deeply enough, their story does not resonate, and they are targeting investors who are the wrong fit for their stage. The result: a long string of "not for us right now" responses that do not tell them what to fix.
Raise Ready for Startups is an 8-week bootcamp that prepares founders to raise with confidence, from Friends and Family through Angel investors and beyond.
The Pitch Problem
Investors see hundreds of pitches. Founders who lead with features, not impact, and who cannot answer hard questions about customers, competition, or unit economics, get passed on, fast.
The Story Problem
Most founders tell their product story. Investors want the founder's insight story: the specific moment you understood the problem better than anyone else, and why that means you will win.
The Targeting Problem
Pitching a micro-VC when you need a Friends and Family round, or an angel who does not invest in your sector, wastes months. Raise Ready for Startups teaches you to do the diligence on investors before they do it on you.
Who This Is For
Built for Founders With Something to Show
Raise Ready for Startups is not for idea-stage founders. It is for founders who have a product or service, early customer evidence, and a concrete plan to raise in the next 6 to 12 months.
Profile One
The Pre-Seed Founder
You have built something, have early users or paying customers, and are ready to raise your first outside capital. You know your product but have not yet translated it into a story that resonates with investors. You need help with the narrative, the deck, and the target list.
Profile Two
The Seed-Stage Returner
You have had investor conversations that went nowhere. You are not sure if the problem is your story, your targets, your pitch delivery, or the offer itself. You want structured feedback, a peer group, and a proven process to diagnose and fix what is holding you back.
Also Suited For
The Social Enterprise
Mission-driven startups and social enterprises seeking impact investors, community development funds, or high-net-worth donors who invest in purpose-driven companies. You need a pitch that works for both commercial investors and values-aligned capital sources.
Program Outcomes
What Every Founder Walks Away With
Every participant leaves Raise Ready for Startups with a complete Investor Readiness Package ready to deploy on day one after graduation.
Expert advice for an investor-ready pitch deck
A 200-word snapshot of the business opportunity you are presenting to investors
A Value Proposition that speaks to Investors
An investor target list of 20+ prospects matched to your stage and sector
Customer discovery interviews and feedback on investor conversations
Expert insights for presenting better to investors, and sharing your story in a compelling manner.
Financial summary ready for data room with a clear and defensible ask
Peer relationships with cohort founders for ongoing accountability and warm intros
Clarity and confidence about your path to closing your raise
A proven roadmap to focus your efforts and company milestones to meet investor needs
The Curriculum
8 Weeks to Investment Readiness
Each week combines a live Zoom session with practical homework that builds toward your Investor Readiness Package. Every session includes peer feedback, expert instruction, and applied practice on your real company.
01
Customer Discovery: Know Your Buyer Before You Know Your Investor
ICP mapping, pain hypothesis, and the job-to-be-done framework
Why investors fund founders who know their customer better than anyone else
Homework: 5 structured customer discovery interviews
02
Turning Customer Insight Into Investor Evidence
How to translate discovery findings into language investors trust
What "validated" actually means at the Friends and Family, angel, and seed stages
Homework: Discovery synthesis memo
03
The Narrative Arc: Your Story, Your Insight, Your Edge
Problem, insight, solution, traction, ask: the sequence that holds attention
Why the founder insight story outperforms the product story every time
Homework: One-page founder narrative draft
04
Deck Architecture, Market Sizing, and the Data Room
Slide architecture that investors actually read, from cover to ask
Market sizing done credibly: TAM, SAM, SOM without the hand-waving
Homework: Draft pitch deck (10 slides)
05
Finding the Right Investors for Your Stage
Friends and Family through Angels, syndicates, and micro-VCs: who invests at your stage
How to build and tier an investor target list of 20-plus names
Homework: Tiered investor target list
06
Investor Due Diligence: Vet Them Before They Vet You
Portfolio fit, check size, terms to watch, and reference calls
Red flags to identify before you take a meeting
Homework: Diligence notes on your top 5 investor targets
07
Presenting Like a Founder: Delivery, Q&A, and Objection Handling
Confident, direct delivery that builds trust without overselling
Live Q&A and objection practice within the cohort
Homework: Recorded solo pitch (5 minutes)
08
Investor Readiness Package and What Comes Next
Full cohort pitch rehearsal with structured peer and facilitator feedback
Finalizing your complete Investor Readiness Package
Next steps and cohort alumni network access
Program Format
How the Bootcamp Works
Raise Ready for Startups is delivered online over 8 weeks in a cohort of up to 10 companies. Each week combines a live Zoom session with online course content, peer community, practical homework, and facilitator and peer feedback.
Enrollment is $899+ per company. The remainder of the program value is structured as a mix of deferred compensation and warrants, aligning our success with yours. We win when you raise.
Facilitated by Randy Shawn Fisher, CEO, Customer Discovery Pros and Randall Reade, VP, Washington DC ArchAngels
Live Weekly Zoom Sessions
Each week includes a live group session covering the curriculum with time for peer discussion, applied practice, and direct Q&A with the facilitator.
Online Course and Peer Community
Participants access course materials, tools, and templates between sessions and stay connected through a peer community for accountability and shared learning throughout the 8 weeks.
Expert Advice and Peer Feedback
Structured expert advice and peer feedback on your real decks, narrative, and pitch, culminating in a full cohort pitch rehearsal in week 8 that simulates an actual investor room.
1-on-1 Coaching Session
A dedicated one-on-one coaching session focused on your Value Proposition, so you can walk into investor conversations with a clear, compelling case for why your company wins.
Program Economics
Aligned Incentives, Not Just a Course Fee
Raise Ready for Startups is priced so that founders with limited runway can access world-class preparation. The $899+ enrollment fee covers your registration. The balance is structured as a mix of deferred compensation and warrants, which means we are invested in your success long after the program ends.
$899+ to enroll. The balance is structured as deferred compensation and warrants.
This structure gives you access to expert preparation without depleting early runway
Cohort of 10 companies means you benefit from peer learning, feedback, and warm introductions across the group
We succeed when you raise. Our incentives are fully aligned with your outcome.
We only accept founders who meet our criteria and are ready to do the work.
Who Should Apply
Three Paths Into Raise Ready for Startups
Raise Ready for Startups is built for founders, but there are three distinct ways to engage with the program depending on your relationship to early-stage companies.
Founders
Program participants
Working product or service, not idea-stage
Planning to raise capital in the next 12 months
Able to commit to 8 weeks of sessions and weekly homework
Ready to give and receive direct peer feedback on real materials
Angel Investors
Referral and pipeline partners
Refer founders in your pipeline who are close but not yet pitch-ready
Receive an invitation to the cohort graduation session as a featured observer
See your referred founders return with stronger decks, validated customer discovery, and a clear ask
Preferred early-look access to cohort graduates who match your thesis
Ecosystem Partners
Incubators, accelerators, coaches
Refer portfolio companies or clients who need fundraising preparation
Co-brand the program as a capacity-building offering for your community
Access to cohort reporting and aggregate outcomes data for your stakeholders
Custom cohort options available for accelerator classes of 10-plus companies
Ready to Raise
with Confidence?
Start with a 15-minute conversation to see if Raise Ready for Startups is the right fit for where you are right now.
Book a Free 15-Minute Call No sales pitch. Just an honest conversation about fit and timing. Subject to change without prior notice unless guaranteed in writing. Terms and conditions apply. Amounts in USD.