Resilient: How to Overcome Anything and Build a Million Dollar Business With or Without Capital

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller Discover how to overcome anything, bootstrap, and go from initial concept to Series A funding with this firsthand look at entrepreneurship Resilient delivers an invaluable collection of private journal entries mapping out a path from bootstrapping a multi-million dollar business to raising millions in Series A funding for another. Entrepreneur and Resilia CEO Sevetri Wilson describes her journey from self-funding to venture capital success. Written for ambitious and aspiring entrepreneurs like herself, Wilson covers a wide variety of topics about the entrepreneurial journey: How to go from idea to product The correct way to dive into the hiring process Preparing to raise money Building a tech company as a non-technical founder How to select the right accelerators, programs, and pitch competitions Creating wealth while building a business The author also shares her “Simple Agreement for Future Equity” (SAFE) agreement and first pitch deck. Perfect for entrepreneurs, startup enthusiasts, and founders, Resilient belongs on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the process of bootstrapping and/or raising capital to grow a business in any sector. Cover 1 Title page 5 Copyright Page 6 Contents 9 Introduction 13 Chapter 1 Coming From Where I’m From 15 Triple Threat 18 Chapter 2 The Difference 28 Focus 37 Chapter 3 Bootstrapping versus Raising Capital 40 Professional Services to Startup 40 On the Bootstrapping Process 43 Repeatable and Predictable Revenue, Regardless 50 Money Can’t Be the Only Motivation 51 Chapter 4 Idea to Product: Building a Startup 54 Starting With Funding 54 Starting Without Funding 55 What Not to Do When Starting a Company 56 You’ll Never Get Going Unless . . . 57 Chapter 5 Building a Team 61 Hiring and Finding Freelancers and Others 61 Out of the Gate 69 Contingency versus Retained Recruiters 71 Get Out of the Way 74 Chapter 6 I Hear You, But I Need Capital 79 Financing Terminology 80 Preparing to Raise 82 What Legal Documents Should I Use? 83 Chapter 7 Raising a Pre-Seed $400,000 91 Pre-Seed, Better Known as a Friends-and-Family Round 91 The Pitch 97 Chapter 8 Accelerators and Pitch Competitions? Bang or Bust 101 Chapter 9 Raising My Seed Round 110 Chapter 10 Product Market Fit 115 Sales: Remember Predictable, Repeatable Revenue? 115 Chapter 11 Raising a Series A 119 Chapter 12 Holy Crap—A Pandemic! 125 Prioritizing Mental Well-Being 128 Chapter 13 The Murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and BLM 131 The Talk I Had With My Team 135 The Role of Philanthropy in Creating Equity 137 Systemic Issues Facing Black-Led Technology Companies 138 Chapter 14 My Hopes, and Losing an Icon 141 The Role Technology Plays 141 On Building Generational Wealth 144 Appendix 149 Glossary 151 Rate Sheet 157 Resilia’s Investor Deck 159 Online Resources 161 About the Author 163 Index 165 EULA 175 "Discover how to overcome anything, bootstrap, and go from initial concept to Series A funding with this firsthand look at entrepreneurship Resilient delivers an invaluable collection of private journal entries mapping out a path from bootstrapping a multi-million dollar business to raising millions in Series A funding for another. Entrepreneur and Resilia CEO Sevetri Wilson describes her journey from self-funding to venture capital success. Written for ambitious and aspiring entrepreneurs like herself, Wilson covers a wide variety of topics about the entrepreneurial journey: How to go from idea to product The correct way to dive into the hiring process Preparing to raise money Building a tech company as a non-technical founder How to select the right accelerators, programs, and pitch competitions Creating wealth while building a business The author also shares her "Simple Agreement for Future Equity" (SAFE) agreement and first pitch deck Perfect for entrepreneurs, startup enthusiasts, and founders, Resilient belongs on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the process of bootstrapping and/or raising capital to grow a business in any sector"-- Provided by publisher **A __Wall Street Journal__ Bestseller Discover how to overcome anything, bootstrap, and go from initial concept to Series A funding with this firsthand look at entrepreneurship** __Resilient__delivers an invaluable collection of private journal entries mapping out a path from bootstrapping a multi-million dollar business to raising millions in Series A funding for another. Entrepreneur and Resilia CEO Sevetri Wilson describes her journey from self-funding to venture capital success. Written for ambitious and aspiring entrepreneurs like herself, Wilson covers a wide variety of topics about the entrepreneurial journey: * How to go from idea to product * The correct way to dive into the hiring process * Preparing to raise money * Building a tech company as a non-technical founder * How to select the right accelerators, programs, and pitch competitions * Creating wealth while building a business