The Raise Readiness Sprint
Ben Botes
GP, 4x founder, both sides of the raise
Investors build a file on you before you pitch. This is how you control it.
Most fundraising advice starts in the meeting: the deck, the story, the pitch. But by the time you're in the room, much of the decision is already shaped — by the evidence an investor quietly assembles about your company before you arrive.
I've built that file from both sides. As a GP and corporate finance advisor across 200+ transactions, I've assembled the evidence case on hundreds of companies. As a four-time exited founder, I've been on the receiving end of it.
Most founders discover their evidence gaps in a "no" three months into a raise. This half-day changes that: you'll see exactly what goes into the file, score your own company against it live, and leave with your gaps mapped and a 30-day plan to close them — before you ever walk into the room.
What you’ll learn
You'll walk into every raise knowing exactly what investors will find — because you've already scored, mapped, and closed the gaps yourself.
Run the Evidence Readiness Scorecard on your own company, live, and leave with your number.
See which criteria drive the score and where you're losing points before a raise even starts.
Build your Evidence Gap Map — a clear view of where your file is strong, thin, or silent.
Identify and rank the three blockers most likely to stall your raise.
Assess your fit across venture, DFI, grant, debt, and family office capital.
Stop spending months chasing routes your current evidence can't win.
Leave with a sequenced action list — what to fix, in what order, and why.
Turn a vague "we should tidy the data room" into a dated, ranked plan.
Learn how investors assemble and weight the file before your first meeting.
Walk into every conversation already knowing what they'll see.
Workshop agenda
The Investor's File: What Gets Built Before You Walk In
See exactly what an investor assembles about your company before the first meeting — the evidence they weight, the gaps they notice, and why the decision is half-made before you speak.
Score Yourself Live
Run the Evidence Readiness Scorecard on your own company in real time. Leave this block with a number, a clear view of what's driving it, and an honest read on where you stand before a raise.
Map Your Gaps
Build your Evidence Gap Map — where your file is strong, thin, or silent — and surface the three blockers most likely to stall your raise. You'll know precisely what stands between you and conviction.
Capital Routes & Your 30-Day Plan
Match your evidence to the routes it actually supports — venture, DFI, grant, debt, family office — set your fix priorities, and leave with a dated 30-day plan. Open founder hot-seat to close.
Learn directly from Ben
Ben Botes
GP & advisor on 200+ deals · 4x exited founder · taught 10,000+
Who this workshop is for
The First-Time Raiser — approaching your first £500K–£2M round with traction, but you've never seen how investors judge you inside.
The Stalled Founder — mid-raise or fresh off "not now" meetings, and you sense the real problem is the evidence, not the pitch.
The Non-Traditional Raiser — raising via DFI, grant, debt, or blended capital, where generic VC advice fails and route-fit is all.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Ben Botes in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
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Frequently asked questions
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Reimbursement
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USD
9am–12:30pm EDT