A Funding Winter Ahead: Three Fundraising Principles and a Capital-Market Plan

Recently, in discussions with my supervisor, we asked several startups about plans to prepare for the Taiwan Innovation Board. Their responses were relatively cautious, mainly because they lacked confidence in their appeal after listing and felt their projects might not look attractive now. Yet this is precisely a critical moment: find a way to survive until the funding winter ends. With ‘Emperor Trump’ making his moves, one thing is certain: global uncertainty is rising rapidly. No one can truly tell what he intends, or whether tomorrow’s words will match today’s. Greater uncertainty only makes fundraising harder. Previously promised investments may be withdrawn, since even corporate venture capital investors may not know whether they themselves can hold on. If a funding winter arrives, consider these three fundraising principles: 1. Money from customers is better than money from shareholders. 2. Prepare for the approaching funding winter. Help yourself before others can help you. Do not expect fundraising to solve everything, because raising capital may be very difficult for some time. 3. You need a new financing plan: a fresh winning proposition investors can believe in. 4. One added point: ideally, have a capital-market plan. Having one—or already being in the capital market—gives you greater confidence in surviving the coming winter. Only by surviving can you win the market.