Expert support to fundraise the right way

A training program & community to help:

Construct a narrative that excites VCs

Launch a fundraise that closes quickly

Make connections that enhance your network

Get feedback & support from the community

“I think anybody that wants to fundraise should be scrambling to get into this program.”

Luke O’Brien

Founder & CEO of Journey

“I think the most valuable thing was really learning the other side of the equation, understanding what investors are looking for, what makes them tick, their psychology, and why they get excited about certain companies and don't get excited about others.”

Shannon Davenport

Founder & CEO of Esker Beauty

Look Inside The Adamant Founders Community

Take a tour of our community hub!

I failed without a process.

When I started my last fundraise I wanted to show my co-founders I could get it done super quickly. I talked to my 5 closest investor contacts assuming the money would start coming in.

I was wrong.

I found out the hard way that EVERYONE needs momentum to fundraise no matter what your background. If you don't have it, the ONLY way to build it is through a process.

I learned how to build momentum through a process and so can you.

To successfully fundraise, I reached out to mentors in the ecosystem to learn how to construct a killer process. It took weeks, but the result was epic - an amazing fundraise AND the basis for my teaching in Adamant Fundraising which I'm excited to share with you now.

- Jason, Founder and Instructor

A better approach to fundraising

2 months into my work on fundraising education, it clicked for me.

Instead of learning what set of slides, what presentation techniques, or what cold outreach tactics would help you chase down investors like common sales targets ...it was about flipping that around.

I believe fundraising is all about demonstrating you're a great bet, and then executing a process with effective preparation and impactful communication to help investors discover that.

It's about learning the simple things that YOU can do to help get out of your own way.

Let's prepare to fundraise the right way, together.

- Jason, Founder and Instructor

Do I really think I can make you better at fundraising?

Honestly? Yes I do.

I've dedicated a lot to be great at this. Here's the story.

Right before my last startup sold, my co-founder Tim and I were talking about what was next. I honestly had no idea. After 5 grueling years running 2 venture-backed startups with multiple pivots, I was unsure of myself.

Having been a founder, I didn't know how I could work at a company again but lacked confidence that I had any expertise to build another business.

Tim asked, “What about fundraising? You’re great at that.”

While I knew the game from my days as a VC and had successfully closed millions from top tier investors, my immediate reaction was “Yeah maybe…but no one needs that help. Also, a lot of people know how to do it already.”

Tim’s response?

“No way, dude. Tons of people need this help and it’s impossible for most people.”

Even with Tim's vote of confidence. I didn't think there was enough to make it a business.

So, I put the fundraising idea aside and instead I started building a small software product...

But on the side...

With some throwaway time, I did decide to spend time refining my own approach to fundraising. I thought deeply about why my approach had worked and brainstormed ways to teach others.

But it wasn't a business. It was more of a hobby. Something to build back my confidence working on something I knew I was good at and a way to help people on the side.

Documenting the process

The first thing I did was put my thoughts down on paper. I mapped out all the moving parts of a fundraise.

It was a time consuming process and the video to the left was only one of the sessions!

You'll notice my use of notecards...an effective tool I recommend even in my course (you'll hear more about that later).

Do I really think I can make you better at fundraising?

Honestly? Yes I do.

I've dedicated a lot to be great at this. Here's the story.

Right before my last startup sold, my co-founder Tim and I were talking about what was next. I honestly had no idea. After 5 grueling years running 2 venture-backed startups with multiple pivots, I was unsure of myself.

Having been a founder, I didn't know how I could work at a company again but lacked confidence that I had any expertise to build another business.

Tim asked, “What about fundraising? You’re great at that.”

While I knew the game from my days as a VC and had successfully closed millions from top tier investors, my immediate reaction was “Yeah maybe…but no one needs that help. Also, a lot of people know how to do it already.”

Tim’s response?

“No way, dude. Tons of people need this help and it’s impossible for most people.”

Even with Tim's vote of confidence. I didn't think there was enough to make it a business.

So, I put the fundraising idea aside and instead I started building a small software product...

But on the side...

With some throwaway time, I did decide to spend time refining my own approach to fundraising. I thought deeply about why my approach had worked and brainstormed ways to teach others.

But it wasn't a business. It was more of a hobby. Something to build back my confidence working on something I knew I was good at and a way to help people on the side.

Documenting the process

The first thing I did was put my thoughts down on paper. I mapped out all the moving parts of a fundraise.

It was a time consuming process and the video to the left was only one of the sessions!

You'll notice my use of notecards...an effective tool I recommend even in my course (you'll hear more about that later).

