{"id":23327,"date":"2026-08-14T15:47:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scannn.com\/what-capital-wants-by-yoni-rechtman\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:47:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:47:49","slug":"what-capital-wants-by-yoni-rechtman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scannn.com\/lv\/what-capital-wants-by-yoni-rechtman\/","title":{"rendered":"What capital wants - by Yoni Rechtman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/picture><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Last week I shared an rough way to measure<\/a> the relative importance of revenue, growth, and narrative in fundraising right now. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/picture><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rates (how fast) and levels (how much) each matter and can compensate for one another. If growth is 0 then great topline doesn\u2019t mean anything. If topline is near-zero, great growth doesn\u2019t mean much.<\/p>\n

And the more complex your narrative and story is, the harder it is for people to pay attention to the momentum. Simple, powerful stories let great numbers shine. Complex stories are drags on the internal proof\/momentum\/traction you\u2019ve created.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If that is something of an answer to\/heuristic for \u201cwhen should I raise,\u201d it\u2019s definitely not sufficient for \u201chow do I raise\u201d or \u201cwhat do investors want.\u201d <\/p>\n

Right now no one knows and predicting the success of a fundraise feels often impossible.<\/p>\n

This is basically all anyone at seed (companies and investors) are talking about right now. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to look a founder in the face and say \u201cno one cares about your company\u201d. But at some level the whole market has turned into \u201cteam plus TAM\u201d analysis.<\/p>\n

So the gate\/bar to capital is not just \u201chigh\u201d but actually rather specific:<\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/picture><\/div>\n

<\/a>

Claude cleaned up version of a whiteboard session with a founder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

One friend who works in growth summited it up: \u201c<\/span>If we can\u2019t see a path to a $20 billion company with you as the emerging winner, we can\u2019t do it at all.<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another friend simplified it further: \u201c<\/span>Is it a market I need to be in, and do you seem likely to win that market?<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n