Why Most Founders Fail at Capital Raising: The Missing Consideration Phase
- Bella Battsengel
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
The Fatal Skip Most Founders Make
Most founders fail at capital raising because they skip stage two. They meet an investor. They send a pitch deck. They wait for a decision.
This approach is structurally broken. It ignores how humans make investment decisions.
The buying process has three stages. Awareness. Consideration. Decision. Most founders jump from awareness directly to decision.
This creates a gap that kills deals. The consideration phase is where investment decisions actually get made.
How People Actually Buy
Think about how you buy anything significant. A car. A house. Enterprise software. The process never goes directly from awareness to decision.
The Three-Stage Process
Stage 1: Awareness. You become aware that a solution exists. You understand the basic value proposition.
Stage 2: Consideration. You evaluate whether this solution fits your needs. You compare alternatives. You build trust in the provider.
Stage 3: Decision. You commit to the purchase based on accumulated information and trust.
Capital raising follows this same pattern. But startup media, accelerators, and incubators train founders to skip stage two entirely.
Everyone focuses on the pitch deck. The pitch deck is an awareness tool. It is not a decision tool.
Why Founders Skip Consideration
The startup ecosystem trains founders to believe capital raising is a pitch event. Meet investor. Present opportunity. Get decision.
This model is optimised for how venture capital firms like to see opportunities. Not for how high net worth individuals and family offices actually make decisions.
The VC Model vs HNW Model
VC model: Institutional process. Partner meeting. Investment committee. Due diligence. Term sheet. This creates structured consideration built into their process.
HNW model: Personal decision. Individual evaluation. Trust-based assessment. No institutional framework forcing consideration time.
High net worth investors and family offices need the consideration phase explicitly built into your capital raising process. They will not create it themselves.
What Happens in the Consideration Phase
The consideration phase is where investors develop like, trust, and respect for what you are doing. This cannot happen in a single meeting.
The Three Elements
Like: Do I connect with this founder personally? Do I understand their vision? Do I want to work with them?
Trust: Do I believe they can execute? Are they transparent about risks? Do they respond professionally?
Respect: Do they have domain expertise? Have they built something impressive? Do credible people validate them?
These elements accumulate over multiple touchpoints. Not in a single pitch meeting.
The Rule of Seven Touchpoints
You need at least seven touchpoints with an investor during the consideration process. This is not arbitrary. This is based on marketing research on how trust and familiarity build.
What Counts as a Touchpoint
Information sessions. Group presentations where investors can hear your story alongside peers.
Boardroom sessions. Smaller, intimate discussions with 5-10 investors.
Social media thought pieces. LinkedIn posts, articles, or videos that demonstrate expertise.
Email updates. Regular investor relations communications to your list.
One-on-one meetings. Direct conversations that go deeper on specific topics.
Event interactions. Conferences, industry gatherings, or networking events.
Content consumption. Podcasts, interviews, or media coverage they encounter.
Each touchpoint builds familiarity. Each interaction creates trust. Each exposure increases the likelihood of investment.
Why Seven Touchpoints Matter
Research from marketing psychology shows that people need multiple exposures before they take action. The specific number varies. Some say seven. Others say eleven.
The principle is consistent. One exposure creates awareness. Multiple exposures create consideration.
The Mere Exposure Effect
The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon. Repeated exposure to something increases liking and trust even without additional information.
This applies directly to capital raising. The investor who has seen your name, your face, or your company seven times is far more likely to invest than the investor who has seen you once.
This is not about changing their evaluation of your business fundamentals. This is about moving from unknown to known in their mental framework.
How to Build the Consideration Phase
Most founders do not intentionally build consideration into their capital raising process. They focus all energy on awareness. Then they wonder why investors do not commit.
The Systematic Approach
Month 1: Build investor list. Identify 50-100 potential investors who match your criteria.
Month 2: Create awareness. Reach out with pitch deck and one-pager. Schedule initial meetings.
Month 3-5: Execute consideration. Systematically create touchpoints through multiple channels.
Month 6: Drive decisions. With accumulated trust and familiarity, investors are ready to commit.
