Fundraising: Let data tell your story
Nodal is a groundbreaking matching platform in the surrogacy industry that is transforming the experience by providing not just services, but desperately needed education and support for all involved parties. This unique platform connects pre-screened surrogates with prospective parents, fostering an environment of transparency, equity, and visibility.
Challenges
While the brand had its visual identity and messaging in place before their raise, their pitch needed to clear significant hurdles en route to funding:
Nodal’s founder - a double board-certified doctor of reproductive endocrinology, infertility, obstetrics, and gynecology - felt passionate about addressing the high cost and inaccessibility of surrogacy. For intended parents, the traditional surrogacy system often means spending upwards of $125,000 per child and experiencing years of waiting while agencies struggle to make matches, screen for conditions, and gather medical records quickly.
Very few surrogacy-specific startups existed in the wider fertility space, which can be both a blessing and a curse, as investors often want to see potential from a handful of other successes. In Nodal’s case, they were truly breaking new ground in a $4 billion industry that, as of their first raise, had only attracted about $345 million in surrogacy-specific investment (source).
Approach
I worked directly with the founder and CEO, the COO, and General Counsel to gain a deep understanding of the market, its problems, and Nodal’s solution. Telling the right story for investors relies on building up a compelling narrative foundation from a sound data structure so that VCs feel both emotionally and logically guided toward the right decision.
A holistic look at the industry problem and a unique solution: The fact that surrogacy is too expensive, too time-consuming, and lacks transparency is a clear enough problem for consumers. What Nodal needed to address was why no one had figured out how to change it yet and how the industry bottleneck affected more than just those directly involved. Contracting and expanding from the birdseye view allows investors to see the values they are looking for in TAMs and CAGRs while addressing the tangible reasons the model delivers on their investments while also working for consumers.
A clear, concise presentation: As a founder, your start-up is your sole focus, making it hard to parse through what information is necessary (or not) for different audiences. When it comes to investor comms, brevity is key. Nodal’s founder came to me asking for 8-12 slides for his pitch, which was music to my ears. Together, we crafted a deck that was featured in Business Insider and other reputable resources for start-ups.
Continuing investor comms: It’s imperative to have a plan for ongoing communication with investors. We set up an expectation for the types of updates VCs could expect on a regular cadence that included everything from new hires, company happenings, and industry developments. These types of communications are more than courtesy updates: they are necessary to maintain warm relationships and establish the legitimacy of a company’s endeavors.
Results
Seed round: Nodal successfully garnered support from some of the biggest names in healthcare capital, raising close to $5 million in their initial round. This enabled them to hire their foundational leadership team, develop their product, and begin to successfully match intended parents with surrogates.
Initial content strategy: I stayed on to help the newly hired VP of Marketing, Marketing Director, and Social Media Manager devise and execute their content strategies across their website, longform content, and social channels to effectively communicate Nodal’s message across all touchpoints.