I make Pre-Seed to Series B founders successfully fundraise by helping you build your fundraising operating system. | $350m+ raised with founders. | Follow me for tips on fundraising.

I have spent the last 10 years trying to find the "secret" sauce to making you fundraise for your company.

And you know what?

There's no secret. 

It’s just a matter of having: 

- The right preparation & processes
- A clear and concise narrative & storytelling
- Structured relationships built over a long period 

The real "secret", if there's any at all, is that you need to build a system around your fundraise to make sure you do the proper work.

A system means that allows you to: 

- Efficiently build the right relationships with investors and connectors
- Influence investors that YOU are a good bet
- Take them through your process in an efficient manner 

All the while keeping accountability of you doing the boring but important stuff.

During the $400m+ in venture funding I have been a part of, I was able to meet best-in-class  entrepreneurs. 

Some of these entrepreneurs have gone on to raise $100M+ in fundraising each. ​

All of them possessed operating systems for the fundraises. 

I’ve built such a system for fundraising founders. 

And I can help you build yours. 

But as with all things, getting started, maintaining consistency and keeping accountability is easier said than done.

The founders I have helped with their fundraises have gone on to raise $250M+. 

...And I'm doing all of this with a 100% MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE.

Now, are you serious about building fundraising for your startup? 

Let's make it happen.

(I CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU HAVE ALREADY STARTED YOUR FUNDRAISE). 

👉🏼 Shoot me a DM, or head over to my featured section & check out our offer.

I'll see you at the top!

Gian Seehra

4 Custom GPTs for fundraising for your startup. 

→ How to get them:

1. Like this post
2. Comment “AI” so I know you're serious

It’s taken me 2 years to structure this the way real fundraises are done. 

To make your fundraise 10x more efficient. 

You’ll get:

1 - GPT that writes your origin story
(Trained on the exact narrative arcs that get investors bought in around your own experiences.)

2 - GPT that builds your pitch deck
(Not just the slides but a story-driven structure that you can use to create an investable deck)

3 - GPT that finds the right investors
(Sourced from hand-built lists, and online so you can find and meet the right investors for you. Bonus: includes warm intro scripts.)

4 - GPT that maps your investor network 
(So you don’t just pitch random people. You build network leverage before you ever ask for a dollar.)

These are for the founders who want to actually prep their fundraise correctly. 

So they don't waste precious time and can actually get the funding they need to successfully build their business.

Raise $1M+ in 90 days with my proven fundraising system. | VC-Backed Founder ($16M) & Tier-1 VC | $400M+ raised with founders. | DM “RAISE” to chat how I can help.

A founder told me to f*ck off when I rejected his Seed startup as a VC. 

(All because I was actually being honest). 

This is what went down. 

I met this founder and we had an intro call. 
At the end of the call I felt it in my gut it was a NO. 

Now here is where I'd do the usual VC thing of: 

"We'll think about it" 
"Sorry we need more traction" 
"You're too early" 

But instead, I decided to be honest. 

I told him that I didn't think he was good enough. 
I tried to be as nice as possible about it. 

(EDIT: I didn't say he 'was not good enough' directly, theres a lot more nuance to what I said, and it was much nicer!)

But he went APESH*T at me. 

Shouting... 
Many swear words... 

Telling me I'm just an idiot. 

He started telling everyone I sucked as a VC. It was going around for a long time. 

I wasn't rude to him at all, just thought I'd be honest. 

Now... 

Here's the problem. 

Every VC who rejects you felt the same way I did about that founder. 

But if they told everyone the truth they'd get a constant line of angry, aggressive founders. 

Just like this founder did to me. 

And I get it... 

And why wouldn't you? 

You are building something every day and know so much about the topic. 

Then: 

• Some random suit spends 30 minutes with you. 
• Doesn't know anything about your industry. 
• Asks stupid questions... 

Only to tell you they think you aren't good enough? 

The optics just don't work. 
So investors resort to fake reasons for why they said no. 

