Hello Hive Community!

We are the founders of Hive Finance, and we’ve recently noticed a surge of curiosity around the process raising capital on our social media platforms. We believe that transparency is key to growing and thriving as a community, and we’re excited about the opportunity to shed more light on this topic. To help demystify this process, we've compiled a comprehensive Q&A session that details our experiences and lessons learned throughout our fundraising journey. But remember, this is not a one-way conversation. Your questions and thoughts are instrumental in this ongoing dialogue about our shared journey. We've learned so much in the process of raising capital, faced countless highs and lows, and have grown immensely as a team. It’s our hope that by sharing our experiences, we can provide some insights and valuable nuggets of information to our community and any aspiring entrepreneurs who are embarking on a similar journey. So, without further ado, let's dive into this dialogue! And, as always, don't hesitate to reach out with any additional questions or thoughts on our social media platforms. We are committed to fostering a culture of openness and inclusivity at Hive, and we encourage all forms of communication and engagement. We truly believe that our strength lies in the power of our community, and we want to navigate this exciting journey alongside each and every one of you.

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DF = Dao Father - Hive CEO - @daofather (Warpcast)

DH = Dr. Hive - Hive CTO - @dr-hive (Warpcast)

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1. How did you identify the right investors for your startup and what challenges did you face in the process?

DF: At first, I primarily leaned on my network and went with the flow. I am so grateful to them for helping me kick this raise off, and many of the funds we met were encouraging and extremely interested in keeping in touch – but many were not early stage investors and they wanted more evidence of our product performing well in the market. Unfortunately, we need cash to partner with a bank and build first... So while on paper my initial approach led to wasted time, I think in the long run we are well positioned for further down the road. Once we recognized this feedback was recurring, I was much more focused on finding funds first and working backwards to my network from a target. This has led to more traction as we look to close a lead investor.

DH: Initially, we cast a wide net and shared our mission and vision with anyone we believed might be interested. This approach led to some interesting outcomes, including our first funding offer! However, upon careful reflection, we realized that finding a partner who shares our mission and vision is more important to us than simply securing financial support. I know it sounds cliché, but we genuinely aim to disrupt an entire industry, and we understand from past experiences that this can only be achieved if every member of the Hive team is fully committed to the same mission and vision.For instance, during one of our early pitches, an investor posed a very direct question: "How do I exit and make money within 1-2 years?" While it wasn't an unfair question, it contradicted our mission and vision. We're not in this venture to create a short-term project; deep down, we firmly believe that we're offering an opportunity to be part of something that will revolutionize the fintech landscape for years to come. Hive is a long-term project that demands unwavering belief and commitment. After that pitch, we learned an invaluable lesson: not every investor is the right fit for us. It's a mutual evaluation process, and we require someone who can truly see and believe in our future vision. It's not just about funding; it's about finding a partner who aligns with our long-term aspirations and is eager to contribute to reshaping the fintech industry.

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2. Fundraising is a journey. Can you share a specific instance when junior investors were excited about your startup, but senior investors didn't want to move forward? How did you manage this and what impact did it have on your team's morale?‍

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DF: Emotional roller coaster is an understatement :). There are so many factors out of our control in the broader world (RIP Silicon Valley Bank), and then our candidacy can freeze because of conflicts of interest – nothing we can control either. So, we have had pitches where the team is extremely excited about our vision, and then something external knocks it off course. It’s all part of the process, and I have thoroughly enjoyed how our team has grown from day one of raising until now. We have selectively continued to engage with the folks who genuinely believe in our vision and have worked with a few to acquire more introductions and set up later rounds of funding. Super grateful to those who are helping us out!

DH: I have to admit, fundraising is the hardest part of our journey. There were so many pitches where we walked out feeling like we had found the perfect partnership, only to later hear that the larger group within the investor's fund wasn't interested. Our strategy, whether right or wrong, was always to try to carve out one more meeting with the investor. We wanted to understand the broader feedback, find out if there were any holes in our pitch, and see how we could improve. That's what being an entrepreneur is all about - learning from failures. We can't get better until we understand where we went wrong and adapt our strategies. Dealing with rejection is never fun. But if I had one piece of advice for other founders in our stage, it would be to understand that a "no" doesn't have to be the final conversation. Don't take a rejection letter as the end of the road. Instead, see it as an opportunity to keep the conversation going. Take the time to understand why they said no and use that feedback to refine your approach. Rejections are tough, but they're also a chance to grow and get closer to finding the right investors who truly believe in your vision.
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3. Investors can accidentally be disrespectful. How do you handle this reality and what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who may encounter similar situations?‍

DF: It has been interesting to navigate the ‘mystique’ of interacting with investors. The experience is impossible to fully explain to those who haven’t experienced it firsthand, and I highly recommend giving it a shot. All reservations rapidly vanish once you start to share your amazing vision, people ‘get’ that vision, and feedback is received. I think we have experienced many of the usual things that investors are known for, such as ghosting us after what felt like a positive call or blasting our deck out to their network without asking. I see it all as part of the process of finding the right partner at the right time, never take any of it personally, and identify pieces of a pitch or email exchange that I can improve on.‍

‍DH: I must say, the majority of investors we've had the opportunity to meet have been absolutely fantastic. They have been incredibly generous with their time, helping us connect with other investors and providing valuable feedback on our approach and pitch. I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it has been to encounter this 99% of supportive individuals. However, I could fill a book with stories about the remaining 1%. One particular incident stands out vividly: a venture capitalist who joined our call late, appeared disinterested throughout, and repeatedly interrupted our pitch to attend to his Amazon packages, feed his dog, and order from DoorDash. It's essential to recognize that not all VCs will share your mission and vision, and that's perfectly alright. It's important not to be discouraged if others don't share the same passion for what you're creating. You're not seeking unanimous agreement; you're searching for a select few who genuinely believe in you and what you're striving to achieve. Keep pushing forward!

4. Can you share what your favorite part of the fundraising journey has been so far and why?‍

DF: I think that my favorite part of the journey is navigating the process of removing the veil of what it means to raise capital from private investors with my Co-Founder. We are raising cash from VCs for the first time, and it has been a blast figuring out what works and what doesn’t with him. We both joke that we ‘black out’ while passionately describing our vision and I’m always writing down amazing one-liners that we say. It is a grind raising capital but have laughed so hard and improved so much while going through the gauntlet.

DH: The best part of our fundraising journey so far has been the amazing sense of community and teamwork we've built. Working together with my co-founder to come up with new ways to sell our vision after each event, pitch, or meeting is absolutely addicting. When we talk to Investors and tell them about our plan to create a blockchain-powered bank that puts decision-making in the hands of users, we usually get the same reaction: "Are you guys crazy pitching that right now?" We get it, blockchain and banking aren't the hottest investments at the moment. But when my co-founder and I passionately explain why we're so determined to build Hive and what it means to us, seeing doubt turn into belief is the most incredible feeling. It's not easy raising funds and disrupting an entire industry during tough times, but hey, nothing worthwhile ever is.‍

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. As always - thank you for being apart of this amazing journey.

-Hive Founders

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