🧭 Fundraising Without Burning Out: The 10-Hour-Per-Week System That Actually Works
Almost every founder tells me the same thing:
“I know I need to fundraise — I just don’t have time.”
They’re not wrong. You’re building product. Selling. Hiring. Doing everything at once.
But here’s what most founders learn too late:
The later you start fundraising, the more time it takes.
Fundraising is a skill. And like any skill, it’s far cheaper — and much calmer — to build early.
The good news?
You don’t need to fundraise full-time.
You need ~10 focused hours per week, with the right structure.
“I know I need to fundraise — I just don’t have time.”
They’re not wrong. You’re building product. Selling. Hiring. Doing everything at once.
But here’s what most founders learn too late:
The later you start fundraising, the more time it takes.
Fundraising is a skill. And like any skill, it’s far cheaper — and much calmer — to build early.
The good news?
You don’t need to fundraise full-time.
You need ~10 focused hours per week, with the right structure.
🛠️ Week 1: Setup Week (this one is different)
This is the only week that feels heavier. After that, everything becomes routine.
1️⃣ Investor & angel research (≈3 hours)
Your goal here is precision, not volume.
You’re looking for:
(There are specific tools and shortcuts for this — the key is not relying on vibes or brand names alone.)
2️⃣ Founder research (≈3 hours)
Build a list of founders who:
These founders are often your best future source of warm intros.
You can:
3️⃣ Outreach system setup (≈2 hours)
Set up parallel outreach:
Spray-and-pray kills response rates — and burns bridges.
What matters is:
4️⃣ Activate your existing network (≈2 hours)
Identify:
Reach out and say something simple:
“We’re not fundraising yet — but planning ahead.Who would you recommend we talk to?”
Then, look through their LinkedIn connections together.
This step alone often unlocks introductions founders didn’t realize were possible.
➡️Total: ~10 hours
🔁 Weeks 2+ (the sustainable rhythm)
Once the system is live, the weekly flow looks like this:
That’s it.
One founder we worked with pushed this system harder:
Not because he worked more —
but because the system compounded.
🧠 The real reason fundraising fails
Fundraising doesn’t fail because founders don’t work hard.
It fails because it’s unstructured.
When you start early, work consistently, and build the right systems, fundraising stops feeling like a crisis — and starts feeling manageable, even predictable.
This is the only week that feels heavier. After that, everything becomes routine.
1️⃣ Investor & angel research (≈3 hours)
Your goal here is precision, not volume.
You’re looking for:
- investors actively investing
- at your stage
- in your sector
- active in the last 12 months
(There are specific tools and shortcuts for this — the key is not relying on vibes or brand names alone.)
2️⃣ Founder research (≈3 hours)
Build a list of founders who:
- raised recently
- are in your domain or one stage ahead
These founders are often your best future source of warm intros.
You can:
- delegate this to an assistant, or
- use AI + automation to speed it up significantly
3️⃣ Outreach system setup (≈2 hours)
Set up parallel outreach:
- warm (founders, connectors, mutuals)
- cold (investors, angels)
Spray-and-pray kills response rates — and burns bridges.
What matters is:
- knowing what messages actually work
- personalizing efficiently (without spending hours per message)
- designing outreach that invites conversation, not pressure
4️⃣ Activate your existing network (≈2 hours)
Identify:
- 10–15 strong supporters
- super-connectors
- people who genuinely want you to win
Reach out and say something simple:
“We’re not fundraising yet — but planning ahead.Who would you recommend we talk to?”
Then, look through their LinkedIn connections together.
This step alone often unlocks introductions founders didn’t realize were possible.
➡️Total: ~10 hours
🔁 Weeks 2+ (the sustainable rhythm)
Once the system is live, the weekly flow looks like this:
- ~15 conversations per week
- (founders, investors, connectors)
- ~7 hours on calls
- ~1 hour updating the pipeline
- ~2 hours on follow-ups & updates
That’s it.
One founder we worked with pushed this system harder:
- 30+ conversations per week
- rapid referrals
- a constantly expanding pipeline
Not because he worked more —
but because the system compounded.
🧠 The real reason fundraising fails
Fundraising doesn’t fail because founders don’t work hard.
It fails because it’s unstructured.
When you start early, work consistently, and build the right systems, fundraising stops feeling like a crisis — and starts feeling manageable, even predictable.
- That’s the difference structure makes.
Dasha Kroshkina
Founder of Fundraising Bootcamp
Serial startup founder ($5M raised)
Techstars & Berkeley SkyDeck alumni
Forbes 30u30
Venture partner in VC fund
Serial startup founder ($5M raised)
Techstars & Berkeley SkyDeck alumni
Forbes 30u30
Venture partner in VC fund
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