A 2-minute diagnostic

5 questions to get a VC's attention.

Getting a reply from an investor is hard. Answer nine quick questions about your company and your raise, plus one optional line about what you build. You get a diagnosis, the investor types to go after, five questions written for your company to start the conversation, and a 30-day plan.

A diagnosis of where you arePipeline, pitch or conversion: what is actually holding the raise back, and how to move through the market at your stage
The investor types to go afterThree types that fit your stage and sector, and where to find them
5 questions to ask a VCWritten for your company and your raise, with what a good answer sounds like and a first message to send
A 30-day outreach planWeek by week, starting from where you are today
Your exit-readiness gapsWhat investors quietly check about how your company ends

2 minutes · Free · 9 questions

Question 1 of 9

About your business

Your personalized plan

Here's how to get a reply in the next 30 days.

Your diagnosis

Your full playbook

See your 5 questions and your 30-day plan.

What's inside

Your 5 questions to ask a VC, and a first message to send. Written for your company and your raise, with what to listen for in the answer
How to move through the market. Three moves for your stage, sector and raise size
Your matched investor types. Three that fit your stage and sector, with where to find them and an example opener for each
The 15-minute VC homework. The research to do on any investor before you send anything
5 opener frameworks. Message structures that get replies, with examples
Your 30-day plan. Week-by-week actions for LinkedIn and email
Your exit-readiness gaps. What investors will ask about how your company ends, and how to prepare

Your 5 questions to ask a VC

The investor types to go after

Do this before you send anything

Fifteen minutes of homework separates the founders investors reply to from the ones they ignore. This is that fifteen minutes.

5 openers that get replies

Your 30-day plan

Run the 30 days without burning out

Fundraising wears founders down, and a tired founder pitches worse. Three rules:

Send outreach in two blocks a week, not all day, every day.
Leave 30 minutes after each investor call to write down what you learned.
Put sleep and exercise on the calendar like meetings, and keep them.

What investors will ask about your exit

Every investor is working out how your company ends. You don't need a perfect answer yet, but you need one. These are the gaps your answers point to.

Healthy Founders. Healthy Exits.

The raise is step one. A strong exit is the goal.

Healthy Founders, Healthy Exits is a virtual program from Washington Avenue Advisors for venture-backed founders. It works through the same gaps you just saw, and it looks after the founder as much as the business.

4 months, 8 sessions, built around the 8 Drivers of Value
Cohort 2 starts Q1 2027 with 8 to 12 spots
Join the waitlist to hear when it opens

Join the Cohort 2 waitlist Learn about the program

Washington Avenue Advisors · Healthy Founders. Healthy Exits.