Capital Raise Preparation for Founders | Prepared to Raise

The engagement doesn't end when the documents are finished. You leave with your Raise Playbook: a 20-chapter manual built around your company, with your network cleaned and ranked, your messages written in your voice, and your tools set up in your own accounts. Before you launch, you'll rehearse in a mock investor meeting. Then you run your own raise with four working sessions timed to it, starting with the first wave sent with Joel on the call, and Slack access for your reply drafts and weekly numbers.

Raising up to $1M from people who know you

Your customers, suppliers, colleagues and friends already trust you. What they need is a real investment to say yes to, and they'll give you one serious hearing. Who you ask matters as much as how much you ask for. A customer who invests has a reason to send you more business. An industry veteran who invests has a reason to open doors. We help you decide who to ask first, and prepare the materials and lawyer-reviewed offering documents to ask them properly. Then we hand you your Raise Playbook: your network organized and sequenced, your messages written, your tools set up, and the first wave sent with Joel on the call.

A good fit if you:

Are raising up to $1M
Can name 20 or more people who know you or your business and could invest
Expect most of them to be accredited investors
Can say in two sentences what the money will accomplish

Network Raise · $15,000 · About 4 weeks, plus 90 days of launch support

Revenue-stage and raising to grow

You have customers and a track record, and you need $1M to $10M for hires, capacity or new markets. At this size your investors are likely family offices, angel groups, strategic investors and wealthy individuals, many of whom don't know you yet. They'll test your projections against your history and your valuation against comparable companies. We make sure your numbers, story and diligence hold up when they do. Your Raise Playbook adds the chapters on reaching accredited investors beyond your network under 506(c): strategic partners in your industry, likely-accredited professionals in your area, angel groups, and the funds and family offices with a thesis that fits, with the step-by-step method for building the list.

A good fit if you:

Have historical revenue and financial statements, or can get them reviewed
Have a management team investors can meet, not just a CEO
Can show what this round funds and the milestone it reaches

Growth Capital · $20,000 · About 4 weeks, plus 90 days of launch support

Raising to buy a business

Your growth plan runs through an acquisition: a competitor, a supplier or a retiring owner's company. This raise is different. Investors are underwriting two businesses and a deal, often against a closing date. We build the case for the combined company, tie the use of proceeds to the transaction, and structure terms that still work if the timeline moves.

A good fit if you:

Have a target identified, or a letter of intent in hand
Can get the target's financials for diligence
Will own and run the combined business
Have 4 to 6 weeks to prepare before you need to start raising

Growth Capital · $20,000 · About 4 weeks, plus 90 days of launch support. Acquisition raises use the Growth Capital package at any size, because diligence on two businesses takes more work. Your Raise Playbook covers the same ground as a Growth Capital raise: your network first, then accredited investors in your industry and area under 506(c), with the list-building method and the 90-day calendar.

Raising from your customers and community

Your strongest supporters are customers, fans or members, and many of them aren't accredited investors. Reg CF lets anyone invest through a registered funding portal, up to $5M in a 12-month period. Done well, it turns your customers into owners with a stake in your success. We prepare your Form C, campaign content and a launch plan that starts with the people who already know you. Your Raise Playbook adds the community campaign chapter: your own customers and audience in waves, testing the waters, the portal's thresholds, and every message written to the Reg CF communication rules.

A good fit if you:

Have an engaged audience: a customer base, an email list or a community
Are comfortable with public disclosure and annual reporting
Prefer many smaller investors over a few large ones

Reg CF · $25,000 · About 6 weeks, plus 90 days of launch support

Probably not a fit if:

You want someone to solicit investors for you
You want to hand off the fundraising process entirely
You're unwilling to participate in building the investor story
You're simply looking for a pitch deck or PPM
You aren't ready to engage with investors yet

We're designed for founders who want to run their own raise but don't want to figure out the process alone. You bring the business and the vision. We bring the capital-markets perspective, structure, preparation and experience to help you approach investors as a professionally prepared company.

Not sure which describes you? The $1,500 Readiness Assessment tells you, and it's credited in full toward any package within 60 days.

