Rebel Meetups (Cardiff) by Rebellious Co

The Dark Art of Fundraising

It's not the best company that gets funded. It's the most convincing founder.

Most founders never learn this. They believe the pitch decides the outcome, oblivious to the hidden power dynamics that quietly decide who gets funded, on what terms, and who keeps control of their company.

Paul King has sat on both sides of the table. As a corporate finance adviser and operator, he's guided founders through the whole journey: from first raises through to successful exits, most recently helping companies close rounds of over £10m.

Not just completed rounds, exceptional results: better terms, the right investors, closed more quickly.

In this session, Paul reveals:
•⁠ ⁠The psychology driving every investor decision, and how to use it
•⁠ ⁠Where you lose leverage without realising it, and how to win it back
•⁠ ⁠The clauses that quietly reshape ownership and control, and how to negotiate them without giving away your company's future
•⁠ ⁠How to flip the dynamic so the right investors chase you, not the other way around

Get this right and you're one step ahead of the investors: a raise you control, rather than endure.

This is for founders raising soon, or planning to.

Is that you? If so, we'll see you there.

Your cofounder relationship will do more to make or break your company than almost any other decision you make. Yet most founders spend more time on their pitch deck than on the partnership that has to survive it.

Dr. Matthew Jones is a licensed psychologist who's spent years working with co-founding teams backed by YC, Sequoia, a16z, and Google Ventures, helping them turn friction into an advantage, instead of a fault line.

In this session, Matthew covers:

• What to actually look for in a cofounder, before you commit
• Why cofounder conflict isn't a red flag, and how to tell the difference between healthy tension and a real problem
• Practical tools for communication, decision-making, and navigating compromise when it counts

This session is for anyone currently looking for a cofounder, already in a cofounder relationship, or someone navigating one that's under strain.