1:32

This class leads you through the Playbook of Ameena Bucheeri, as she explores how she navigated early-stage fundraising and how you can too. Having started out as a Career Professional, Ameena made a major career switch after getting certified as an English Educator in Athens (Greece) and started her first EdTech startup (Telp now known as Raed) from her bedroom. She bootstrapped her way towards effective fundraising tactics and grew her business to scale into the Saudi market. She raised pre-seed from Angel Investors and Venture Capitalist Firms from 4 countries. She also holds the role of Outreach and Partnerships Manager of Hope Ventures W.L.L. that is focused on empowering and investing in the next generation of promising entrepreneurs.

9:44

Explore the story behind Ameena’s fundraising journey building an EdTech platform and pivoting. Gain a deeper insight into the ebbs and flows that led a student to want to pursue a career in education which then paved way for a marketplace that connects quality educators to millions of students across the MENA region through an engaged EdTech startup that started in her bedroom.

7:22

Different customers have different problems or pain points. Knowing who you’re talking to or are serving enables you to refine your product, your vision, and your pitch narrative. Ameena talks about driving your business around your customers.

11:12

In this lesson, Ameena walks you through the different stages of investment that startups navigate on their fundraising journey. Learn about the differences between the stages and then dive deeper into the focus of this masterclass for early-stage startups – The Pre-Seed & Seed Rounds.

17:58

Ameena breaks down the different types of investors you could attract to your startup - Friends & Family, Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, Grants, Funds, Incubators, Accelerators, Corporate Investors. Approaching the right investor at the right stage and understanding what makes a good investor goes a long way in identifying the right investor for your startup.

8:44

For a startup at every stage especially at an early stage identifying how to assess your company’s valuation can be challenging especially when you’re contested on it by potential investors. Leading confidently with a clear strategy on how you’ve calculated your valuation is important to start on the right footing. Setting up a holding company enables you to issue share certificates and engage with Investors to build upon your fundraising rounds. Ameena helps us understand the 101 on this.

3:16

Ameena walks us through why it’s important to outline a roadmap with milestones for your fundraising goals and what startups should take into consideration. Learn first-hand from her fundraising approach and the do(s) and don’t(s) she had to navigate.

24:16

Bootstrapping is the name of the game to be an effective money manager. Ameena shares the secret to bootstrapping, the best financial instruments to raise your funding on, things no one tells you about managing a cap table and what you as a Founder can be prepared for to manage investor requests.

10:48

Pitching is the art of storytelling and building a narrative around the problem your business is trying to solve with the right hook to catch the attention of your audience (investors). To perfect the art of pitching, you need to build a compelling pitch deck and compliment it with a great story that is articulate, easy to absorb, scalable and led by the right team. Ameena guides us on her playbook towards design the perfect investor pitch.

10:18

Learn how to articulate your want and understand what value an investor could add beyond the investment. Get a clearer picture of what to do and what to avoid when negotiating with Prospective Investors so that you can lead your way towards closing the deal. It’s important to understand how to interview your investor, negotiate term sheets and make a close that you’re satisfied with to take your business to where it has the potential to go.

2:20

How do you deal with the emotions of fundraising as you spend valuable time and effort in pitching your heart out to multiple potential investors? It’s never easy but as a Founder you have a ticket to ride this rollercoaster if you want to get to your ultimate fundraising goal. Welcome the emotions of Fundraising and explore approaches to strengthen your mindset and resilience to drive results, in this lesson with Ameena.

2:09

Only 2.3% of VC Funding globally went to women as of 2021. Ameena draws from her personal experiences as she discusses the invisible rules that Female Founders need to deal with during the fundraising process. She shares her tips on the best way to power past them, focus on your goals, network smartly and champion your business confidently to answer any question presented. This lesson is a gold mine of tactics for Female Founders and the potential of the Startup Ecosystem.