I've spent more than 30 years in capital markets: as an analyst at multi-billion-dollar asset managers, in institutional sell-side equity research, and as a partner at a 700-person investment bank. I've seen capital raises from three perspectives: how investors evaluate opportunities, how financial professionals structure them, and how management teams actually execute them.

I've taken four of my own companies public and taken a total of 17 companies public. I founded Meraki Partners and launched Prepared to Raise to bring that same institutional rigor to founders getting ready to raise capital.

We prepare; you raise. We don't introduce investors or contact them on your behalf, and you own your investor relationships from day one. The result is an offering that's genuinely ready to present, for a fixed fee, with no equity, warrants or percentage of what you raise. And you leave with your Raise Playbook in hand: your list ranked, your messages written, your tools set up, and me beside you for the first wave.

Do you raise the capital for us?
No. We prepare you to run your own raise. We never introduce or contact investors on your behalf, and you own every investor relationship. Be careful with anyone who promises otherwise: anyone who promises to raise capital for a start-up or pre-revenue company is almost certainly lying. What we do instead is make the asking easy to start and hard to avoid: your network organized and ranked, your messages written in your voice, your sending and booking tools set up in your own accounts, the first wave sent with Joel on the launch call, and 90 days at your side after that: four sessions timed to the raise, with reply drafts and weekly numbers reviewed on Slack within 24 business hours. That is your Raise Playbook, and it comes with every package.
How much does it cost, and are there success fees?
Every package is a fixed fee, from the $1,500 Readiness Assessment up to $25,000 for a Reg CF Package. We never take a success fee, equity, warrants, or a percentage of the capital you raise.
What is the Readiness Assessment and do I need it?
It's the first paid step, after a free 20-minute intro call. In one working session, we review where you stand, and you receive a written report within 5 business days on which package fits your raise. The $1,500 fee is credited in full toward any package if you continue within 60 days.
Which package is right for my raise?
Network Raise fits raises of up to $1M from accredited investors who know you or your business. Growth Capital fits up to $10M raises for revenue-stage companies. Raises to fund an acquisition usually fit Growth Capital. Reg CF fits raises that include non-accredited investors. The Readiness Assessment will confirm the right fit.
Should I mention plans to go public in my raise?
If a public listing is genuinely in your plans, yes, say so. A credible path to liquidity changes how investors see the deal: they can picture how and when they might sell. We have seen companies that struggled to raise privately succeed once they could show that path. If a listing is something you are weighing, our sister firm, Public Financial, helps companies plan for it.
What kind of companies do you work with?
We work best with privately held, founder-led companies, from pre-revenue startups to $20M in revenue, raising up to $10M. That includes non-US companies raising from US investors.
What support do I get after the materials are ready?
Every package ends with your Raise Playbook and 90 days at your side. The playbook is a 20-chapter manual built around your company: your network cleaned and ranked, your messages written in your voice, your tools set up in your own accounts, the questions investors ask with your answers, and a 90-day calendar. The 90 days are four working sessions timed to the raise (launch, first replies, second wave, close and chase), starting with the first wave sent with Joel on the call, plus your reply drafts and weekly numbers reviewed on Slack within 24 business hours. Before you launch, you'll also rehearse in a mock investor meeting.
Do I still need a lawyer if I work with you?
Yes. Every securities offering should involve securities counsel. Prepared to Raise isn't a law firm and doesn't provide legal advice. Our offering documents are reviewed by securities counsel, and if you already have a lawyer, we'll coordinate with them.
How are you different from a PPM law firm?
A PPM law firm makes your offering compliant. We make it investable: raise strategy, valuation framing, the investment story, your deck, a review of your model, a plan for who to ask, and a rehearsal before your first meeting. Many clients use their own lawyer alongside us. See the full comparison at preparedtoraise.com/compare.
I've already started raising. Is it too late?
No. Many founders come to us after early conversations stall. We'll review what investors have seen, fix what's holding them back, and help you decide who is worth a second conversation. Start with the free 20-minute call.

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