I incorporated High Margin 7 weeks ago and so much has already happened. It has been 7 weeks of non-stop hustle, of deep soul searching and self-reflection, of hope and resilience.
“This time, I’m going to bootstrap it,” I told myself. All the pieces are in place.
We have:
- A great idea for a solution that can show immediate value and impact.
- A team of smart, hard-working individuals ready to roll up their sleeves and work for the promise of future compensation and of being a part of building something great.
- Enterprise customers interested in what we have to offer.
What could possibly go wrong?
It takes so much more to achieve that one spark that ignites the fire that can become a new, successful business.
It always takes longer than you think. Always.
I thought that if I explain to potential customers with full transparency that we can really help them, but that we don’t have the luxury of a 6-month sales cycle, they would understand.
The truth is, not having a runway is a “we” problem. What we have to offer is good. Really good. It will solve many pain points for restaurants. But that doesn’t mean restaurant companies will shift priorities and find budgets to work with us, no matter how much they like us and what we have to offer.
Very early on, we had three solid deals and it has been my goal to close at least one of them. One deal would be enough of a basis to build a long-term sustainable business. Three deals would be ah-maz-ing. I mean… we’re going to have a KILLER 2025 amazing.
I gave myself until January 31st.
With 4 days left, the deal status is:
- We’re committed, but we might have to do it later, not right now.
- Happy to give it a try. We will pay you as soon as we see value.
- I’ll let you know by the end of the month.
I’m thinking it’s time to raise a pre-seed round. The feedback around our product vision is very positive and it would take little time to stand up a first version to get a few case studies under our belts.
These 3 deals are likely to turn into long-term successful partnerships. Is it worth the risk of running out of air just to avoid taking any outside capital? The answer is clearly no. It’s time to raise some money.