From 200+ NOs to $1 Million: The Real Startup Fundraising Journey

Just Grow With It with Natalie Barbu

Natalie Barbu

Education, Business, Entrepreneurship, How To

4.8 • 982 Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After 200+ investor rejections, we finally raised $1M for our startup. In this episode, I share the real story behind our fundraising journey, lessons learned, and practical tips for founders facing rejection. Whether you’re starting out or deep in the process, this is the advice I wish I had. Timestamps: 0:00 — Introduction & Podcast Background 3:30 — Fundraising Journey: Rella’s Pre-Seed Story 8:15 — Reflections on Fundraising vs. Bootstrapping 11:06 — How to Pitch: Storytelling & Investor Outreach 21:08 — Tactics: Finding, Contacting, and Tracking Investors 27:48 — Mindset, Rejection, and Getting the First Check 30:08 — Alternative Funding & Closing Thoughts Sign up for my newsletter: https://thegrowthlist.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We got rejected over 200 times and this is what we learned. I've always been a little impulsive.
0:06.1	I get an idea and just go with it. But that's the thing about life and business. You're always
0:11.4	growing, learning, and figuring it out as you go. Welcome to Just Grow With It, the podcast where I share
0:17.2	lessons I've learned as a founder and creator, the mistakes, the pivots, and the wins,
0:21.7	and how staying consistent can change everything. So if you're ready to grow with me, let's get into it.
0:26.6	Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Just Grow With It podcast. That is Just Grow with it.
0:32.0	I am so embarrassed to say that I was calling it Let's Grow with it for the first few episodes,
0:36.8	even though it's my podcast.
0:38.9	I named the podcast.
0:40.2	I know what the name is, but I had pre-recorded a bunch of episodes.
0:44.0	And this is actually the first episode I've recorded after the podcast has gone live.
0:47.9	And I just, I guess I must not have remembered.
0:51.4	I don't know.
0:51.8	It was the early days.
0:52.8	But all is to say, that is why you should
0:55.9	just launch early, even if you make mistakes. Like, I do think that it was much better for me to
1:00.3	have just launched and put it out there than for me to constantly make sure things were perfect.
1:04.2	Like, would I have rather said the name of the podcast right? Yes, but did I know? And that's okay.
1:13.6	So thank you for the patience. And also, thank you for anyone who has been watching, whether you're watching on Spotify or YouTube, whether you're listening
1:18.1	on Apple Podcasts. It means so much. And I know this is definitely a more like niche podcast,
1:23.1	which is the point of it. I really want my content to be tailored more for people that want to be
1:28.4	entrepreneurs, people that are business owners. Anyone that is looking for content of someone currently
	...

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