The GRIND  (creating, iterating, refining)

After building  momentum, I wanted to start helping founders and get feedback on what could be improved. That meant producing free products that would help founders stay organized and embrace important concepts. I learned SO much from this...

Finally... MY PROGRAM.

After releasing multiple free tools, launching a newslet, and publishing dozens of frameworks, I partnered with Silicon Valley Bank to design a fundraising program based on my philosophies initially called Fundraise with Confidence (FWC).  

After 10 cohorts of the live-only FWC program and 100s of millions raised, we saw an opportunity to meet more founders where they were with the perfect mix of live and self-guided support.

Thus, Adamant Fundraising was born: an all-in-one program and community designed to support the next generation of venture-backed founders.‍

“It would take, what we covered in five weeks, I'd say a year, 18 months. And a lot of that would have to come through trial and error and reflection. The density of time and knowledge is definitely worth it for sure.”

Rafael Balbi

Founder & CEO of Underwriter

“To put oneself through a structured course that kind of forces you to go through those learnings  and get the work done sounded like a really effective and efficient way to commit to that learning and commit to learning a better process.”

Perry Griffith

Founder & CEO of Cortado

“Jason, thank you so much for, for everything, the entire course. I could see how much doing this means to you, and I think it's really nice to actually receive help from you . . . you also have a skill of being able to switch between [being] incredibly sincere to being incredibly clinical. This has been great.”

Rish Singh

Founder & CEO of Gradly

"Fundraising to me always felt so out of control. Now I know this is actually how you run it [to] get calendar density and how you should time things. I think having that from somebody that is an operator as a guidepost is just really, really helpful.”

Larissa Licha

Founder & CEO of Joyn

“It provided me with much better structure, much more concise, succinct, different ways of looking into the process. And I think I grew tremendously out of it.”

Nicolas Peluffo

Founder & CEO of TRVLR

“Now I feel like when I'm talking to a VC or an investor, I have a much better sense of what their job is, how my raise or my company can be better matched with what they're looking for on behalf of their fund.”

Shannon Davenport

Founder & CEO of Esker Beauty

What to expect

FIRST, LEARN & LEARN FAST:
Run through 7 modules to advance your grasp of what elite fundraising is...

We follow a 7 module course and incorporate exercises / homework so that you learn and PRODUCE.

MODULE 1

Building a Foundation for Fundraising

To start your preparation, you need to prepare a strong base. That means adjusting how you think about yourself, your business, and your fundraise.

The base also includes work like awareness and list building that greases the wheels for your work in future modules.

MODULE 2

Understanding Investors

To be a great salesperson, you have to understand the mind of the buyer. In fundraising, it's the mind of the investor.

Here you focus on what makes investors tick so that you can start crafting effective communications that influence.

MODULE 3

Targeting Investors with Tools & Technology

You've heard about investor lists. But how do you actually make them. And once you get a list, how do you use them?

In this module, you'll find out ways to use technology and process to your advantage to build a list that you can leverage for a strong fundraise.

MODULE 4

Narrative, Deck & Pitch

For most founders, the deck is all they know about fundraising.

You on the other hand will have a full module of work to leverage in building a killer narrative, deck & pitch - one that influences investors and causes them to LEAN IN.

You also will have an opportunity to practice this new pitch or get feedback on your deck during our monthly pitch practice and deck teardown events.

MODULE 5

Communicating with Investors

You can have the best deck or pitch in the world. But none of that will matter if you can't land a meeting.

In this module, you will learn all about email communication with investors and prepare the emails you need to run a smooth process before and after investor meetings.

MODULE 6

Preparing for the Process

At this point in the course, you'll start being pushed to put the final touches on your process.

In this module you'll learn the keys to calendar density, setting up intros, preparing your data room, and more.

MODULE 7

Closing Your Process

With the majority of your prep behind you, now is the time to organize the launch of a process.

In this module you'll learn how to drive your fundraise to a close while also overviewing SAFEs and valuations, and what to do post term-sheet.

THEN, JOIN A TEAM:
As they say, it takes a village. Luckily, we've recruited one for you

We've collected an amazing set of founders, mentors and trained team members to make this the best community for anyone building and thinking about raising capital.

From deck feedback, to pitch practice, to expert advice, and just plain emotional support, the Adamant Founder community is the X-factor in making sure you have what it takes to execute a best-in-class fundraise.

It takes a village!

