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Let’s get emotional and contradictory to kick this off.

I despise fundraising. There, I said it. And I love our approach to fundraising. OUCH. That last sentence still makes me cringe. Not quite sure how I can love and respect the way we have handled fundraising when it is the single biggest factor to my stress and apparently the thing I despise most (there I said it twice, it must be true). 

Before Bivo, Carina and I spent 10 years running a footwear product development company together. During that time, we worked with 20 startups across the world, all with their own unique approaches to business. We witnessed the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was the best crash course in business we could have dreamed of to prepare us for the Bivo journey. Without a doubt, we both agree that seeing how startups fundraise became one of our biggest takeaways.

We watched some brands raise money as if it were their full-time job. Sometimes to keep themselves alive, while others to capture and build upon amazing growth opportunities. We watched the owners of businesses sweat the stress, love the process, hate the process, resent their money, love their investors, argue with their investors. Some won big, others… well, let’s just say they didn’t get their happy ending.

I’ve spent way too much time pondering if there’s a universally "right" way to raise money. Spoiler: there isn’t. It all boils down to alignment—who you are, what you believe in, and where you want your business to go. So, please, don’t chug our Kool-Aid just yet (just your Bivos). Our approach works for us because it’s true to who Carina and I are—as business partners, as individuals, and yes, as parents.

This photo is of me and Carina at the LaunchVT Demo night in 2022. We pitched our business with other companies in Vermont to a crowd of investors and local business fans. Somehow I got the job of dressing up as a cyclist...

If you boil down our fundraising strategy, you’ll find three core beliefs driving everything we do. These are our North Stars, our guiding lights, our way of making sure we’re on track and still having fun!

Our three north stars for fundraising (and running Bivo):

1. We want to … work with good people, who care (aka: the no asshole clause)

Honestly, this sounds simple. It is not. We have needed money at times. Sometimes, pretty urgently. These are precisely the situations where this belief has been hard for us to maintain. It’s tempting to take the first check that waves at you. We have been caught looking for only the money. While we should have been looking for great people that believe in us, believe in Bivo, trust us and yes have money to invest. 

Carina and I are so fortunate to have all-stars for investors. Above all, though, they are great people, who care about us and what Bivo hopes to become. They trust us, mentor us, and call it how it is when we need it. To those incredible people, thank you for your trust. We are forever grateful!

2. We want to … maintain control over our business

We are power hungry crazy people. Just joking, I really don’t think we are and I hope we never become them. But we believe that keeping control of Bivo lets us steer the ship in the direction we want. It’s our way of ensuring that Bivo grows into something we’re proud of—and that our team, and hopefully all of you, can be proud of too. Sure, we don’t know everything, and we’re huge fans of the “you don’t know what you don’t know” philosophy. In fact, I literally just told Carina, “I think I’ve officially run out of firsthand business experience. Everything from here is new territory.” We know we need to learn, and that’s why we seek out help, partners, and amazing staff. This keeps us as the gatekeepers of Bivo’s path and, unless we become the pigheaded money hungry crazy people that don’t listen to our customers and our staff, I think this is best. It keeps the vision united around being a company for the right reasons.

3. We want to … have fun!

Honestly, this is a life goal and a business one. If taking money from investor [X] or VC Fund [Y] means we stop enjoying this wild ride, then it’s not worth it. Fun keeps us going, and if you let people into your business who don’t align with your values, you’ll quickly find yourself in a very un-fun situation. Keeping it fun is fundamental—otherwise, what’s the point?

I hope that gave you a glimpse into our (admittedly biased and very personal) take on fundraising. A couple of months ago, Carina mentioned that I’d write about fundraising in her first edition of our founders’ series. I remember laughing, wondering what I could say about the part of the business that stresses me out the most. But, surprise! This was actually fun to write. I got to air out some beliefs and, well, here we are. Whether you found this interesting or you’re shaking your head, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, and your own experiences with fundraising.

Thanks,

Robby