Raise Capital
With A System
- Not Guesswork.
I teach entrepreneurs how to find the right investors, have better investor conversations, and raise faster – with clarity, structure, and confidence, even without a network.
Special thanks for the financial support of my mission go to:
Florian Kandler
I’m Dr. Florian Kandler. I founded 3 startups and raised capital myself (Silicon Valley, London, Berlin). Today I help founders become “investor-ready” — with a structured system that turns fundraising form guesswork into a repeatable process.
- Between 2006 and 2011 I've founded 3 startups, 2 of which successfully raised €3,000,000+ in 3 funding rounds from VCs, Angels, a Family Office, and a Government Fund from the USA, Germany, and Austria
- Since 2012 I'm sharing my knowledge and success strategies with the next generation of entrepreneurs — since 2016 I do this full-time
- I teach in my online programs, in offline workshops, at accelerators and incubators, at conferences, on TV, in my books, podcasts, and in 1:1-consultations
Entrepreneurs Supported
in 20 Countries
across 12 Industries
Funding Raised
The Problem With Fundraising
Fundraising isn’t hard because your idea isn’t good – it’s hard because the process is unclear.
Most fundable founders who struggle to raise their first professional funding round make one big mistake: They do “random fundraising”.
They pitch too early or too late, they talk to the wrong investors, send decks without a clear narrative, meet investors without a clear meeting strategy, and try to solve their lack of fundraising best practices with even more hustle and work, hoping that something will stick.
Every one of these mistakes is a leak in their fundraising funnel — costing them qualified investor conversations, and lowering their chance of success.
Take a look at 10 of the most common fundraising mistakes I see founders make again and again — and spot exactly where you can make quick improvements to raise faster and with more leverage.
Top 10 Fundraising Mistakes
Fix These “Levers Of Fundraising Success”
Mistake #1
Wrong Investors
Pitching people who don’t invest in your stage, geography, or category kills momentum. You waste weeks, hear “not a fit,” and start doubting a perfectly fundable business.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll pinpoint your exact investor profile and build a targeted list that actually converts.
Mistake #2
Too Small List
With only a handful of investors, you can’t create momentum or competitive tension. No urgency, no FOMO—just slow replies and “let’s reconnect in a few months.”
- Let's Fix It
We’ll expand your pipeline fast so you create momentum, urgency, and real competition.
Mistake #3
Milestone Mismatch
You raise before your story is “earned.” Missing traction, proof, or clarity forces investors to take a leap of faith—so they pass, stall, or demand painful terms.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll align your fundraising story to the milestones investors must see before saying yes.
Mistake #4
Starting Too Late
If you begin when cash is low, every call screams desperation. Investors sense your back is against the wall and wait you out — or offer terms you can’t accept.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll set a clean timeline and plan so you raise from strength, not pressure.
Mistake #5
Weak Positioning
If your narrative doesn’t hook fast, investors mentally check out. You sound like everyone else, your deck feels “fine,” and the meeting becomes polite curiosity, not conviction.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll sharpen your narrative into a crisp hook that investors remember and repeat.
Mistake #6
Bad Outreach
Relying on cold emails alone is a slow grind with low hit rates. Without warm intros and inbound signals, you fight uphill—spending effort where leverage should do the work.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll build a smarter outreach mix that unlocks warm intros and inbound signals.
Mistake #7
No Meeting Strategy
Founders who only present and answer questions lose control. Great fundraising is dialogue — building belief, trust, and urgency. Without it, investors stay cautious and noncommittal.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll turn meetings into guided conversations that build trust and move decisions forward.
Mistake #8
Weak Follow-Up
Most founders “check in” instead of progressing the decision. Without a clear next step, new proof, and a timeline, investors drift, ghost, and your pipeline quietly dies.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll give you a follow-up system that keeps momentum and prevents ghosting.
Mistake #9
No Process Control
If you don’t run a structured process, investors run you. Meetings spread out, decisions stall, and you lose momentum — because nobody feels the deal is moving toward a close.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll install a simple fundraising process so you stay in control from first call to term sheet and close.
Mistake #10
Fumbled Closing
Either you’re passive (“let me know”) or pushy (“are you in?”). Both kill trust. You need a confident, respectful way to drive decisions without sounding desperate or needy.
- Let's Fix It
We’ll script a confident close that drives decisions without sounding pushy or desperate.
