How to Raise Your First Startup Funding Round: A VC's Playbook

​Planning your pre-seed or seed round? Learn how VCs actually evaluate startups, straight from someone who sat on the investor side of the table.

​Most founders go into their first fundraise guessing. They don't know what investors screen for, why good startups get passed on, or how a deal really moves from first call to term sheet. This session takes the guesswork out.

​About the speaker
Sayanee Bhowmik is an ex-VC and the founder of The VC Lens, where she decodes how VCs operate so early-stage founders can raise faster.

​What we'll cover
• The zero-to-one funding journey, from first angel cheque to seed round
• What VCs look for at each stage, and the signals that earn a second meeting
• Red flags that quietly kill deals
• How investment decisions get made inside a VC firm
• Live Q&A: bring your real fundraising questions

​Who it's for
Pre-seed and seed-stage founders planning to raise in the next 6–12 months, and first-time founders who want to understand startup fundraising before they start pitching.