Legal Office Hours
Team Building
Pitch Practice
Community Platform
“Before the program, I didn't know the other side, right? I didn't know how they think, how they evaluate opportunities and all that. So we saw that in detail during the program. I saw how they need us as much as we need them! Their business depends on founders and on opportunities. And that was really, really eye opening. I'm a hundred percent different and a lot more confident for sure.

Demian Borba

Founder & CEO of Pactto

Who is this for?

This may sound like you:

"I'm not sure how to connect with the right investors."

Everyone says I need to build a list of investors. But who...and how?

"I raised money but it was painful. There has to be a better way next time..."

I barely got my last raise done. I wasted so much time and felt uncertain the whole time. I want to do it better and with  supportive people around me.

"I don't know why my pitch isn't landing with investors."

There's a big opportunity here - I know it! But my deck isn't leading to many meetings and the response to my pitch isn't very positive.

"I want to do the best that I can with this fundraise!"

I know what I know and I know what I don't know. I want someone I trust to show me the way.

Who is it NOT for?

Do not join if you are:

A SHORTCUT SEEKER:

Fundraising is hard work. Adamant Fundraising doesn’t remove work. It makes things more effective and efficient. We help you do the RIGHT work.

TRYING TO BUY INTROS:

You are not buying intros by joining Adamant Fundraising. You will learn the best processes for  accessing high quality intros AND joining a fantastic community. But no intros are guaranteed.

IN NEED OF A QUICK FIX:

If you’re in the middle of a fundraise that is not going well, Adamant Fundraising is not your band-aid. It is designed to prepare founders for a great future fundraise.

TESTIMONIALS

After 10 live cohorts and dozens of advisory roles, I'm proud to say I've worked with founders who have gone on to do amazing things. $311MM raised from as small as $50k from angels to $50MM+ from large VCs🙏

"I don't think anyone else tries to teach what Jason does."

Zohaib Ali

Founder, Dastygr

Company HQ: Pakistan

Round Raised after FWC: Series A

Amount Raised: $41M

"[Before FWC] I was confident in my story but not in my process."

Tiffany Kelly

Founder, Curastory

Company HQ: NYC

Round Raised after FWC: Pre-Seed

Amount Raised: $2.3M

"I studied psychology but never knew how to apply it to this [until FWC]."

Hayk Hakobyan

Founder, Bizbaz

Company HQ: Singapore

Round Raised after FWC: Seed

Amount Raised: $4.3M

Why is Adamant Fundraising so effective?

I focus on what you can control. 
Here's why it works...

Different founders will come to the program with different areas of focus. I promise progress and results for everyone.

My methods

This isn't just about pulling out what I know and putting it on paper. It's been a process to find out what are the hardest parts of fundraising for founders, and creating exercises, tools and content that address those pain points head-on.

Active Learning & Tangible Outcomes

Active participation is essential to acquire a handle on fundraising. Video lectures will provide the foundation to leverage office hours, pitch practice, deck review, and other live events that allow you to put your learnings to the test and practice. And for our live cohorts -> small group practice sessions, live discussions, pitch practice, and deliverable-based homework. In addition, I won't just be speaking at you. I will engage with the class, explain the most pressing and tricky questions, and stimulate the cohort to advance together.

Winning as a team

Joining a community of founders who are in the same battle is priceless. As an Adamant Fundraising community member, you get to expand your network and receive valuable feedback on the content you produce. The most successful entrepreneurs turn fundraising into a team-based sport, and the Adamant Community aims to help you establish your first teammates.

Accountability and Feedback

Even if you know how to fundraise, finding the time to do the necessary work while running your company can be near impossible. This program adds structure and community to drive accountability to this work-intensive process. If that’s not enough, you and the rest of the community get to join office hours with me, answering any questions you have about the materials or your process every month.

Tactics, Templates, Tools

Don't expect just theory and principles. Step-by-step processes, email templates, CRM system guides, and data scraping systems are just a few of the superchargers the Adamant Fundraising Program delivers to its students.

"The things that Jason discusses here [in the course], are things that people don't talk about on the internet."

Irina Constantin

Founder & CEO of Vaunt

"Getting into his course and doing all of the work, and really just going all in. It has given me so much more confidence, not only in my cold outreach, running a tight process, and, even my narrative, even how I talk about Balance, how I position Balance, and how I position myself with investors. All of that has completely changed for the better since taking his course. And I don't think I could have come this far without taking that course."

Bree Thomas

Founder & CEO of Balance

"I feel less anxious because now I know there's... a method to this. And I mapped out a rough timeline. So I don't feel like, oh gosh, I'm just gonna run out of money and then never finish fundraising. But now the mentality is more like, okay, I know the milestones I need to hit. I know how many people I need to reach out to. So I'm doing all these things."

