RAISE

Founder

Stealth Startup

Founder Institute

Founder Institute is a multi award winning accelerator with chapters in every major city in the world.

I support Start Ups in NYC for them, especially when dealing with the very first fundraising.

Mentor

PeakSpan Capital

Sector Expert (Proptech)

OpenFi

Outstanding customer nurture using conversational AI on WhatsApp.

Investor

Waymap

Provides the world’s only navigation app that guides you both indoors and outdoors.

Oculo

The easiest way to digitize your construction site & enable remote working.

Commonplace

On-line citizen engagement for developers.

Trunk

Get your offsite projects to install in time.

Kato

Lease commercial space in days, not months.

Connecting people & place to create a better planetary experience 🌍 

I'm obsessed with the intersection of property, regeneration and technology and its impact on the planet and people.

I’m addicted to personal and professional development as well as founder, team and investor psychology.

I’ve worked in a number of sectors across commercial real estate, property technology, climate and regeneration covering 3 continents - some highlights include:

- raising angel, family office, PE, institutional & venture capital for proptech companies and real estate funds
- launching and financing real estate funds and projects
- developing consumer facing apps to manage household finances and payments
- engineering back ends and an API platform for solving complex multi-utility billing and rent collection
- advising on modular housing construction
- getting my permaculture certification along with my wife in Portugal
- selling and deploying SaaS solutions in to REITs
- building software for the construction industry
- acquiring industrial buildings
- finding and negotiating office space for anchor tenants
- becoming the first LEED Accredited Professional at my RE Firm in 2009

I'm at my best operating, advising and investing where people and place meet.

I've sat in boardrooms where $50M deals died in seconds.
Not from bad numbers. Not from market timing.
From one simple question.

"What about parking? This isn't close enough to metro."

Deal dead. I know, it sounds a bit dramatic. 

This was 2005-2006 in Washington DC. I was the junior broker thrust into boardrooms with some of the biggest real estate developers and fund owners in the area.

Here's what I noticed watching these master operators at work:

The 55/5 rule:
55 minutes talking about families, weekend plans, kids' soccer games.
5 minutes talking about the actual deal.

My analyst friends were obsessing over IRRs for weeks.
These principals? Straight to the Achilles heel.

What they knew:

1. Relationships accelerate everything
Trust happens in those first 55 minutes. The deal lives or dies in the last 5.

2. Pattern recognition beats analysis
Years of deals taught them the 3-4 things that kill transactions. Why waste time on everything else?

3. Speed is competitive advantage
While competitors spent months in due diligence, they moved in minutes.

I didn’t understand half the numbers they threw around.

But I understood one thing…money moves fastest when people trust slowly.

That comfort with big figures?

It eventually became confidence.

And ironically…today, I am the guy who asks about parking :)

I don’t get it right every time, and neither will you. But when you can step back, spot the pressure points, and name risk and upside without flinching that’s when you stop chasing deals and start controlling outcomes.

Nick Katz

Exited Founder Turned Investor | Founder @ RAISE - Fundraising & Growth Strategist

If you’re trying to raise capital right now, stop scrolling.
August is over. September is here. 

You know what that means for Europe?
The fundraising window is WIDE OPEN.

Think of it like this:
☀️ February to May
🍂 September to November
That’s when serious capital actually moves. Everything else? Just background noise.

Here’s the controversial truth I've seen time and again:
If you’re still figuring out who to pitch and what your story is this late into September… you're already playing catch up.

Investor interest isn't your first problem. 
Clarity is.

That’s exactly why I’ve been running Needs Assessments with founders these past few weeks. The results?
 - Founders who felt "stuck in the haze" found crystal clarity in under 2 hours.
 - A few have already turned that clarity into early wins.
 - Many realized their deck wasn't the issue their narrative was.

Fundraising isn’t just about sending out prettier PDFs. 
It’s about precision, perfect timing, and crafting a story investors genuinely can't ignore.

So, if you’re about to "GO TO MARKET" with your raise this September, ask yourself:
- Is your story so sharp you’d invest in it yourself?
- Is your investor funnel structured, or are you just collecting names?
- Do you know the exact objections investors will raise before they even say them?

If you’re nodding “NO” to any of those, this is your wake up call.

I know, because clarity changes the game. 
In the past 6 months, my small client cohort has generated:
 - 3 serious term sheets
 - 2 rounds fully or partially closed
 - 1 round progressing better than expected

I’m back, recharged, and ready to help more founders sharpen their narrative, build trust, and run raises that actually close.

👉 DM me "𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓" and I’ll help you get investor ready clarity in under 2 hours before you burn weeks sending decks that won’t land.

P.S. Appreciate all the support during my short break! Super excited to help more founders win big this season.

