Fundraising and Investor Readiness

What it usually covers

1. 1

   Orientation: Capital, Ownership and Halal Finance

   • The Fundraising Landscape and How This Course Fits Together
   • Islamic Finance Principles Every Founder Should Know
   • Recognising Interest in Startup Funding Instruments
   • Designing a Capital Strategy Across Stages
   • Duties and Ethics When Raising Other People's Money
2. 2

   Funding Options

   • Should You Raise at All?
   • Investor Types and Stages
   • Grants and Non-Dilutive Public Funding
   • Partnership Finance: Musharaka and Mudaraba for Ventures
   • Strategic and Corporate Investors: Judging the Trade-Offs
3. 3

   Valuation and the Equity Story

   • How Early-Stage Valuations Are Really Set
   • The Venture Capital Method and Return Mathematics
   • Building a Financial Model Investors Trust
   • Market Sizing That Survives Diligence
   • Crafting the Equity Story and Pitch Narrative
4. 4

   Preparing and Running the Process

   • Investor Readiness
   • Running the Raise
   • Due Diligence: What Investors Examine and How to Prepare
   • Negotiating with Leverage: Multiple Offers, Deadlines and Walking Away
   • Running a Shariah-Compliant Round: Screening, Advisers and Documentation
5. 5

   Deal Structures and Instruments

   • Priced Equity Rounds and Share Classes
   • Convertible Instruments and Their Halal Status
   • Modelling the Cap Table Through Several Rounds
   • Liquidation Waterfalls in Practice
   • Profit-Sharing and Revenue-Sharing Alternatives
6. 6

   Terms and Afterwards

   • Term Sheets and Dilution
   • After the Money Arrives
   • Negotiating the Term Sheet: Clause by Clause
   • Board Governance After the Round
   • Down Rounds, Bridge Rounds and Difficult Situations
7. 7

   Application: Fundraising Cases

   • Case: A Seed Round for an Industrial Software Firm
   • Case: Choosing Between a Grant, a Partner and Venture Capital
   • Case: Restructuring an Interest-Bearing Note into Equity
   • Case: A Term Sheet with Hidden Costs
   • Case: The Round That Stalled in Diligence
   • Case: Deciding Not to Raise
8. 8

   Consolidation: Exits, Reporting and Readiness

   • Exit Routes and What Investors Need from Them
   • Building an Investor Reporting System
   • Crowdfunding and Community Investment Done Well
   • The Investor Readiness Review
   • Capstone: Defending Your Capital Plan