Chloe Zhu

Founder & CEO of Gestalt

"What you are creating Jason + team will be as important (or even bigger 1 day!) as the likes of Y-combinator for the startup ecosystem and innovation and a win-win for everyone. Thank you for what you all have created and do."

Sakiko Reuterskiöld

Founder & CEO of Nomosu

"I came in  looking to gain some time efficiency like email templates, investor lists and quick answers. There's a lot more, I appreciate the thoughtful program, soft skills (aka mindset stuff) and group interactions. Exceeding expectations."

Sam Vasisht

Founder & CEO of ShopMD

"If fundraising is something on the horizon for you as a founder, I couldn't recommend joining FWC [Adamant Fundraising] enough."

Luke O'Brien

Founder & CEO of Journey

Start working towards your best fundraise TODAY

Adamant Fundraising
Program
$167 /month
$1998 billed every 12 months
$263  /month
$1327 billed every 6 months
Includes:
Adamant Fundraising Course - Your comprehensive guide to essential fundraising knowledge and skills. The course is self-guided with a live kick-off meeting and fits any schedule.
Guides - 75+ videos across 7 modules
walking you through the soup to nuts of elite fundraising
Templates / Tools - Email templates, Investor Databases, CRM templates, and more
Adamant Community & Events - Monthly pitch practice, deck teardowns, office hours, community forums and more
Get Started
CLASS SAMPLE

Deal sourcing is the lifeblood of fundraising. In this lesson, Jason touches on the importance of understanding the investor psychology behind deal flow.

1. Building a Foundation for Fundraising

To start your preparation, you need to prepare a strong base. That means adjusting how you think about yourself, your business, and your fundraise.

The base also includes work like awareness and list building that greases the wheels for your work in future modules.

2. Understanding Investors

To be a great salesperson, you have to understand the mind of the buyer. In fundraising, it's the mind of the investor.

Here you focus on what makes investors tick so that you can start crafting effective communications that influence.

3. Preparation & Building Heat

You've heard about investor lists. But how do you actually make them. And once you get a list, how do you use them?

In this module, you'll find out ways to use technology and process to your advantage to build a list that you can leverage for a strong fundraise.

4. Narrative, Deck & Pitch

For most founders, the deck is all they know about fundraising.

You on the other hand will have a full module of work to leverage in building a killer narrative, deck & pitch - one that influences investors and causes them to LEAN IN.

You also will have an opportunity to practice this new pitch or get feedback on your deck during our monthly pitch practice and deck teardown events.

5. Communicating With Investors

You can have the best deck or pitch in the world. But none of that will matter if you can't land a meeting.

In this module, you will learn all about email communication with investors and prepare the emails you need to run a smooth process before and after investor meetings.

6. Preparing for the Process

At this point in the course, you'll start being pushed to put the final touches on your process.

In this module you'll learn the keys to calendar density, setting up intros, preparing your data room, and more.

7. Closing Your Process

With the majority of your prep behind you, now is the time to organize the launch of a process.

In this module you'll learn how to drive your fundraise to a close while also overviewing SAFEs and valuations, and what to do post term-sheet.

FWC, Cohort 10 begins...

April 15th, 2024

Applications for FWC9 have closed. If you're interested, please join the waitlist for FWC10. For other questions or concerns, you can email us - hi@fundraisewithconfidence.com

FLEX
Self-Guided
$1249
Your comprehensive guide to essential fundraising knowledge and skills. Flex is self-guided with a live kick-off meeting and fits any schedule.
Guides - 75+ videos across 5 modules walking you through the soup to nuts of elite fundraising
Templates / Tools - Email templates, Investor Databases, CRM templates, and more
Adamant Community & Events - 6 month subscription
PREMIUM
Live time with Jason
$4900
75+ Video Lectures, Exercises, and Templates/Tools PLUS...
Live Class - 5 weeks of live classes along a cohort of peers with Jason teaching the concepts and running exercises to drive results
Deck Feedback - Submit your deck for written notes and feedback
Organized Networking - Structured connections with founders in your cohort to expand your network
Pitch Practice - Group sessions organized for pitch practice and team feedback
Adamant Community & Events - 12 month subscription
*Completion Bonus - Complete a 5 task challenge to receive $500 back at the end of the course
UNICORN
Live time with Jason
$13.7k
Everything in Premium plus...
Unicorn Time - Add on small group time at the end of every live session JUST for unicorns
1:1 Coaching Call - An hour long call with Jason (Strategy + Pitch Coaching)
Investor Matching - Our  team will run the time-intensive investor research process to add at least 100 investors to your target list, identify connections from your network to those investors, and give you a customized system for intro requests
2 Film Reviews- Coaching call where Jason reviews recorded investor calls
Post-Program Mastermind - Strategy + Accountability Mastermind with Jason + Unicorn founders for additional 4 weeks
Data Room Prep - Personalized feedback and guidance
Adamant Community & Events - Lifetime subscription 🦸
Dinner with Jason - Hosted in LA / SF / Austin / Miami/ Seattle / NYC / São Paulo / CDMX
($500 voucher to travel to LA)
🚨 Limited to 4 founders

