fbpx

#15: Raising Startup Capital with Bandwagon Founder and CEO Harold Hughes

#15: Raising Startup Capital with Bandwagon Founder and CEO Harold Hughes

#15: Raising Startup Capital with Bandwagon Founder and CEO Harold Hughes

Raising money to start and grow a company is some science with a whole lotta art.

A quick google search will give you all of the steps of raising money, bootstrapping, and finding investors, but the real insights come from hearing the real life, ground zero steps that startup founders have taken and the mistakes they’ve made.

I was blessed to find a startup founder willing to share the nitty gritty details of what it really means to take a leap of faith, found a startup, and grind it out to raise the money needed to pursue startup success (whatever that looks like).

Harold Hughes joined me in the studio to talk about the company he’s founded, BANDWAGON FANCLUB Inc., and the more than $2 million he’s raised to build the startup.

BANDWAGON is a fan analytics company built to help teams identify and engage the fans that show up on game day, and it started as a side hustle to Harold’s day job.

Today, BANDWAGON is a multi-million dollar company backed by Blue Vista Ventures, Backstage Capital and the Black Angel Tech Fund and is growing with support from the Founder Institute Incubator and the Capital Factory Accelerator.

Given this background, if anyone knows about the ups and downs of raising money for a startup, it’s Harold.

Harold shared all kinds of fundamental insights about his experience raising money as a black founder in tech. From how to land your first investor, to attracting high-profile investors via Twitter, to how he’s raised $2 million brick by brick, Harold held nothing back.

Check out the full episode below:

Show Highlights

  • 00:11:22: Harold’s advice about projecting to be what you expect to be
  • 00:12:44: How Harold originally funded his startup with his own money and an Indiegogo campaign
  • 00:14:04: How getting fired from a six-figure job led to Harold working on his startup full-time
  • 00:20:19: How Harold landed his first 6-figure investor over coffee
  • 00:23:54: Using Twitter to land high-profile investors
  • 00:24:35: How to convince investors to invest in your startup
  • 00:27:05: How to set a valuation for your new startup
  • 00:29:04: One of Bandwagon’s first fundraising mistakes
  • 00:30:26: How doing a podcast interview landed Bandwagon a new investor
  • 00:32:28: How Bandwagon has raised $2 million and its financial philosophy
  • 00:37:14: Why Bandwagon turned down an acquisition offer
  • 00:44:17: Why Harold has become an angel investor for other startups and a mentor for black founders and women founders
  • 00:45:54: Harold’s two pieces of advice to people who want to found and build a startup company

Questions and Action: Should you be raising money?

 After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Please answer the questions relevant to your current situation:

1. What difficulties are you currently having with financing your business?

2. What lessons did you learn from Harold that you can try in your business?

3. What can you do to “project to be what you expect to be”?

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’m happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want. 

Check out the show notes at the end of this page for links and resources from this episode.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with creators, entrepreneurs and innovators like yourself.

                                                                  Let’s continue to make it happen,

Show Notes

Harold Hughes on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OneBandwagonFan/ 

Bandwagon: https://bandwagonfanclub.com/ 

Harold’s Medium page: https://medium.com/@OneBandwagonFan

Here’s Your Chance to Invest in the Blockchain Technology Curbing Ticket Fraud: https://www.blackenterprise.com/blockchain-bandwagon-equity-crowdfunding-ticket-fraud/

Bandwagon Aims to Solve Ticket Fraud With The Blockchain: https://cryptobriefing.com/bandwagon-ticket-fraud-blockchain/

Ticket Scalpers, Beware! Blockchain Is Coming for You (#50, Bandwagon): https://gimletmedia.com/shows/the-pitch/kwhaw8

‘We Had An Acquisition Offer. We Turned It Down’: Bandwagon Founder Harold Hughes On Mogul Watch: https://moguldom.com/157548/bandwagon-blockchain-sports-fan-analytics-company/ 

The Venture Capital Fundraising Landscape: https://www.siskar.co/blog/2019/11/1/the-venture-capital-fundraising-landscape 

For Communities Of Color, Startup Funding Efforts Can Hold Promise And Pitfalls: https://www.fastcompany.com/40512319/backing-startups-outside-of-silicon-valley-dont-overlook-families-of-color 

Podcast Episode

Share This