Joe C.

Wall Street Journal Recognized | Capital Raiser | Startups to Roll-Ups

I've been on both sides of the cap table: as a founder who raised, and as an advisor who helped others close. That perspective changes everything. 🎉 Recent Track Record: Continuum AI: $4.1M Seed (Led by Cowboy Ventures) SUREPASS: $3.49M Pre-Seed (Reg D) Alloy: $3M+ Seed (Led by Unity Holdings) Research Pathfinder: Oversubscribed Pre-Seed in 90 days (Q1 2026 - Mucker Cap) The investor decks and playbooks I built were used to close every one of these rounds. WHO I AM: I've spent 25 years inside the startup ecosystem: as an advisor, a Chief Strategy Officer, and as a founder/CEO myself. Two successful exits. Three failures that taught me more than the wins ever did. That combination gives me a ground-level understanding of what founders are actually up against when they step into a room with a VC. My work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and profiled in multiple books, including bestseller The Customer Funded Business by Dr. John Mullins and Business Results Revolution by Sandy Richardson. I'm a vetted mentor with TechStars, Boomtown, MassChallenge, Volta, SaaS Launch, and Graham & Walker From 2010 to 2018, I grew an investor-backed B2B SaaS startup from zero clients to 130+ global partners across a dozen countries. We exited in 2018, selling to our largest client. I've been on your side of the table. I know what the pressure feels like. HOW I WORK WITH FOUNDERS: I work with founders raising pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds in three ways: 1. INVESTOR DECK I've built hundreds of investor decks across more than two decades of engagements. Most decks fail for the same reason: they're built around the founder's product, not the investor's psychology. I flip that. The result is a narrative that speaks directly to what early-stage angels and VCs are actually looking for, and addresses it before they ask. 2. INVESTOR PLAYBOOK & CAMPAIGN Depending on your needs, I'll either coach you through running a disciplined investor campaign yourself, or I'll manage the full campaign on your behalf — freeing you up to focus on building. This includes investor targeting, outreach sequencing, funnel management, and follow-through to close. 3. BOTH Most retained clients engage me for the full scope: deck plus campaign. This is where the real leverage is. 4. BEYOND VENTURE The same work applies outside startups. I build the materials and run the process for acquisition financing, roll-up strategies, search funds, and independent sponsors raising deal capital. Buyer narrative, target list of investors or lenders, outreach sequencing, and follow-through to close. Before I advised founders full time I sat in corporate strategy seats with Shell, Bertelsmann AG, BMW, and Pfizer. I know how the institutional side reads a deal. I am not a licensed broker-dealer. I do not broker transactions or take success fees on securities. I build the narrative and run the capital process. Your banker, attorney, and accountant handle the rest. SCOPE & CREDENTIALS: --- Top Rated: 100% Job Success Score, Top Talent designation (Elite 1%), and hundreds of 5-star reviews on Upwork --- Sectors: B2B SaaS, AI, PropTech, D2C, Retail, Deep Tech, Hardware, and more --- Range: I've supported raises from $500K pre-seed rounds to $60M Series B ventures --- Network: Angels, institutional VCs, and micro-VCs — plus direct relationships built through years of accelerator mentorship --- Beyond venture: acquisition capital, roll-ups, search funds, independent sponsors, and LP materials for emerging fund managers --- Media: Wall Street Journal, The Customer Funded Business (Mullins), Business Results Revolution (Richardson) If you're preparing to raise and want a strategist who has built decks that close and campaigns that convert then send me a message. I'm happy to have a brief scoping conversation to see if we're a fit.