A comprehensive, expert-reviewed guide to raising venture capital—from deciding whether to raise, to finding investors, negotiating terms, and closing your round. Written by founders and VCs who’ve been on both sides of the table.
Trusted by founders and investors at top firms
“Founders shouldn’t have to figure fundraising out the hard way when they can learn from those who have already been through the process. Full of practical advice that will be helpful to any entrepreneur.”
“This Guide is designed to empower founders with the insights and strategies to find investors that share the same convictions as the founders themselves.”
“The clarity that this Guide offers will leave you with answers, not headaches. If you plan on raising, I can confidently say that this is the only resource you need to read.”
“Now that this definitive resource exists, I’m going to send it to every founder I work with!”
“Venture funding of startups is a secretive process that has typically required insider knowledge to navigate well. This new Holloway Guide pulls back the curtain and shares everything you need to know as a new founder raising money for the first time.”
Six chapters and an appendix of real funded decks
Every essential slide—problem, market size, competition, team, financials—with guidance on what investors actually look for in each one.
Structure your narrative so it survives investor interruptions. The modular approach lets you adapt on the fly without losing the thread.
The most common questions investors ask, how to rehearse effectively, and who to practice with before the real meeting.
The appendix includes example fundraising pitch decks from real startups that successfully raised seed and Series A rounds. See what actually worked—not a template, but the real thing.
Comprehensive coverage of every stage of the fundraising process
Everything you need to know before purchasing
Full digital access to the complete Holloway Guide to Raising Venture Capital, for unlimited use by you. That means lifetime access online using the Holloway Reader—a web-based reading experience many of our readers call the best on the web. Unlike Kindle and other ebooks, this includes all future updates from the authors and editors at no additional cost. You also get downloadable PDF and EPUB files for offline use on any device.
The Holloway Reader lets you read and engage with books right in your browser, on desktop or mobile. Content is always up to date, including responses to reader questions, new data, and developments in the venture capital landscape. It includes expert commentary in the margins, bookmarks and highlights, instant definitions of technical terms from a built-in glossary, instant previews of links and footnotes, and powerful search across the entire guide.
Primarily for startup founders preparing to raise their first or second round of venture capital. Also valuable for early employees trying to understand how funding affects their equity, angel investors looking at the process from the other side, startup lawyers who want a comprehensive reference, and participants in accelerator programs. Whether you’re exploring whether to raise at all or already in conversations with VCs, the guide covers the full journey.
Most free guides are written by one person sharing their individual experience. This guide was researched, written, and reviewed by 52 contributors—venture capitalists, startup lawyers, and repeat founders—covering the full picture from both sides of the table. It’s comprehensive (not a blog post or slide deck), kept current with updates, and practical: real-world scenarios, common pitfalls, sample term sheets, and actionable frameworks you can use immediately.
A single hour with a startup attorney costs $500 to $900. A fundraising bootcamp costs $9,000. An online venture capital course costs $1,500 or more. This guide covers what you’d learn from all of those—the legal terms, the negotiation strategies, the investor dynamics, the practical how-to—for $100, with lifetime access and free updates. Many readers tell us it saved them from costly mistakes that would have dwarfed the purchase price.
Students get 40% off with code EDU40. We also offer team pricing for accelerators and organizations—contact hello@holloway.com for details.
Yes. Click “Read Preview” to access free sections of the guide, including Understanding Venture Capital and Understanding Term Sheets. You can also create a free Holloway account to browse the guide up to the paywall—so you can see the quality of the writing, the depth of the content, and the Holloway Reader experience before you commit.