Fundraising AMA - How I raised $15M for 6 startups from 140+ investors—even though 4 of the startups were in “not hot” categories
This event will be held in an AMA format, so bring your fundraising questions.
You should be actively raising a pre-seed or seed round.
This series is open to the public, not just exited founders.
Exited founder Sahin Boydas will break down the strategies behind his successful pre-seed and seed rounds: how he raised before having traction, found and approached the right early-stage investors, built fundraising momentum, negotiated SAFEs and valuations, and managed dilution. Attendees can ask Sahin anything and learn the strategies, lessons, and mistakes founders usually discuss only in private.
Sahin moved to San Francisco in 2011 with no network, no Ivy League education, and no proven track record in the United States. He arrived with around $10k in the bank, a laptop, and one carry-on bag. Since then, he has become a serial entrepreneur, exited founder, and prolific angel investor.
Sahin is a 2x exited serial entrepreneur. He sold his first company to Snap and my last (remote team: deel competitor) to Gusto within 1.5 years of incorporation. He worked at Gusto for 3.5 years after the exit, where he launched many amazing products, including Gusto Global.
Sahin has raised more than $15 million across 6 startups from over 140 investors. As an angel investor, he has backed 222 companies, including 31 early unicorns, 5 IPOs, and 11 exits.
One of the most remarkable parts of Sahin’s fundraising journey is that 4 of his 6 startups were not in “hot” categories and did not align with the prevailing investment theses of most VCs. Despite this, he successfully raised capital for all 6 companies by finding the right investors and crafting compelling narratives:
MovieLaLa, a social network for upcoming movies, raised $3 million from 37 investors.
MojiLaLa and Leo, a sticker marketplace and augmented-reality app, raised $2.44 million from 26 investors.
Remote Team, an international contractor platform and Deel competitor later acquired by Gusto, raised $2.2 million from 26 investors.
Claros Farm, which grows nutrient-dense produce in AI-operated hydroponic farms, raised $2 million from 25 investors.
CompanyDNA, a platform connecting applications to large language models, raised $1 million from 5 investors.
Lovie, an agentic finance and banking platform for AI-native companies, raised from 27 investors.
Sahin has participated in 8 accelerator programs: Founder Institute, 500 Startups, StartX 3 times—as a founder, interviewer, and neighborhood lead—Betaworks, Quake, Inception, Antler, and PEF Idea Maze.
Sahin has recorded, analyzed, and taken detailed notes from hundreds of investor conversations. He has also created a 30-part video series explaining how founders can raise capital.
During the AMA, Sahin will demonstrate 7 AI-powered fundraising tools:
Investment Memo Generator
AI Pitch Feedback
Investor–Thesis Matching
Investor Finder
Investor-Specific Memo Generator
Investor Intelligence: What Is This Investor Looking For?
WhatsApp Network Mapper for Warm Introductions
Sahin is currently building Lovie, an agentic finance and banking platform for AI-native companies. Lovie is also building an AI-native cap table that combines intelligent software with hands-on operational support.
During the AMA, Sahin will show his own cap table live and openly share the lessons he has learned from more than a decade of fundraising.
Every attendee will receive first access to Lovie CapTable. We don’t simply give you software—we run your cap table for you. Our legal operations team will be on-site, and the first 10 founders who sign up will be onboarded that night.
Apply below and tell us one question you would ask Sahin.