#funding #vc #founders #investors #advice

I’ve helped founders raise $56M+ globally.
But seeing Fyxer AI raising $40M in 20 days felt like a breath of fresh air. Why?

Because it proves what I’ve seen in every successful raise:

✅ Fundraising is a sprint, not a marathon
✅ Story beats spreadsheets
✅ The right partner is worth more than valuation points

That’s why I built the Fundraising Playbook 2025.

Inside, I break down:

📍Fyxer’s $40M sprint decoded
📍3 myths killing most fundraisers
📍My $56M+ process to run a sprint, not a slog
📍Checklist you’ll need to raise in 2025 & beyond

Want the full playbook?

1. Connect with me
2. Comment "PLAYBOOK" below

And I’ll send it your way.

P.S. Founders who master this sprint now will own 2025 & 2026.

#fundraising  #StartupGrowth  #VCFunding

Nscale - $1.1B to scale Europe’s AI infrastructure.
Fyxer AI - $30M Series B to take its AI assistant global.
Lovable - the unicorn with a $200M Series A at a $1.8B valuation.

On the surface, these are just big rounds.
But look closer.

They’re redefining Europe’s fundraising playbook.
And in 2025, the center of gravity is shifting.

Not from Europe to the Valley but from the Valley to Europe.

Here are 10 more epic European fundraising stories 👇

• Mistral AI (France): 
€1.7B Series C led by ASML → €11.7B valuation.

• IQM Quantum Computers (Finland): 
$300M+ Series B → new unicorn in quantum computing.

• Quantum Systems (Germany): 
€160M Series C → dual use drone unicorn.

• ReOrbit (Finland): 
€45M Series A → sovereign satellites for Europe.

• Corintis (Switzerland): 
$24M Series A → liquid cooling for AI chips.

• Wayve (UK): 
Preparing $500M raise with NVIDIA as strategic backer.

• Revolut (UK): 
From small seed to $75B valuation.

• Northvolt (Sweden): 
Billions raised → EV battery backbone.

• DeepL (Germany): 
Late funding → became Europe’s AI translation leader.

• Celonis (Germany): 
$2.4B+ raised → process mining giant.

Huge congrats to all these amazing teams and founders behind these companies ❤️ 

-----

As someone advising a few of the hottest startups fundraise in 2025,

I can definitely say with my US Europe experience, 

Europe doesn’t follow the Valley script anymore.

Some raise late.
Some bootstrap, then IPO.
Some skip straight to mega rounds.

We don’t have to run to Silicon Valley.

The rules of fundraising are being written here.

The best founders aren’t just raising money.

They are redefining the game.

And that’s the fastest & most efficient fundraising playbook you’ll ever need.

Perspective?

#fundraising #europe #vc #investment #founders

The deal didn’t fall through because of numbers.

It fell through because of culture. WHY?

Fundraising is 50% metrics, 50% cultural intelligence.

And ignoring the second half is how deals silently die.

At a recent investor day in Lisbon, that became painfully clear. 

Because dealmaking is not just about strong unit economics or growth curves. It’s about how those numbers are perceived, filtered through language, norms, expectations and told in a story that resonates with the person across the table from you.

Portugal’s startup & VC scene is on an upswing. Firms like Shilling VC, Armilar, Semapa Next, Indico Capital Partners, GROUND CAPITAL raising €50M for deep tech/impact), as well as larger PE Funds/Asset Managers with VC arms like LINCE CAPITAL, BlueCrow Capital, Iberis Capital, AngelsWay 🔷, Olisipo Way and plenty of others are backing B2B, B2C and other startups even pre Series A, bridging global capital with local ambition.

Yet there’s a cultural nuance at play:

📍 In the U.S., speed and directness are prized.
📍In U.K. / Western Europe, trust is built over time with patience and often, even deeper bonds.
📍In Portugal? Conversations often begin with family stories, personal context, even small talk about where you grew up. It’s not superficial; it’s the gateway to deeper relationships, trust and loyalty.

At that Lisbon event, I was one of only two attendees relying relatively on English translation (my Portuguese is improving, but more slowly than a real estate licensing process in this country, unfortunately!). 

Around me, many investors and founders were speaking Portuguese, weaving local references. You could feel the misalignment if you weren’t tuned in.

That’s why culture matters:

📍 It shapes what “traction” looks like.
A competitor’s 30% month on month gain might feel impressive in one market, underwhelming in another.

📍 It influences pacing.
Asking for a term sheet too early can come off as aggressive in some markets, indifferent in others.

📍 It affects trust & relationship depth.
Your personality, pace, humility, and style all filter through local norms.


I’ve helped raise $56M+ across geographies from US to Europe to emerging markets. One lesson stands out:

Metrics and strong stories open doors. Culture closes them.

