I talk to founders every day. We all have the same problem. Fundraising is painful. You never know when to ask for money or how to get investors to commit.

My friend Chris Howard shared some wisdom with me recently. Chris is an expert on this. He is not just talking theory. He has raised more than $100M for his startups using this exact method. It works.

He learned part of this from his mentor David Cohen, the founder of Techstars, and adapted it for his own startups^.

Chris compares fundraising to a snail. Or an onion.

It sounds funny. But it makes perfect sense.

Most founders try to sell too fast. They meet an investor and ask for money immediately. This is wrong. You need to work from the outside in. You start on the outside layer of the snail shell and spiral your way to the center.

Chris says there are six layers in total. You must move your investors through these layers together.

Here is how Chris Howard says you should do it.

See below to continue…

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Continue…

Imagine a snail shell. You are on the outside edge.

When you are on this outside layer, you only have "outside layer" conversations. It does not matter who you are talking to. It does not matter if it is a new investor or an old contact. Everyone gets the same conversation.

You do not move to the next layer until you have enough people in the current layer. You build consensus. You create a group. Then you move everyone to the next stage together.

This helps you create peer pressure without investors ever talking to each other.

Here are the six layers.

You are at the start. You are on the very outside of the onion.

You do not ask for money here. You ask for advice.

You go to your network and potential investors. You say this:

That is it. You are simply trying to figure out if you should raise money for a startup like yours right now.

You wait until you get enough people telling you, "Yes, now is a good time". Once you are comfortable with the number of people saying this, you move to Layer 2.

Now you go back to everyone. You tell them what you learned.

You say:

You are still asking for advice. You are not selling yet.

If you meet a new investor right now, you do not start at Layer 1. You put them straight into this Layer 2 conversation. You keep everyone on the same page.

You gather their feedback. Maybe they tell you to do a pre-seed round.

Now you go to the third layer. You say:

You are building a consensus. You are finding out what terms people are happy with.

These first three layers are safe. You are only seeking advice. You are not asking for a check. This lowers the pressure.

Now the game changes. You flip from asking for advice to the first part of sales.

You go back to all those people who helped you in the first three layers.

You say:

Then you ask the soft question:

Notice the language. You ask if they would consider it. You ask if they would join if you respect their conditions.

You are not asking them to sign anything yet. You are not telling them who else is in. You are asking that individual fund: If I do this right, are you interested?.

Now you spiral to the fifth layer. You start to play hard ball.

You act surprised by the demand.

You say:

This is a good problem. But you stay humble. You tell them you know not everyone will close. That would be stupid to assume.

But now you propose the specific deal.

You say:

Usually, you will be close enough to what they want. They might say, "Cool, if other good people come in, then yes".

You ask them specifically:

You get a verbal number.

This is the final layer. You are at the center of the snail.

You have your lead investor. You have permission.

You go back to the group. You say:

You remind them of their promise.

This is the last step before you send the legal documents and take the money.

David Cohen calls this "respecting the conditions".

This phrase is important. It allows you to filter people out.

If someone has conditions you cannot meet, they leave the process naturally. If you meet their conditions, they have no excuse not to invest.

It also helps you herd everyone together. You use the "consensus" of the group to convince the individual.

Chris does this religiously. He has a tracking sheet. He has done this 15 times.

He tracks exactly what stage every person is in. He pushes them all through the layers of the onion together.

Sometimes, you get an investor who wants to move fast. They want to accelerate through the conversation.

This is dangerous. It breaks your process.

Chris suggests you slow them down. You say:

You keep the control.

I love this approach because it is organized. It removes the desperation. You are not begging for money. You are building a case.

You start with advice. You move to structure. You move to terms. Then, and only then, do you ask for the commitment.

Next time you fundraise, think of the snail. Start on the outside. Work your way in.

✅ If this was useful, pass it on. You know a founder who is trying to force a close and getting nowhere. Send this to them. It gives them a strategy instead of just hope.

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