That is the reason you get generic rejections from investors. 

I'm not saying its good. 
But I'm telling you the truth. 

So when you are fundraising make sure investors never feel that. 

Whats the most annoying rejection you got from an investor?

Can I be honest about why those Pre-Seed investors are rejecting you?
 
It’s not traction. No matter how much they say it is.
 
(I know how brutal this sounds, sorry. But it’s the real reason behind the surface reason.)
 
It’s because, in their eyes, you’re not strong enough 𝘺𝘦𝘵 as a founder.
 
Let’s break that down.
 
Over 99% of Pre-Seed investors have funded teams with 𝘯𝘰 traction.  If traction were the gate, most deals wouldn’t exist.
 
Yes, there’s a rare % who do need traction to move. They shouldn't be Pre-Seed investors.

But most of them are just not convinced 𝘆𝗼𝘂 are the one to bet on.
 
Investing into startups is emotions. Gut. "VIBES".

But an investor can't reject you based on "gut feel."
 
So they reach for the fallback excuse: traction.  

Because saying “I didn’t believe in you” sounds cruel.  

Especially when there isn't any evidence at all. 

So its easier to just tell you a white lie. 
 
But the truth is, that same investor who rejected you last week due to you needing "more users/revenue/traction". 

Probably met another founder that same week with 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 traction than you...  

And said yes.  

Because something about 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 felt more inevitable.
 
So please stop getting angry that investors are rejecting you because you need traction. 

And realise its a lie to make it easier on their end.

A founder has NEVER raised a round because of an investor list they got from this platform. 

Please please please stop wasting your time with these. 

You are taking these lists and expecting the world. 

But most of these investors: 

1. Don't invest in your stage or round size
2. Don't invest into your geograp hy
3. Don't invest into your industry
4. Not actively investing

And what makes it even worse... 
You take these lists and think that is "work". 

Patting yourself on the back, telling yourself you've done so much!!

As if you've materially moved your fundraise forward. 

When in fact, you have done NOTHING of benefit. 

The only way to find and meet investor properly is to: 

1. Build an ALIGNED list of investors 
2. Organise your network, then increase it 
3. Map out who are give you warm introductions 
4. Active those introductions at the right time 

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY YOU WILL MEET ENOUGH INVESTORS! 

Period.  

Those 4 steps are the only thing you should be doing everyday if you want to actually fundraise. 

So please stop commenting on someone's AI slop investor lists. 

And do the work that founders who fundraise do. 

What are you finding the hardest when it comes to finding and meeting investors?

The founder of Antrhopic (worth $350BN) setup 22 intros and 21 of them said NO. 

Think about that for a sec... 

A company that is more successful that 99.999% of founders ever will be got rejected by pretty much everyone at the earliest stages.

Yet you think it won't happen to you? 

One of the biggest unlocks for fundraising is understanding that rejection is normal and not necessarily a bad thing. 

You don't need everyone to like you. 

You just need a couple people who believe in your vision.
And you being strongly committed to that vision.

That's how you raise.

But also build something even 1% as successful as Anthropic. 

How do you deal with investor rejections?

Tomorrow, I'm going to jump on with fundraising founders to make sure they ACTUALLY fundraise. 

Wanna join? 

Then comment "WORKSHOP" and I'll send you over the details. 

What's even crazier is its completely free 🤯. 

Come join us! 

P.S. It's getting pretty full already so please sign up quick!

In 2016, I'd failed my 2nd startup due to failing to raise. 
At that point I decided to quit tech all together. 

I then decided to travel to Whistler to become a ski-bum whilst I chose what's next for a "failure like me". 

It wasn't until meeting my future-founders on a gondola did I start my next company. 

Now?

I've raised $16M for two companies I co-founded. 

Helped founders raise over $250M. 

No “manifesting.”
No fake “overnight success.”
Just relentless work.

And the pursuit of finding what makes a fundraise happen. 

