Grateful to be part of some great conversations recently on @joinClubhouse around investing & fundraising. As folks talk about cap tables, valuations & dilution I can't stop thinking "this ain't it." We've "glamourized" fundraising to the point that many new founders now see...

... raising equity as a prerequisite that occurs somewhere after (some even before) you even register your business and leading up to the Fast Company feature on their startup. In reality less than .5% of US firms ever raise equity capital and less then 30% even get a loan...

... I know this doesn't match with the topics about access to capital that seem to be everywhere right now but it does match up with the top 3 reasons businesses fail in the US; 1. Founder(s): wrong team, plan, expectations. Folks just don't know what they are signing up for...

2. Market: Either the number of folks who are willing to pay you are too small or just aren't willing to pay for what you're selling

3. Management: See #1 combined with not knowing the difference between what I call working "IN" the business vs. working "ON" the business...

... My 20 year career in finance & investments has taught me that money only prolongs the inevitable if you don't have the most important capital of all, social capital. These are the people & connections you have that not only answer your questions but also help you get...

... answers to the questions you don't even know to ask. These are the folks keep it about what being an entrepreneur really means and how it impacts you and the folks who care about you. For instance, that Fast Company article you read probably didn't tell you about the...

... friends you will likely lose being a founder or the angst you will have in hiring and firing staff. Another founder will remind you that revenue, profit & cash are all very different things and that only one of them is "king." I don't say all this to put down raising...

... capital but to instead put it in perspective "it ain't it." It's not insight from customers or lessons learned from competitors it's just one of the dozens of signals that you are sending out about your business, more than likely from an investor who has never run a...

... business like yours or even been an operator. I know bootstrapping may not be as sexy as a raise but as @MBushGPTW business is about offering something GREAT and then doing it cheaper & better over time. So as you go into the new year with your business if you have to...

... chase money, go after customers and put a plan together for how you will prioritize social capital to level up your business this year.