Raising your first round has always been hard — but in today’s market, the rules are changing fast.
In this episode of Build Mode, our host andStartup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Charles Hudson, founder and managing partner of Precursor Ventures, to talk about what early-stage founders need to know before raising their first institutional round.
Charles shares a candid look at how the venture landscape has shifted, why AI is changing what investors pay attention to, and how founders can better navigate fundraising when the old playbooks no longer apply.
They get into:
- Why raising pre-seed and seed funding feels harder right now.
- How AI is reshaping venture capital.
- What founders should know before choosing an investor.
- Why the highest valuation is not always the best deal.
- How to build momentum during a fundraise.
- Why storytelling and a strong blurb matter more than ever.
- What happens when a startup raises too much too soon.
- Why the biggest risk may not be a down round, but no round at all.
- How to think about whether venture capital is actually the right path.
Watch the full episode on Youtube.
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Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
