Raising Capital in the "Off" Cycle

Though it is perceived to be more difficult to raise capital during the months of Aug-December my partner and I successfully pulled together our fund. Having not raised prior to graduating business school we found ourselves sourcing capital sources from drying wells. Many individual investors were tapped out and many smaller institutional investors had made most of their commitments. Our advice if in this situation is first to continue to be persistent. As many investors were down to their last investments for the year we had to really pursue them to speak with us. We also adjusted our launch date to the first of the year, this helped to engage some investors as some saw this as a 2018 investment rather than their normal 2017 cohort. Also we were able to find some newer investors to the community that we believe will be very beneficial to our search. One of the best things about the timing of our search is that we were forced to turnover every rock looking for capital and were able to pull together some very unique and seasoned backgrounds. Not to mention the ability to hone our pitch and subsequent search strategy in an effort to answer any questions an investor may have. For those who are considering raising after the normal cycle of January-May just know that it can be done and with persistence you will be able to successfully close your fundraising effort.