Zero To Won is now Nelson's Newsletter

Zero To Won is now Nelson’s Newsletter.

Over the last seven weeks, I’ve experimented with different styles and formats.

I’ve written short stories.
I’ve shared notes on books and podcasts.
I’ve used analogies to provide founders with advice.

I’ve had a blast. Storytelling is so freeing after years of business writing.

But…something wasn’t quite right.

I miss startup life. I know, I know, what a sicko.

I miss problem-solving.
I miss talking to other founders.
I miss the high-level strategy and I miss the day-to-day tactical grind.

So, like many founders before me, I’m pivoting. Or more accurately, I’m niching down.

From now on, this newsletter will focus on early-stage fundraising.

That may seem a little out of the blue to you, so let me explain.

Although it’s arguably easier to gain access to capital than ever before (recent market slowdown aside), the relationship between founders and investors suffers from information asymmetry.

Fundraising is a VC’s bread and butter. They know the law, they know the lingo, they know how to structure agreements in their favour.

For founders, fundraising is a means to an end. It might be their first time. Mostly they just want to get it over with and get back to building as quickly as humanly possible.

But while getting a single investment wrong doesn’t hurt VCs much (in fact, it’s par for the course), it can spell the end for founders.

With so much on the line, founders need all the help they can get.

When I was fundraising, I read whatever I could get my hands on and peppered founder friends and gracious VCs with questions.

But what I really wanted was a resource I could turn to that told me what I needed to know and gave me the confidence to face investors knowing I’d done my homework.

I want to create the fundraising playbook I wish I had.

I’ll be sharing practical advice that helped me raise a $1m preseed from VCs in the US and Europe, and what I learnt from my failed seed raise.

I’m going to interview world-class founders and the top-tier VCs that fund them, to bring you the strategies and secrets you need to nail your next fundraise.

If you’re interested in being interviewed or want me to cover a specific topic, I want to hear from you.

But why the name change?

Two reasons:

Firstly, after more than a decade of working with close to 100 startups, SMEs and multinationals in the B2B and consumer space, I realised that I’ve been writing in my clients’ tone of voice for so long, I no longer recognise my own.

I’m an actor who’s forgotten where they end and their characters begin. I don’t want to write as a brand any more. I want to write as me. I’m still working out exactly what that means, but I appreciate your company on the journey.

Secondly, I want people to recognise me as an expert in this space and seek me out to help them, and writing under Nelson’s Newsletter is more likely to make that a reality than Zero To Won.

That’s an egotistical thing to say, and I thought about leaving it out or making up some bullshit, but it’s the truth so in it goes. Personal branding is here to stay and I’m embracing it.

So, here we are.

Zero To Won is now Nelson’s Newsletter, and I’ll be helping early-stage founders nail their next fundraise so they can change the world for the better. Thanks for bearing with me as I flesh out this new direction, I truly appreciate it. I don’t take the spot in your inbox lightly.

If you’re a first-time founder who doesn’t know where to start, or a serial entrepreneur struggling to close out a seed round in today’s tough climate, get in touch. I’d love to hear from you and see how I can help.

Speak soon,

Nelson