Before your next raise, reflect:

How well do you understand the cultural lens of your investors?

📍What narratives, rhythms, trust signals do you need to adapt?

📍How are you building bridges, not just convincing with charts?

So YES …funds care about your growth metrics, but..

How those metrics land depends heavily on your narrative, empathy, and cultural intelligence.

Agree? Share your POV in the comments!

#VentureCapital #Fundraising #StartupFunding

After helping founders raise $56M+ across the US & Europe, 
Here’s the one thing I see most often ignored in fundraising.

Last week in Lisbon, I caught up with Nancy Brito of GROUND CAPITAL at her sweet offices at the Unicorn Factory Lisboa. 

She is an early stage VC passionate about impact and deep tech startups.

Funny enough, my first interaction with Nancy was just a due diligence call about a year ago. Nothing more than a checklist call, right?

Wrong.

Meeting her in person confirmed something I keep telling founders:
-  Fundraising is not just about perfect metrics &shiny decks.
-  Investors are not simply “ticking boxes.”

They’re looking at:
- Your readiness to scale
- The alignment between your story and their thesis
- Whether you can actually carry the relationship through the messy middle of building

Due diligence isn’t just a hurdle.
It’s your chance to build trust, clear doubts + deepen conviction.

So before every investor call, ask yourself:
-  Am I prepared for the nuanced, deeper conversations that go beyond the deck?
-  Am I showing the real alignment investors are looking for?

Because closing a round is less about slides &more about relationships.

Lovely reconnecting with Nancy Brito.
GROUND CAPITAL is doing some brilliant work (next time we’re taking a picture!).

If you’re a founder struggling to navigate investor conversations and due diligence with clarity, let’s talk.

#Fundraising #VentureCapital #Duediligence

AI is moving faster than any founder can keep up with alone.
The real question isn’t if you’ll use it, but how you’ll make it actually work across your whole business.

That’s exactly why my friends Amrita Das (my former collaborator on a big project) and Gemma Young (a co-investor in a few businesses with me) started the Full Stack Founder AI Bootcamp.

📍 Sept 29 and 30, London

Over two days, 60+ startup leaders will get hands on with AI, swap what’s working behind the scenes, and leave with practical rollout plans.

This isn’t another conference where you sit back and listen.

It's peer learning + practical building designed to ensure you walk away with:

- Vetted workflows
- A sharp AI opportunity map
- An action plan you can use on Monday morning

The first bootcamp proved the model works:

- 4.8/5 average rating
- 100% would recommend to other leaders
- 95% left ready to implement new tools immediately

And the feedback said it best:

- Most practical, no fluff AI bootcamp… clear plan and confidence to prototype.” (👩‍🔬 Stephanie Alys) 

- Absolutely eye opening… it gave me not just hope, but energy.” (Mica Vaipan)

- I spend 6 hrs/day in AI tools and still left with new ideas & approaches.” (Roman Grigoriev)

Bootcamp 001 was led by some of the sharpest minds in AI: Rob Elkin Evgeny Shadchnev, Rod Banner, Rachel Carrell, Ian Broom, Glenn Smith Peter Nixey, David Hathiramani, Alfie Whattam, Emma Sinclair MBE Scarlett McCabe, Daniel van Binsbergen.

Now it’s your turn.

👉 If you’re a founder figuring out AI across your business or starting something new join us for Bootcamp 002 (Sept 29 and 30, London).

Details: https://linkly.link/2FBFl
Register: https://linkly.link/2FBFj 
Use code FRIEND100 for a friend’s discount

#AI #Founders #Strategy

Most fundraisers fail before the first meeting even happens.
Why? Well.. the most obvious failing factor is:

The founder thinks they're ready.

Deck looks good. Numbers are solid.
Time to start taking meetings.

Then reality hits:

"Can you send over your data room?"
"What's your unit economics breakdown?"
"How do you think about market sizing?"

And suddenly they're scrambling.
Building documents mid process.
Answering basic questions for the first time.

Here's the truth: Preparation isn't part of your fundraise. It is your fundraise.

The founders who close fast do an "absolute boatload of pre preparation work."

Your data room should be bulletproof:
📍 Financial models that roll forward 3 years
📍Customer reference calls ready to schedule
📍Competitive analysis that shows you know your space
📍Team slides with growth plans mapped out

Your story should be tested:
📍 Practice with friendly investors first
📍 Get feedback and refine before the real pitches
📍Know every objection before it comes up

Your metrics should all be trending up:
📍 Don't start your process during a rough patch
📍 Wait for the right inflection point
📍 Time it when your business is firing on all cylinders

The companies that raise in 20 days?
They spent 60 days preparing.