This timeline feels longer than founders want. But it compresses the actual fundraising timeline by reducing the back-and-forth of building trust on the fly.
Information Sessions as Touchpoint One
Information sessions serve dual purpose. They create awareness for new investors. They create consideration touchpoints for existing relationships.
How to Structure
Format: 30-minute presentation followed by 15-minute Q&A.
Audience: 15-30 investors per session.
Frequency: Monthly during active fundraising.
Content: Business update, milestone achievements, strategic priorities.
Follow-up: Recording sent to attendees and those who could not attend.
Information sessions create multiple touchpoints from single effort. Attendees get live interaction. Non-attendees get content consumption. Both advance consideration.
Boardroom Sessions as Deep Engagement
Boardroom sessions create higher-quality touchpoints with smaller groups. These sessions build deeper relationships with investors showing strongest interest.
The Structure
Audience: 5-10 high-intent investors.
Format: 45-minute strategic discussion, not pitch.
Content: Deep dive on specific aspects like technology roadmap, competitive positioning, or market expansion.
Interaction: Encourage questions and dialogue throughout.
Follow-up: Detailed follow-up document addressing questions raised.
Boardroom sessions signal to investors that they are in a select group. This creates psychological commitment and advances consideration significantly.
Social Media as Continuous Touchpoint
Social media creates consideration touchpoints without requiring investor time commitment. They encounter your content whilst scrolling LinkedIn or Twitter.
What to Share
Milestone achievements. Customer wins, revenue targets, product launches.
Thought leadership. Industry insights, market analysis, trend observations.
Team updates. Key hires, team growth, culture highlights.
Customer stories. Case studies, testimonials, use cases.
Personal journey. Challenges overcome, lessons learned, founder perspective.
Each post creates a touchpoint. Investors see your name repeatedly. They observe your progress. They develop familiarity without explicit effort.
Email Updates Build Systematic Touchpoints
Email updates to your investor relations list create predictable touchpoints that accumulate consideration over time.
Monthly Update Framework
Progress metrics. Key numbers that show traction.
Milestone updates. What you achieved this month.
Strategic developments. Partnerships, hires, product releases.
Market insights. Industry developments relevant to your opportunity.
Ask. Specific ways investors can help beyond capital.
Monthly emails create 12 touchpoints per year. Combined with other channels, this builds the seven-plus touchpoints needed for consideration.
The Time and Space Between Awareness and Decision
Headlines about successful capital raises never show the time gap between first meeting and investment decision. This creates false expectations.
The Reality
"Company raises $5M from prominent investors" suggests a linear path from pitch to funding. The reality is months of relationship building.
The investor who writes the cheque in Month 6 likely met the founder in Month 1. They attended an information session in Month 2. They saw LinkedIn updates in Month 3-5. They had a one-on-one coffee in Month 4. They attended a boardroom session in Month 5. By Month 6, they have accumulated seven-plus touchpoints. The decision feels natural, not risky.
Why "No Today" Is Not "No Tomorrow"
Founders get discouraged by investor silence or initial rejection. They interpret this as permanent rejection.
This interpretation is wrong. The investor is simply not ready to decide. They are still in awareness or early consideration.
How to Reframe
"No today" means: Not enough touchpoints yet. Not enough trust built. Not enough familiarity developed.
"Silence today" means: Still in consideration. Evaluating other opportunities. Waiting for more information.
"Maybe later" means: Need more proof points. Want to see milestone achievement. Watching your progress.
All of these are invitations to continue the consideration process. Not rejections.
Which Stage Are Your Investors Stuck In
Most founders cannot answer this question. They treat all investors the same regardless of where they are in the buying process.
The Diagnostic Questions
Awareness stuck: Have they reviewed your materials? Do they understand your value proposition? Have they attended an initial meeting?
Consideration stuck: Have they had multiple touchpoints? Have they engaged beyond initial meeting? Have they asked detailed questions?
Decision stuck: Have they expressed interest? Have they indicated timeline? Have they requested specific additional information?
