
Behind the Scenes on How A Former Tesla PM Raised $8M for 82 Labs - justin
https://www.atrium.co/blog/behind-the-scenes-how-sisun-lee-fundraises/
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justin
Hello HN! Atrium CEO Justin Kan here. Happy to answer any questions about the
article or how Sisun (who is incredibly awesome) ran his fundraising process
after coming to one of our free Atrium Scale boot camps.

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nfranchise
How can you pitch what your plan to scale is when your company is only 7
months old?

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mosaiclifestyle
"Don’t bullshit. You don’t need a perfect business plan to get funded. If your
business plan was perfect, everyone would throw money at you. Talk through
what you know, share what you don’t know, and explain how you will work
towards plugging the gap. Coming up with a vague answer on why your business
has perfect defensibility (when it doesn’t) will just make you look like a
clown."

I think it comes down to seeing the multiple paths towards scale, and not just
as silo'ed options or all-in bets.

I've often found the overexuberance of other CEOs I've worked under a bit
offputting -- up and to the right, and that whole shtick while brushing over
the knowledge gaps and ultimately leaving VCs to fill it in themselves.

But this is a CPG after all, and not a software company so the aspirational
path to scale is probably more linear and over a longer time scale than a
company burning cash to bring a product to market.

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dontstopthebeet
PM power! PMs are hustlers and it is great to see a former PM navigate his way
through raising a round with a mentor like Justin Kan. Love Justin’s real
advice like avoiding the SV beauty contest, staying focused on building your
business and bringing in investors who will add value rather than add splash.

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theplaz
The biggest learning I had from this and watching Justin work is to be honest
- don’t try to bullshit and pretend you know more than you do. Be honest what
you don’t know - but then act quickly to learn what you don’t know and answer
those questions.

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sisun1030
Sisun over here as well :) Learned tons from Atrium Scale as a first-time
founder. Happy to answer any questions you have for me.

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mattysap
Amazing story! Very inspiring for any new first time CEO wondering how to
navigate their first raise!