Let’s Fix These 10 Mistakes
Every one of these mistakes is fixable — fast — when you run a proven fundraising process.
Keep in mind:
- Every one of these mistakes is a leak in your fundraising funnel — costing you qualified investor conversations, and lowering your conversion rate.
- If you don’t fix them, you’ll notice that fundraising drags on, your best-fit investors stay inactive, and you end up settling for worse terms — or no deal at all.
Let’s fix this — together!
As seen on:
An End-To-End Fundraising System
A Repeatable Process From “Who Do We Pitch?” to Closing a Deal
The fastest way to make fundraising easier isn’t more hustle — it’s a system.
When you know exactly who you’re targeting, what story to tell, how to create interest, and how to move investors through a clean timeline, the entire game changes.
That’s what this 6-step framework does: it turns fundraising into a repeatable process you can run with clarity and control — so you build momentum, create competition, and negotiate from strength instead of hope.
This is the exact end-to-end system I learned while successfully raising venture capital for my own startups — and the same proven framework I’ve been teaching founders for over 10 years to run fundraising with structure, confidence, and leverage.
The 6-Step Fundraising System
The End-To-End Framework For Successful Fundraising
Step 1 >
Investor Selection & Research
Seeing the full range of possible types of investors, understanding what each of them can offer you and expects from you, and where to find enough of them.
- Result
You’ll have a clear focus on the most suitable types of investors, and an Investor Long List of 100+ names.
Step 2 >
Positioning & Investor Story
Translating your startup into an investor-ready narrative that suits your type of investor.
- Result
You gain a complete communications set (pitch deck, outreach hooks, conversation starter scripts, story arch) that clearly answers “why this”, “why you”, and “why now”.
Step 3 >
Outreach & Generating Inbound Interest
Approaching investors professionally, creating relevance and interest. And creating deal visibilty that generates inbound interest from investors.
- Result
You’ll get into coversations and meetings with more and better investors faster.
Step 4 >
Meetings & First Conversations
Preparing a strategic game plan for your investor meetings (opener, hooks, golden questions, timing, control), which turns first meetings into follow-up conversations about an actual deal.
- Result
You’ll be able to talk to investors on eye-level, in a way that increases reciprocal interest, trust and credibility, and feels natural — not transactional or artificial.
Step 5 >
Process & Building Momentum
Knowing how to turn meetings into momentum and FOMO, how to stay in control of the timeline and move investors towards a decision.
- Result
Running fundraising like a pro: with a pipeline, structured meetings, handling objections, and building momentum in your fundraising funnel.
Step 6 >
Decision-Making & Closing
Navigating term sheets, signals, and negotiations — and knowing when and how to move a round forward.
- Result
A fair deal with the best possible investors who bring money and competence to your company, and support you on your onward journey towards realizing your vision.
Let’s Set Up Your Fundraising System
Fundraising shouldn’t feel like chaos, guesswork, or “spray-and-pray” pitching.
- Your fundraising should run like a professional growth engine — clear inputs, repeatable steps, and predictable outcomes.
- Together we can set up your end-to-end fundraising system — from the right investor list and a story that lands, to outreach that gets replies, meetings that build conviction, and a process that creates momentum all the way to a clean close.
- You’ll have the assets, structure, and confidence to run your round on your terms — so you attract better investors faster, and negotiate from strength.
Let’s set up your fundraising system — together!
Trusted by educational organizations:
Who I Can Help
I specialize in supporting founders raising capital in Europe at pre-seed, seed, and Series A
It is very likely that I can help you if you’re in one of the following situations:
-
You’re about start fundraising:
You already know you want to win investors and are planning to focus fully on fundraising soon. The Winter Camp gives you all the building blocks you need to start professionally, efficiently, and with the best possible chances when you launch your fundraising in spring. -
You’re still unsure about investors:
You want to understand how attractive your business really is for investors and whether raising external capital is the right path for you. In the Winter Camp, you gain clarity on your direction and learn a process to quickly and professionally test investor interest — without damaging your reputation. -
You’re already in the middle of fundraising:
You’ve already pitched to several investors, but haven’t yet received the offer you’re aiming for. In the Winter Camp, you’ll identify where and how to optimize your investor approach and immediately improve your chances of success.