*Completion bonus is awarded if the founder submits the deliverables outlined at the start of the course. Historically about 50% of students receive completion bonuses.

My word to you...

100% 30-Day
Money Back Guarantee

If you go through the program thoughtfully…if you actually watch the lectures, go to office hours, do the exercises, follow the guidance, and you still are not 100% satisfied... I will refund your money within 30 days.  

You just have to send me an email, *show me you did the work*, and tell me what happened. To clarify, this is not a guarantee that you will raise money (see FAQs).

Why the guarantee?

Three main things

First - I believe in the program. I don't think you'll like it, I think you'll love it.  I'm happy to add this guarantee to help founders make a good decision.

Second - the quality of the community is so important. If anyone does not do the work and isn't committed to being a positive member of the community, I don't want them here.

Third - You’ll grow tremendously whether or not you raise. I love pushing people to fully engage in fundraise prep because I know the effort is not throwaway work regardless of outcome. You are prepping yourself and your company to be better for investors but the improvement goes beyond just fundraising.

You have 30 days from payment to request a refund (net of costs).

How does it feel to be an Adamant Founder?

We take special care to curate the community and experience within Adamant Fundraising. It's something we're very proud of. A few words on how it feels to be a part of AF...

FAQs

Is there any live instruction? I respond really well to live coaching.

The training in Adamant Fundraising is centered around self-guided instructional modules that start with recorded videos and incorporate homework and exercises.

Because we believe in the value of live coaching and feedback, we also incorporate a number of live experiences including onboarding, office hours, community feedback, and expert mentor sessions.

Separately, we will be organizing cohort-based programs with live video coaching similar to our old 6-week bootcamps (Fundraise with Confidence). If an intensive live experience is what you're looking for, email us at fundraising@admnt.com for more information.

Can I include a co-founder? I need to discuss with them.

Memberships cannot be shared amongs co-founders. We do offer a 50% discount for co-founder accounts though. Just email fundraising@admnt.com and provide information verifying your co-founder's information and we will issue you a discount code.

Do you have discounts?

Beyond the co-founder discount (above), the short answer is no.

If you need 25% off to be able to squeeze this into your budget, then you truly can't afford it and I don't want you stretching yourself to join.

All other situations would not be fair to the others.

The money you spend will save you time at the very least and put you on a better trajectory to raise money. Make sure you do the math behind that.

Do you guarantee we'll raise money?

I don’t guarantee people will raise. No one can do that and if anyone does, run.

My responsibility is to give the right information in ways that promote high-end execution

Your responsibility is to take what I teach, respond positively to exercises, and execute to the best of your abilities.

If we both live up to those responsibilities, good things will happen.

Will we get intros from you?

This program is not a pay for intros outfit. In fact, through our program you'll realize why those intros would be terrible anyway.

You will likely get intros from the network you build through the Adamant Founder network but they are never guaranteed.

Was there really a dinner with Jason in the Unicorn tier of FWC?

Yup! When we were only doing live cohorts of Fundraise with Confidence, we had an ultra-lux, $15k tier of the program that included a dinner on me. I was lucky enough to go to LA, NYC, San Francisco, São Paulo to host private dinners with these founders all on me.

If a more intensive, live, small-group program like this is interesting to you, email fundraising@admnt.com to let us know.

Hi. I'm your instructor, Jason Yeh.

Fundraising truly sucks. Making it suck less for founders through FWC is so rewarding because I know the struggle well.

As a formal and informal advisor to startups, I've helped companies raise over $311MM in capital. While I was an investor at Greycroft Partners, I evaluated over 1000 pitches and was a part of 50+ investments. Afterwards, I became a founder myself and led fundraises twice. The last was for my company Tape which sold to Hustle in 2020.

Combining those experiences with my love of teaching to help founders has been one of the best experiences of my life. I hope to help you in some small way soon!

All while...

Building your network

Improving your storytelling skills

Fixing your pitch deck