What I Learned Raising $500K+ for My Startups
From pitch decks to term sheets — the fundraising journey across grants, angel rounds, and project funding.
Saba Apkhazava||6 min read
Raising money is not about the money. It's about proving that your vision is worth betting on.
The Three Buckets
Over my ventures, I've raised from three distinct sources:
1. Grants & Competitions ($50K+) These are the best money you'll ever get — non-dilutive, no strings attached. We won at GITA, HackDays, and several university competitions. The key? Apply to everything and get really good at pitching.
2. Angel & Pre-Seed ($100K+) Angel investors in Georgia are a small community. Warm intros matter more than cold emails. I learned to lead with traction, not ideas. "We have 500 users" beats "we could have millions" every time.
3. Project Funding ($350K+) This is where the real money came from — clients and organizations paying for our products and services. Revenue is the ultimate validation.
What Works
- Know your numbers cold. CAC, LTV, burn rate, runway. If an investor asks and you hesitate, you've lost them.
- Tell a story with data. Numbers without narrative are boring. Narrative without numbers is fiction.
- Follow up relentlessly. 80% of my deals closed after the 3rd or 4th follow-up.
What Doesn't Work
- Raising money you don't need yet
- Optimizing for valuation over the right partner
- Spending more time fundraising than building
The Truth
The best fundraising strategy is building something people want. Revenue solves most funding problems.
S
Saba Apkhazava
Tech Entrepreneur, CEO & Co-Founder at Sparker and Povo. Building startups in Tbilisi, Georgia.