Get All Access for $5/mo

What the Founder of Jukely Learned About Raising Money Bora Celik of Jukely explains how he snagged funding for his company.

By Alex Iskold Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

I first met Bora Celik, founder of Jukely, when he was part of the Techstars accelerator program in New York City. Not only did he have an incredible passion for music (he spent 10 years as a concert promoter), he also had A+ chops when it came to app design.

But his journey as a founder wasn't easy. A lot of investors said no when he pitched the idea of a social network built around concerts.

Bora and his crew iterated on the product and turned essentially turned it into a Netflix for concerts. The company's $25 per month subscription
offer struck a cord with music lovers around the word and also resonated with investors.

bora-celik-jukely-founder

Read the interview with Jukely learn about their incredible fundraising journey.

1. What is Jukely, in 140 characters?

Jukely is a concert discovery and subscription service that gets you out to see more live shows.

2. Who gave you your very first check? What was that experience like?

A prominent NYC angel, Paul Sethi, gave the first check. After months of providing progress updates, he said "I'm ready to invest now" instead of "keep me posted with progress" and that made all the difference. It came at a time it was much needed, right before we got into Techstars.

3. What was your most recent round of funding, how much did you raise and who were your investors?

We just raised $8 million in a seed extension round, led by our existing investors Northzone and 14W who are both early Spotify investors. Several of our existing angels participated such as Larry Marcus, Hany Nada, and GroupMe founders Steve Martocci and Jared Hecht.

4. How did you approach fundraising? How did you decide how much money to raise? What was your plan?

In this latest round, we wanted to fuel our expansion to other major cities internationally and looking at the costs of launching in cities and growing the team to support these launches, we came up with how much would be needed until the next milestone.

5. How did you go about getting investor introductions?

This time around it was mostly inbound interest from the investment community. Didn't really reach out to anyone new. In the previous round, we mostly used the Techstars network for investor introductions and the ones we met during those times have remained in touch.

6. What was the hardest and the most unexpected part about fundraising?

The amount of time and effort it requires. It's a very consuming process, almost like a full-time job.

7. What was the dynamic of the round like? What was the difference between early and late commits?

Early commits in the rounds have always been the hardest. Once the round is coming together, towards the end, commits really speed up and months turn into days.

8. What mistakes have you made in retrospect? What would you do differently?

You really need to believe in what you're doing. There is only one of our company but money is everywhere. If you have truly built something special, it's a privilege for anyone to be able to invest in your company. The attitude needs to reflect that. In the earlier days, as an entrepreneur, it's hard to have this confidence. Also you should always go to the top guys in the VC firms and skip the juniors as much as possible. They can never say yes, they can only say no.

9. What is your advice to founders like yourself who are trying to raise financing?

Tell a compelling story. The way you talk about your company and communicate your vision may be the single most important thing.

10. What are your top 3 do's and top 3 don'ts on raising funding?

Do have incredible confidence in your business and convey that.
Do prepare a deck that's short and tells an interesting story with flow.
Do focus on your differentiators and be convincing.
Don't expect for checks to be written quickly without having at least 6-month history with a VC.
Don't confuse a positively upbeat VC meeting with interest in investing.
Don't take meetings with junior VCs who aren't decision makers.
This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
Alex Iskold

Entrepreneur, Investor, Managing Director of Techstars in NYC

Alex Iskold is the managing director of Techstars in New York City. Previously Iskold was founder/CEO of GetGlue (acquired by i.tv), founder/CEO of Information Laboratory (acquired by IBM) and chief architect at DataSynapse (acquired by TIBCO). An engineer by training, Iskold has deep passion and appreciation for startups, digital products and elegant code. He likes running, yoga, complex systems, Murakami books and red wine -- not necessarily in that order and not necessarily all together. He actively blogs about startups and venture capital at http://alexiskold.net.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Side Hustle He Started in His College Apartment Turned Into a $70,000-a-Month Income Stream — Then Earned Nearly $2 Million Last Year

Kyle Morrand and his college roommates loved playing retro video games — and the pastime would help launch his career.

Business News

New Southwest Airlines Major Investor Wants to Force Out CEO, Slams Company's 'Stubborn Unwillingness to Evolve'

Elliot Investment Management announced a $1.9 billion stake in the Dallas-based Southwest Airlines on Monday and is urging shareholders to vote for new leadership.

Science & Technology

Why We Shouldn't Fear AI in Education (and How to Use It Effectively)

Facing resistance to new technologies in the educational process is nothing new, and AI is no exception. Yet, this powerful tool is set to overcome these challenges and revolutionize education, preparing students and professionals for a future of unparalleled efficiency and personalized learning.

Business News

Elon Musk Threatens to Ban Employees from Using Apple Products, Says Will Lock Devices in 'Cages'

The Tesla founder sounded off on X following Apple's 2024 Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday.

Business News

Apple's AI Has a Catch — And It Could Help Boost Sales

Not every iPhone owner will get to use the new Apple Intelligence.

Business News

Y Combinator Helped Launch Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Here's What I Learned From Its Free Startup School.

The famed startup accelerator offers a free course on building a business — and answers five pressing questions for founders.