The Raise course.

Before the first call.

What investors back, and the numbers you set before anyone sees the deck.

1. What is Internet Capital Formation?The definition of the category: raises that begin, run, and close on internet rails, into digitally native securities.Guide · 1 min
2. Hundreds of Raises. Five Traits. Same Pattern Every Time.Thomas Carter took two of his own companies public and has helped hundreds of founders run capital raises since 2000, including 75+ Deal Box engagements. The pattern that decides who closes is five traits.Article · 11 min
3. At Pre-Seed, a Customer Has to Vouch for YouThe goalposts moved. At pre-seed, investors want to hear why a real customer cares before they write the check. Here is how founders are clearing the new bar.Article · 7 min
4. How to Pick Your Pre-Seed Valuation Without Giving Away More Than You ShouldMost seed-stage founders pick a number and hope for the best. Here is a four-variable framework for setting a pre-seed valuation that holds up in a negotiation.Article · 6 min
5. The Valuation Is the Press Release. The Terms Are the Deal.Founders fixate on valuation. It is the number that matters least at the early stages. The terms decide who controls the company. Here is how funding actually works.Article · 10 min

Pick the rule, build the record.

Which exemption you raise under, and the file an investor will check.

1. Why Most Founders Choose the Wrong 506 ExemptionThe exemption choice should follow from your operational reality. Most technical founders pick wrong because they optimize for legal flexibility instead of workflow simplicity.Article · 7 min
2. What issuer diligence actually looks likeThe 121-folder standard: what gets collected, why it exists, and what it means when a listing carries it.Guide · 1 min
3. Investors Don't Buy the Story Anymore. They Verify It.Capital underwrites what it can verify. Here is what an investor checks before they invest, and how to build the proof before the first call.Article · 7 min

Run the raise.

The pitch, the link, the pipeline, and the investors you have not met yet.

1. Stop Sending Your Pitch Deck. Send This Instead.Investors spend 20 seconds per slide on cold decks. Here is what to send instead, and how to get real intel on every investor who opens your materials.Article · 6 min
2. Your Pitch Is Rehearsed in the Wrong PlaceMost founders spend six weeks polishing the deck and thirty seconds practicing the pitch. Here is the discipline that closes the gap before slide one.Article · 7 min
3. Why Most Fundraises Die in the Process, Not the PitchMost founders think fundraising fails in the pitch. It doesn't. It fails in the process. A slow raise is a market signal that spreads faster than any deck ever could.Article · 6 min
4. The #1 Predictor of a Closed Round Isn't Traction.Most founders run their raise like a group text. The data says momentum closes rounds. Here is how to run your raise like a real sales pipeline.Article · 8 min
5. How to raise from accredited investors24.3 million US households qualify. The playbook for reaching them, from who counts to the pipeline that closes.Guide · 2 min
6. The Fundraising Playbook Assumes a Network You Do Not HaveThe standard advice runs on warm introductions, which quietly requires a network most founders never had. Here is the counterpart playbook for raising from individual accredited investors.Article · 12 min

Keep what you raise.

What a platform fee costs a round once it closes.

1. Pop the Champagne, Pay the Platform: The Hidden Tax on Founder CapitalA founder closed a $500K raise on a platform charging 7%. Then the platform invoiced him $35,000 on closing day. Here's what that number actually costs.Article · 11 min