Different stages require different actions. Sending another pitch deck to someone stuck in consideration is ineffective. They need relationship building, not information.
How to Unstick Investors
Once you diagnose which stage investors are stuck in, you can take targeted action.
For Awareness Stuck
Action: Send concise one-pager highlighting key points. Offer 15-minute intro call. Share recent press or customer testimonial.
Avoid: Overwhelming with detailed materials. Pushing for immediate meeting. Asking for decision.
For Consideration Stuck
Action: Invite to information session. Share monthly email updates. Connect on LinkedIn and engage with their content. Offer to introduce them to existing investors or customers.
Avoid: Pitching again. Asking "are you ready to invest?" Disappearing because they have not committed yet.
For Decision Stuck
Action: Provide specific next steps. Offer term sheet for review. Introduce to legal counsel. Set clear timeline for decision.
Avoid: Pushy pressure tactics. Artificial urgency. Accepting indefinite "maybe."
The Professional Process
Building consideration systematically requires professional capital raising infrastructure. Most founders approach this reactively.
What Professional Process Looks Like
Calendar of touchpoints. Scheduled information sessions, boardroom sessions, and events throughout fundraising period.
Content calendar. Regular LinkedIn posts, email updates, and thought leadership pieces.
Investor CRM. Tracking which investors are at which stage and which touchpoints they have received.
Measurement. Monitoring which touchpoints lead to highest conversion to next stage.
Iteration. Adjusting based on what works and what does not.
This infrastructure creates consideration touchpoints automatically without founder needing to remember or improvise.
The Relationship Building Mindset
The consideration phase requires shifting from transactional to relational mindset. You are not closing a deal. You are building a relationship.
What This Means Practically
Focus on value exchange. What can you offer the investor beyond investment opportunity? Industry insights? Introductions? Strategic thinking?
Think long-term. The investor who does not invest this round might invest next round. Or might make valuable introduction.
Build genuine connection. People invest in people they like and trust. Authenticity matters more than polish.
Respect their process. Different investors move at different speeds. Pushing too hard damages consideration.
This mindset shift changes how you approach every interaction. You stop trying to extract a decision. You start building a relationship that naturally leads to investment.
Common Mistakes in Consideration Phase
Even founders who understand consideration make predictable mistakes that slow progress.
Mistake 1: Inconsistent Touchpoints
Sending three emails in Week 1, then disappearing for two months creates forgetting, not familiarity. Consistency matters more than intensity.
Mistake 2: All Broadcast, No Personal
Mass emails and LinkedIn posts create touchpoints. But high-value investors also need personal interaction. Balance broadcast with one-on-one.
Mistake 3: Too Much Ask, Too Little Give
Every touchpoint should not be asking for investment. Share insights. Offer value. Build relationship. The ask comes naturally once trust exists.
Mistake 4: Treating All Investors the Same
Segment your investor list by stage. Different messaging and touchpoints for awareness vs consideration vs decision stage investors.
Mistake 5: Measuring Wrong Metrics
Stop measuring "meetings held." Start measuring "investors moved from awareness to consideration" and "consideration to decision."
The Timeline Reality
The consideration phase takes 3-6 months for most high net worth and family office investors. This feels slow. But it compresses total fundraising timeline.
Why It Is Faster Overall
Without consideration phase: 9-12 months of scattered meetings, unclear progress, eventual burnout.
With consideration phase: 6-8 months of systematic relationship building, clear progression, higher conversion.
The systematic approach feels slower month-to-month. But it closes faster overall because investors are actually ready to decide when you ask.
The Implication
Capital raising is not a pitch event. It is a relationship building process with three distinct stages.
Most founders skip the consideration phase. They jump from awareness to decision. They wonder why investors do not commit.
The consideration phase is where like, trust, and respect develop. This requires minimum seven touchpoints over 3-6 months.
Build this systematically. Information sessions. Boardroom sessions. Social media. Email updates. One-on-one meetings.
The market has separated into two categories. Founders who understand consideration and build it into their process. And founders who keep pitching to investors who are not ready to decide.
The only question is which category you are in.
