5 things I learned working with Uber's Travis Kalanick to secure funding

Before there was an Uber and before the company I co-founded, Kareo, raised over $100M, I was trying to raise capital for a medical management company I founded.

Travis Kalanick, who went on the become founder of Uber, was CEO of a peer-to-peer file sharing company Red Swoosh at the time and had previously worked with my CTO, Dan Rodrigues, who went on to become CEO of Kareo.

Fund raising efforts on my own were not yielding results so Dan introduced me to Travis as someone who could open doors. Dan was right, not only was Travis incredibly well connected, even back then, but he was able to get me meetings with both very deep pocketed private equity as well as high end venture capitalists. Working with Travis, I also quickly learned:

• Have someone make an introduction. There's no point in trying to talk with any institutional investors (VC, PE etc) without a personal introduction from someone who knows that person. Without an introduction any information, plans, texts, emails etc are much more likely to go into the trash than be responded to and will simply be a waste of everyone's time. If you don't have introductions, network with others until you find contacts with the connections you are looking for. 

• Be prepared, very prepared. Do not buy into the myth that you just need a good idea. Once a meeting has been secured be ready to clearly articulate why a viable business opportunity exists. Identify how and why your concept/product/software solves problems, eases "pain points" or cures market inefficiencies. Provide a road map of where the company is going and how it will get there. Provide detailed metrics for meeting key milestones and how your strategy will be implemented. Define the risks of executing the business strategy and the solutions to mitigating those risks.  By demonstrating a grasp of these fundamentals, you are conveying confidence to investors whether your venture can generate sustainable revenue, will be profitable and can be done in a reasonable time frame.

• Don't be defensive if the response is negative. Do not debate the decision and try to counter their arguments with counterpoints. Listen carefully as they'll have insights and observations that you may not have thought of. Some of the best feedback you'll ever get will be from investor meetings so use the opportunity to learn why they said no. Rejection doesn't mean your concept isn't viable, it just means that it isn't right for that particular investor. Don't forget, investors pass on good ideas every single day. 

• Don't look to others to secure your funding. While there's a place for consultants to assist, don't expect anyone, other that you (founders, CEO's) to lead you or secure capital on your behalf. If you're not passionate and driven by what your doing investors will pick up on that very quickly. Investors back people as much, if not more, than ideas. Be the person that is worth being backed by being the driving force behind your concept

• Do investor due diligence . Make sure your potential investor is a fit before taking a meeting. Find out what their preferred industry/market/sector is, are there any geographic limitations or preferences, are there any conflicts, and/or synergies, with other investments they've already made, what are there investment parameters size/range, how are their investments typically structured, what are the exit preferences.