Most founders raise wrong.Here is how to raise right.
A 6-week program that gets founders investor-ready: the deck, the data room, the financial narrative, the investor list, and an active AETHER profile matching you with the right capital partners before you walk into the room.
- 6
- Weeks
- AETHER
- Platform Access
- $25M+
- Capital Raised by Steven
- Live
- Group Calls
This program is built for you if...
The Pre-Seed or Seed-Stage Founder
You have traction, a real team, and a story worth telling. But your deck is either not done or not landing, and you are not sure who to approach or in what order.
The Founder Approaching a Series A
You have been through one round before but this one is bigger, the investors are more sophisticated, and the diligence is deeper. You need your materials and your narrative to match.
The Founder Who Has Tried and Failed to Raise
You have been in rooms with investors and heard every version of not yet. This program is for understanding exactly why and fixing it before you go back.
You are not stuck. You are just not equipped yet.
- “I have been told my deck needs work but I am not sure what is actually wrong with it.”
- “I pitch and get polite responses but no term sheets.”
- “I do not know which investors to approach or how to get a warm introduction.”
- “An investor asked for my data room and I am still building it.”
- “I know my numbers but I struggle to tell the story behind them.”
- “I raised before but this time the bar is higher and I do not feel ready.”
Most founders fail to raise not because the business is bad but because they are not raise-ready. This program closes that gap.
The transformation you can expect
A completed investor deck
A structured, compelling, and honest deck built to the standard sophisticated investors expect, reviewed slide by slide.
A clean data room
Everything an investor will ask for, organised, labelled, and ready before they have to request it.
A financial narrative that lands
Not just the numbers but the story the numbers tell: the assumptions, the trajectory, and the logic that makes an investor believe.
A prioritised investor target list
A tiered list of investors whose mandates genuinely match your stage, sector, and geography, sourced and qualified.
Warm introduction strategies
A tested approach to generating introductions rather than relying on cold outreach.
An active AETHER profile
Your company live on AETHER, being matched with relevant investors through AI-powered scoring and mandate alignment.
Six weeks. One week at a time.
- Week 1Capital Strategy
Should You Raise, How Much, and From Whom
- Assess your raise-readiness honestly: traction, team, TAM, and timing
- Decide the right amount to raise and why that number specifically
- Understand the difference between angel, VC, family office, and strategic capital
- Map your use of funds in a way that tells a story about the business, not just the spend
- Week 2The Financial Narrative
Making Your Numbers Tell the Right Story
- The difference between financial reporting and financial storytelling
- How to present projections honestly and compellingly without overclaiming
- Key metrics by stage: what sophisticated investors actually look at and why
- Build your financial narrative document: assumptions, trajectory, and logic
- Week 3The Investor Deck
Slide by Slide, Built to Convert
- The 12-slide structure that works across most investor conversations
- Slide-by-slide workshop: problem, solution, market, traction, team, ask
- Common deck mistakes that kill deals in the first 30 seconds
- Peer review session: participants exchange decks and give structured feedback
- Week 4The Data Room
What Investors Ask For and How to Have It Ready
- The standard data room structure for pre-seed through Series A
- What a clean data room signals about you as a founder
- Documents to prepare now, before you are asked: cap table, incorporation, financials, IP
- Set up your data room folder structure live during the session
- Week 5Investor Mapping and Warm Introductions
Finding the Right People in the Right Order
- Build a tiered investor target list: tier 1 for practice, tier 2 for conviction, tier 3 for closes
- How to research mandate fit before you ever make contact
- The warm introduction playbook: who to ask, how to ask, and what to send
- Set up your AETHER profile and configure your matching preferences
- Week 6The Pitch Meeting
Preparation, Delivery, and Follow-Up
- How to structure a 30-minute investor meeting from hello to next step
- The hard questions investors ask and how to answer them without flinching
- The follow-up sequence that keeps momentum alive after the meeting
- Live pitch rehearsal: each participant pitches for 5 minutes with real-time feedback
Everything included in the program
6 Video Modules
One per week covering strategy, narrative, deck, data room, investor mapping, and pitch delivery.
Bi-weekly Live Calls
Group coaching calls with Steven including pitch practice, deck reviews, and investor Q&A simulation.
AETHER Platform Access
Your company live on AETHER, matched with investors whose mandates align with your stage, sector, and geography.
Investor Deck Template
A professionally structured 12-slide deck template in the format that closes rounds.
Data Room Checklist
A comprehensive checklist of every document you need, organised by stage of due diligence.
Investor Target List Template
A tiered spreadsheet for tracking prospects, introductions, conversations, and status.
Built for ambitious people with real schedules
Video Modules
Live Group Calls
AETHER Access
Private Community
You will leave raise-ready in every sense of the word.
By the end of week 6 you will have a completed investor deck, a structured data room, a financial narrative that holds up under real diligence, a prioritised investor list with warm introduction strategies in motion, and an active AETHER profile being matched with capital partners around the clock. You will not just know how to raise. You will be ready to.
Choose how you want to learn
Per cohort · Runs once per quarter
- 6 weekly video modules
- 3 live group coaching calls with Steven
- AETHER platform profile setup and access
- Investor deck template (12-slide, customisable)
- Data room checklist by due diligence stage
- Investor target list template
- Financial narrative framework
- Private community access
- Lifetime access to session recordings
- Cohort of up to 20 participants
- Bi-weekly live group calls with Steven
- Private community access
Next cohort dates on the calendar below
6 weeks · Available year-round
- 6 weekly video modules
- 3 live group coaching calls with Steven
- AETHER platform profile setup and access
- Investor deck template (12-slide, customisable)
- Data room checklist by due diligence stage
- Investor target list template
- Financial narrative framework
- Private community access
- Lifetime access to session recordings
- Dedicated weekly 60-min call with Steven
- Direct WhatsApp access between sessions
- Fully customised pace and focus
Start within 2 weeks of acceptance
Payment plans available on request. Your spot is held for 7 days after acceptance. Cohort sizes are capped , apply early.
Runs once every quarter.
Cohorts begin on the second Monday of January, April, July and October. Places are limited and applications are reviewed in the order received.
This cohort has started. Apply for the next one.
Frequently asked questions
What stage does this program work for?
The program is built for pre-seed through Series A. The principles apply at later stages but the focus is on the earlier, more founder-dependent raise process.
What is AETHER?
AETHER is Steven's AI-powered capital matching platform. It connects founders with investors whose mandates genuinely match their stage, sector, and geography, replacing cold spray-and-pray outreach with high-intent introductions.
Does this guarantee I will raise?
No program can guarantee a raise. What Raise Right guarantees is that you enter investor conversations with the highest-quality preparation possible. Whether you raise depends on your business, your market, and your execution.
Do I need to have a fully built product to join?
You need to have enough traction or a compelling enough thesis to have a real raise conversation. Pre-revenue founders with strong teams and clear market evidence are welcome.
What if I have already started raising?
This program is designed to either prepare you before you start or sharpen your approach if you are already in market but not converting conversations into term sheets.
Can I upgrade to The Compound after completing this?
Yes. This program counts as the fourth month of The Compound flagship and your investment is credited toward the full fee.