Here’s a good way to calibrate your expectations as to how long it will take you to raise funding.
It’ll take two seasons, i.e. whatever season you’re in now, it won’t be this one, and whatever season comes next, it won’t be that one either.
For example, it’s Autumn. If you start raising now, it won’t happen in Autumn, or Winter, but there’s a good chance you’ll have cash in the bank in Spring.
Raising money always takes MUCH longer than you think it does, although in reality everything in business takes longer than you think it will.
I find that putting it this way concentrates the mind much better than saying “six months”, which is the equivalent really. But we tend to think about “six months” as not that long a period of time – when of course it actually is.
Making sure you maintaining a grip of how slow the raising process is really helps you set priorities, because if you know something’s not going to happen until Spring, it let’s you really focus on what’s important in Winter.
(And it’s only 88 sleeps until Christmas.)