Raiser's Edge

Kevin Bennett raised $200M in an unloved categories — no hot pitch, just a "trust dividend." Here's how it works.  In this conversation with Ben Elowitz, Kevin breaks down the trust dividend: the idea that small, consistent, low-stakes acts of honesty and vulnerability compound into the confidence investors need to fund something unproven. It's the framework he credits for clos...

Sean Byrnes raised over $100M across two dozen rounds. His edge wasn’t charisma or connections — it was understanding exactly how investors think before walking into the room. Sean is the founder of Flurry (sold to Yahoo, 98% market share at exit) and Outlier.ai (exited 2022), a CEO coach, and the author of the Breaking Point newsletter. In this conversation, he makes the case that fundraising is...

Tushar Garg raised over $200M for Flyhomes — one round closed in 30 minutes, another nearly collapsed while his co-founder was hospitalized after being hit by a drunk driver. Tushar is the co-founder and CEO of Flyhomes, a proptech company that pioneered cash-backed offers for homebuyers. In this episode he traces a full decade of fundraising — from a 30-minute seed term sheet through a $150M Seri...

In this episode of Raiser’s Edge , host Ben Elowitz sits down with Stefan Kalb—entrepreneur, investor, and three-time founder, currently building Super Labs, an AI startup focused on transforming how Main Street businesses operate. Stefan shares his journey from a shy early founder to a more seasoned, “presidential” CEO, including lessons from building Shelf Engine and raising $8M in preempted fun...

Most founders think they have a strategy problem. In reality, they have a storytelling problem. In this episode of Raiser’s Edge , Ben Elowitz sits down with David Politis, a multi-time founder (Vocalocity, BetterCloud) who has raised over $300M in venture capital, to break down why storytelling is the most important skill in fundraising.  But this isn’t about clever narratives or polished pitch d...

In this episode, host Ben Elowitz sits down with serial entrepreneur Omar Tawakol, whose journey spans building and leading companies like BlueKai, Voicea, and Rembrandt, as well as strategic acquisitions by industry giants like Cisco and Oracle. So what does it really take to fundraise, lead, and build game-changing startups—again and again? Omar shares lessons learned through market crashes, tou...

On this episode of Raiser’s Edge, Ben Elowitz sits down with Greg Mark, CEO and founder of Markforged and Backflip. Drawing on his experience raising over $550M in capital, Greg Mark breaks down what it really takes to capture investor interest and thrive under intense fundraising pressure. Greg Mark opens up about the rollercoaster world of startups—from the thrill of being the “Ferrari” in a hot...

Host Ben Elowitz sits down with seasoned entrepreneur and fundraising expert Evan Kaplan, CEO and founder of InfluxData, and industry veteran with over $400M raised and three decades of experience across public and private companies.  Evan shares how credibility and authenticity are the keys to successfully raising capital for your startup. He builds relationships with his investors step by step—f...

In this episode of Raiser's Edge, host Ben Elowitz dives deep into the realities of startup fundraising with guest David Shim, CEO and co-founder of Placed and Read.ai, The episode unpacks the critical importance of designing a business to be fundable—not just following trends—and why storytelling and narrative matter, but great metrics matter more. With stories of pre-emptive term sheets and...

How do top founders actually raise venture capital—and what do investors really look for? In this episode of Raiser’s Edge , host Ben Elowitz sits down with serial entrepreneur Russ Fradin (Larridin, Adify, Dynamic Signal) for a candid, unfiltered conversation about the realities of startup fundraising and building a venture-backed company that lasts. With decades of experience, over $1B raised, a...

In this episode, host Ben Elowitz sits down with master fundraiser Dan Shapiro, currently the co-founder of CEO of Glowforge, and the author of Hot Seat: The Startup CEO Guidebook. From his early days building laser light shows to raising over $200M (and counting) over his startups, Dan reveals how he’s raised capital at every stage by putting data—and his audience—at the center of his strategy. D...

On our pilot episode of Raiser’s Edge, host Ben Elowitz sits down with Yifan Zhang—a powerhouse entrepreneur, managing director at the AI2 incubator, and expert fundraiser. Yifan shares her unique journey from launching viral fitness app Gympact straight out of Harvard to building Loftium, a proptech startup that weathered unbelievable storms—including losing 90% of its revenue in just four days w...

Are you ready to gain a capital advantage? Welcome to Raiser's Edge — the podcast dedicated to unlocking the secrets of successful fundraising, direct from the experts.  On Raiser's Edge, Ben Elowitz, your host and a multi-time founder, coach, investor, and advisor, will be interviewing some of the top fundraisers in the start-up world. Hear their stories about the thrill (and agony) of...