Most founders get this backwards.
They start meetings to "test the waters" and figure it out as they go.

The winners finish the race before it even starts.

How much time did you spend preparing for your last fundraise?

#startupfundraising #venturecapital

Your round could fail not because of your lead investor.
But because of the ones you didn’t notice.

Co investment isn’t just about splitting checks.
It’s about building stronger, smarter rounds that multiply value beyond the capital itself.

It’s easy to focus on the biggest ticket size. But real success comes from investors who bring:

⮕ Complementary networks
⮕ Sector expertise
⮕ Long term support that founders can count on well after the round closes

For founders, identifying co investors who truly align with your vision growth, when you plan early in your raise can accelerate:

⮕ Your funding
⮕ Product market fit
⮕ Go to market execution
⮕ Strategic guidance

Ask yourself:

⮕ Who else is sitting at your table beyond the headline investors?
⮕ Are they genuine partners ready to roll up their sleeves, or passive backers just chasing returns?

Smart co investment means more than just money it’s a force multiplier that can turn promising rounds into breakout success stories, opening doors you didn’t even know existed.

Think beyond the lead:
Which unexpected co investor turned out to be a game changer for you?

Need more clarity on this / fundraising journey? 
Happy to speak - DM "CLARITY".

#Fundraising #Coinvestment #Venturecapital

What do Airbnb, OpenAI & Revolut have in common?
They all hit an inflection point,
the moment a company stops being promising and starts feeling inevitable.

In every great company’s story, there’s a visible bend in the curve.
Traction turns into acceleration.
Curiosity into conviction.

And investors rush to catch up.

In fundraising, timing that bend is everything.

Most founders treat fundraising like a checklist:
Deck → Data Room → Calls → Close.

But fundraising is nonlinear.
It’s about knowing where you are on the curve and signalling the bend before it happens.

That’s where the RAISE Inflection Point Framework comes in.
It maps the four psychological and performance shifts that define fundraising readiness.

1. Traction → Momentum

When growth stops being proof of concept and starts showing acceleration.

Raise too early and you look desperate.
Raise here and you look inevitable.

2. Momentum → Conviction

When story and numbers finally align.

Investors stop asking “Can it work?” and start asking “How big can this get?”
Your two sentence narrative makes the data feel destined.

3. Conviction → Leverage

When multiple investors are circling and you control the clock.

This isn’t luck. It’s sequencing, speed, and disciplined communication.

4. Leverage → Legacy

When you stop raising money and start choosing partners.

Valuation fades. Alignment lasts.
Pick builders, not bankers.

Every great raise follows an S curve.

You grind. The curve bends. Then you decide who climbs it with you.

Having helped founders raise $56M+ across geographies, this pattern shows up every time a round goes right.

Before your next raise, ask yourself:
👉 Where are you on the curve?
👉 Are you signalling the bend clearly enough for investors to see it?

Inflection isn’t a milestone. It’s a perception shift.

Your job is to engineer it, narrate it, and own it.

The best fundraises happen when you almost don’t need the money.
That’s exactly when everyone wants to give it to you.

What inflection point triggered your most successful raise?

🚨 Big news: The world’s first AI law just went from theory to reality.
In Aug, the EU AI Act officially took effect historic. But here’s the BIG issue
 
1️⃣ This is all needed.
- AI has real risks: bias, misuse, and opacity.
- Guardrails are essential but trust is the oxygen for adoption.

2️⃣ But rollout matters.
- Obligations landed on Aug 2.
- Practical guidance? Dropped weeks before.
- Founders can’t rewire entire product roadmaps overnight.

3️⃣ One size fits all ≠ realistic.
- A five-person AI startup cannot bear the same compliance burden a Mistral AI or Synthesia.
- The Act risks applying hyperscaler level rules to seed stage innovators.
- That’s not regulation. That’s suffocation.

4️⃣ Global competitiveness at stake.
- While the EU tightens rules, the US and Asia move faster.
- Capital and talent will flow where growth is unhindered.
- Over regulation could cost Europe the very innovators it hopes to nurture.

My take:
Regulation is non negotiable. Guardrails are needed.
But if Europe wants to lead, it must move at a founder’s tempo fast, adaptive + scaled to stage and size.

At RAISE, I work every day with founders navigating fundraising and building under uncertainty.
We’re joining the EU’s Code of Practice process (deadline: Oct 2) to make sure founder voices are heard.

I hope other AI founders whether you’re huge or just starting out with a 10 person team join in too.

👉 Save this if you’re a founder in Europe. 
Share it with your teams. 

The EU AI Act will define how we build for the next decade. (Link in comments for more info 👇)

#AIRegulation #AICompliance #EuropeanUnion

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