A 3-day highly interactive course with Alice Loy

For creators, raising money can feel like going on a perilous expedition— blindfolded. 

Fortunately, creators are pros at designing amazing experiences, creating stories that inspire, and connecting humans to what matters most: each other. These are all essential skills in raising the right capital for your business. 

This intensive, hands-on course provides you essential knowledge and insights into the current investment landscape, whether that be alternative financing options that go beyond VC (like equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, or angel investments) or more conventional funding paths. You’ll leave with the expertise to navigate through the investment process and stay true to your values and vision. Through a combination of discussion, case studies, mentorship, peer learning, and guest speakers, you will develop the know-how and tools to find and secure the right capital.     

We’ll go in-depth on the essentials you need to raise the right capital:

Understand Types of Capital and become comfortable speaking about startups and finance  

Learn Which Numbers Matter to funders and how you calculate and present numbers clearly and simply 

Clarify and Communicate your Values to work with funders and capital that fit your vision and purpose  

Shape the Story of Your Startup so that potential partners, funders, advisors, and employees can’t resist joining your journey

Gain Insight into Investors’ Perspectives and how they evaluate possible investments, grants, loans, and entrepreneurial teams

Meet with Trusted Mentors wwho have helped creators raise capital for game-changing companies   

Audiences and customers are loving your talent, connecting with your message. It’s now or never to capitalize on that momentum! 

Your hustle has paid off and you’re on the brink of something big! The right funds will accelerate your growth.  

Creative entrepreneurs ready to scale-up  

You lead an awesome organization and feel hobbled by the grants treadmill. You’re ready to forge a new pathway to growth and impact.

Impact organizations ready to diversity funding sources

Alice is a pioneering champion of the creator economy and ardent supporter of creative visionaries building weird and wonderful companies. In 2013 Alice launched the world’s first startup accelerator for creatives and has since invested in 28 creative companies now valued at $400 million. As Meow Wolf’s first investor she has had a front-row seat in building a creator economy that builds shared prosperity. Her book, Creative Economy Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Success is used by entrepreneurs, accelerators and universities on five continents. Her journey from social justice activist with frameworkers to creator economy financier is bound by the common theme of building economic systems that value all humans equally. 

This course equips you to make informed, values-based decisions about raising capital and leading the growth of your creative company.

Entrepreneurs are do-ers. This course is all about doing. No boring videos, no lengthy lectures. Instead, as experienced entrepreneurship educators, this course puts to work the best practices of experiential learning including case studies, hands-on activities, and self-reflection.

Being an entrepreneur can feel lonely. This course gives you a chance to connect with other creators in breakout groups, class discussions, and on slack. Together you share challenges and wins, hard-won knowledge and networks that will accelerate each others’ success.

Raising capital is only partly about knowing the how, who, and what. Most of it is about executing on your plan. With accountability pods and ample peer feedback this course provides the structure and support essential to putting your plan into action.

Engage with mentors and investors who have successfully slogged through the challenges of raising the right capital and growing creator-led companies. You’ll hear from founders of Meow Wolf, Embodied Labs, Mixtroz, and more.

Everything that has fallen into place for us is a result of Creative Startups … We needed to develop a network of people, a better understanding of ourselves and real clarity about all layers of business development … we were able to boil Meow Wolf down to a precise product that investors would recognize as valuable.

This course gave me a better understanding of investors and what they are looking to know from me. From crafting a pitch to storytelling for investors, to explaining our full business model, this course made it clear.

The depth and practicality of the content, the accessibility of the mentors - really - all of it rocked.

The most valuable thing I learned was how to pitch our business- there are so many facets to really nailing it. Creative Startups gave me the tools and the confidence to pitch like a champ.

Yes. This course is ideal for founders and creators who have revenue and are beginning to see a pathway to growth. There is no perfect time for fundraising, but common knowledge among pros is that founders should plan for raising money before they are running out of it!

Is this course relevant if I haven’t yet started raising money?

Yes. If you have a growing creative business and are wondering what the benefits and drawbacks are of working with investors or seed capital, this will give you a solid understanding. But, it requires ample work and time so make sure it fits your needs.

I don’t know if I want to raise money or work with investors. However, I want to understand my options. Is this course a good fit?

Probably not. Before you invest time and resources in this course, you would likely benefit more from building your product and selling to customers so you test and build your business model. Investors typically want to see “traction” with customers before they invest in startups.

I’m still in the idea stage of my business - should I take this course?

During the first week, this course includes about 10 hours of pre-work gathering and working on your “business numbers” that will prove essential to building your values-based capital plan. The following week includes:

All told, you can expect to dedicate about 30 hours total over 2 weeks to get the most out of this course.

How much time should I expect to dedicate to this course? To get the most out of it?

The course is relevant to any entrepreneur getting ready to raise, or already raising capital. And, while the mentors and faculty have expertise in the creative economy, the process of raising capital, the sources and types of capital available to startups, and the challenges entrepreneurs face when finding ideal investors, are universal.  

Do I have to be a creator or creative to benefit from this course?

This is not a pitch competition nor is it a match-making session. You will learn why these events tend to fail entrepreneurs who are looking to raise values-aligned capital! That said, you will meet investors and mentors who are actively investing in creative companies.

Will you introduce me to investors I can pitch?

Be the first to know when the next cohort starts

F*ck the Side Hustle ~ Your Creative Practice Isn’t a Side Project

As a creator, you deserve to be paid for your vision, passion, and purpose, and we all know we can’t pay the bills with “exposure” or pitiful percentages from creator platforms. 

You’re an innovator, a job-maker, a community leader, and an entrepreneur. You’re ready to create a unique path to financing your business growth. 

This course demystifies different types of growth capital, from grants to sponsorships,  crowdfunding to venture capital, and guides you in crafting a values-aligned capital plan. The result? You are ready to raise the right capital and lead your business to long-term success and greater impact.

F*ck the Side Hustle ~ Your Creative Practice Isn’t a Side Project As a creator, you deserve to be paid for your vision, passion, and purpose, and we all know we can’t pay the bills with “exposure” or pitiful percentages from creator platforms.  You’re an innovator, a job-maker, a community leader, and an entrepreneur. You’re ready to create a unique path to financing your business growth.  This course demystifies different types of growth capital, from grants to sponsorships,  crowdfunding to venture capital, and guides you in crafting a values-aligned capital plan. The result? You are ready to raise the right capital and lead your business to long-term success and greater impact.