Our first Capital & Craft webinar went down with a blast.
At Tappable, we’ve spent 15 years building the "Craft". The software architecture and execution that allows businesses to scale. But we know that technical excellence is only half the battle. Without "Capital," even the best-built products can struggle to dominate their market.
We launched this series to bridge that gap. To kick things off, we sat down with Oli Hammond from Fuel Ventures to discuss the blunt reality of the Pre-Seed-to-Series A transition.
The 4,000-to-1 Reality
Fuel Ventures reviews roughly 4,000 investment opportunities every year. They only back a tiny fraction.
To be the "chosen one," a founder cannot rely on a polished deck alone. Investors are looking for outliers who can demonstrate total control over their business logic. If a founder can't explain how their system handles growth, it’s an immediate red flag.
The most effective way to get on a VC's radar?
Game recognises game.
Cold emails rarely work. The most successful introductions come from other founders whom the VCs already respect.
Why Founders Must Lead Sales
A common mistake we see at the agency is founders trying to outsource their sales functions too early. The logic is usually: "I need to focus on building the product."
However, in the early stages, the founder is the only person who can truly sell the vision and the logic. You have to be in the trenches, hearing the objections firsthand and iterating on the product based on real market friction. If the founder can't sell the solution, a hired salesperson won't stand a chance.
The Valuation Trap
One of the most debated topics of the session was the "Valuation Trap." Many founders enter a raise with a fixed valuation in mind, often based on ego rather than market reality.
Tappable’s stance is clear: Never value your own business when raising.
The market determines your value. A founder's job is to present the growth, the logic, and the scalability. Setting a hard anchor too early often closes doors before the real negotiation has even started.
Why Capital & Craft?
The mission behind this series is to give back to the community. We see too many brilliant products fail because the technical foundation wasn't there to support the fundraise, and too many founders get stuck because they don't understand the investor's perspective.
By combining Tappable’s 15 years of technical "Craft" with the "Capital" insights of partners like Fuel Ventures, we are helping founders build products that don't just work—they scale.
What’s Next?
Next month, we are shifting the focus to the Craft. We’ll be discussing Product: How to build high-utility software that solves real problems without creating a backlog as long as your arm!