Once we have clear focus and overall game plan, we dive into optimizing the biggest success levers, where inecperienced founders lose a lot of traction:
On stage at:
How I Can Help
Founder-to-founder guidance — built from real raises and refined over 10+ years of consulting
Fundraising Winter Camp 2026 (Online)
Since 2016, my annual 4-week live online program.
- Gain clarity on your fundraising goals
- Develop an end-to-end fundraising plan
- Learn the most powerful success levers
- Prepare and fix everything to be ready to fundraise
Registration ends in:
1:1 Fundraising Advisory
Get direct, hands-on guidance for your fundraising round from me face-to-face and one-on-one. Simply book your preferred number or hours and we can get started right away.
- Identify blockers in your current fundraising
- Set up your overall fundraising plan & timeline
- Work on any of the elements of a successful fundraise
Workshops (Online/Onsite)
For startup support organizations (incubators, accelerators, …) I deliver proven fundraising workshops tailored to the experience level of your entprepreneurs, and the timing and goal-setting of your organization.
- Proven 2h / half-day / full-day formats
- Online or onsite delivery
- 10+ years fundraising teaching experience
Founder Feedback
Voices from founders I supported through the investor search, messaging, and fundraising process
5 times thank you to: THANK YOU for your absolute clarity. You manage to organize the chaos in my head. THANK YOU for your insider tips on how to add an emotional touch to a pitch. THANK YOU for always making time, no matter when or where, and making me feel like I'm never a bother with any question. THANK YOU for the amazing phrasing and brilliant wordplay - since then, I no longer fear and know how to answer critical questions professionally! THANK YOU for even providing support afterward. A pitch doctor with great foresight, understanding, and a heart of gold!
Florian's tips have been incredibly helpful and gave my investor outreach the perfect finishing touch. It's always great to get feedback from someone outside the company because the blind spots within the company can grow, making it hard to see certain things. Florian is very competent, very friendly, and super quick with feedback. I highly recommend Florian to everyone!
Accelerator Feedback
What program leaders say after booking my fundraising workshops for their cohorts
Every year, Florian conducts his 'Fundraising Secrets' workshop for our Elevate Accelerator founders. With his own fundraising experience, this workshop has a strong practical focus that helps our teams prepare professionally for their investor search. Participants are also thrilled by Florian's stories and learnings from pitching for millions to investors himself. Florian's workshop is consistently one of the highest-rated among our founders. We can only recommend his valuable expertise."
Florian Kandler's fundraising workshop is a highlight for participants in our aws First Program every year. Here are some quotes from the founders: 'Flo is super experienced and generously shares his knowledge, which is extremely helpful,' 'An excellent trainer – a great workshop with many insights and valuable learnings,' 'Very helpful, as it was presented from an expert's perspective and provided insights into investors' mindsets, which are usually hard to come by. Individual questions were also specifically addressed.' We are delighted that Florian has been a part of our program for years and can recommend him at any time.
Florian's fundraising workshop is a staple of the "Founders Lab" by the Vienna Business Agency. He excels at preparing first-time founders for pitching to investors, drawing on his experience from his own startups that successfully secured funding. His feedback is always "on point" – participants benefit not only from his responses to their individual challenges but also from gaining a new perspective that can be applied in many other areas. Florian makes the important connections between fundraising, pitching, sales, and building a startup truly tangible. In 2020, Florian's workshop was once again voted the most popular workshop in the program by the participants.
Early-stage high-tech startups receive intensive support in our Startup Camp of the SCALEup Incubation Program to turn a founding idea into a scalable business model. Especially in this phase, practical workshops like 'Fundraising Secrets' by Florian are crucial and highly valued by our founders. How does an investor think and act? How can I excite investors about my project? What do I need to consider in my cap table? With highly valuable, practical tips and tricks, Florian introduces our founders to the 'art' of fundraising, guiding them to conduct successful investor meetings that ultimately lead to investment deals. His workshop is one of the most popular among our founders, not least because of his unique and highly motivating presentation style. We are delighted to have Florian on board!
Florian's workshop "Fundraising Secrets" has been one of the highest-rated workshops in our i2c Accelerator at TU Wien since 2017. What participants particularly appreciate are the concrete tips and methods that Florian shares based on his own fundraising experience. His workshops are always very engaging and entertaining. We are thrilled to have Florian on board and can only recommend him as a fundraising expert.