People say, “Just wing it”

I call BS.

Everything good thign in life comes when you sit down and actually understand what it takes to do something correctly. 

That preparation is what moves mountains. 

Want to be normal?
Do normal things.

Want to be successful? 
Do what the successful founders do. 

Agree… or is that just insane?

As a VC, the number one question in my head when I opened your deck was simple:

“Do I understand what makes you great?”

If the answer was no, you were finished in under 60 seconds.

Not because I am evil, as much as you want VCs to be. 

In fact, it was because I couldn't build structure in my head that I SHOULD care about. 

So when your deck jumps straight into product on slide 3, it is already dead.

“What if every viewing came with the full picture…”
“What if agents had all of this data…”

Who thef*ck cares? 

I do not know the problem you are really solving.
I do not know why you're better than the rest.
I do not know why you win.

So if you have not made me care before the product, all I see is noise.

And every VC is the same. 

This is a snippet of a roast of a deck I did with a founder. 

Want to get your own deck roasted? 

Comment "ROAST" and I'll send you how to send me your deck to roast myself. 

AND the full video of me roasting this pitch deck.

The biggest problem with pitch decks are that I never know what makes a founder of company great. 

They are generic, one dimensional and lack story. 

So they get put onto the "generic" pile. 

To never be looked at again. 

Below is a snippet of a pitch deck roast I did with a founder last month. 

If you want to get your pitch deck roasted by me, FOR FREE. 

Then comment down below "ROAST" and I'll send you the details. 

P.S. I go very detailed and am VERY direct.

If you uploaded your deck to a VC website and heard nothing back, this is the part no one tells you.

Right now you’re probably telling yourself it’s: 

• The market
• The timing
• That VCs are slow

Maybe they’ll “get to it eventually.” 

That story feels comforting. It’s also wrong.

When you upload a deck into a VC portal, you are not being evaluated neutrally. 

You are walking into the lowest-trust inbox ever. 

When I was a VC, those portals were where the worst decks lived. 

• Wrong stage. 
• Wrong sector. 
• Unfundable ideas. 

Endless nonsense that after opening dozens of those a week, your brain gets trained to expect garbage before you even click.

So when a genuinely good company shows up...
They never got a fair read. 

They inherit the fatigue, the cynicism, and the negative bias created by the last fifty decks.

That’s the part founders don’t want to accept when they upload their deck online. 

You’re not starting from zero.
You’re starting from negative.

And here’s the uncomfortable implication most people avoid saying out loud. 

If your deck is coming through a portal, a VC can immediately tell you don’t have a real network yet.

That signal matters more than your slides.

Uploading a deck to a VC website is not outreach. 

It’s what people do when they don’t know how to access the actual game. 

And once you’ve done it, you’ve already damaged your position without realizing it.

So my blunt advice to you fundraising in 2026.... 

Stop doing it. 

If you’re mid-raise and relying on portals right now, you don’t have a deck problem. 

You have a network and process problem, and pretending otherwise is why you’re stuck.

If this hit a nerve, DM me “NETWORK” and I’ll tell you how to solve this properly.

Most AI tools for fundraising miss the point.

They’re built by people who’ve never actually raised money.

So they focus on surface problems:

• Finding investors
• Writing emails
• Scraping data.

Useful in parts for sure. 
But that's not where fundraises fail. 

The hardest part of fundraising isn’t sourcing names.
Or spamming more investors via cold email. 

It’s building trust in real time.

It’s learning how to: 

1. Lead investor conversations
2. Read subtle signals, and
3. Manage momentum.

And that’s where AI is quietly about to change everything.

For the first time, founders can:

• Practise their pitch against a simulated investor
• Get contextual feedback on tone, pacing and clarity
• Map their structure before a single meeting happens

It’s like running 100 fundraise reps before your first call.

My own AIs are already hitting 80 % of my live sessions. 

Which means founders can now use them between sessions: 

1. To rehearse
2. To refine
3. To rebuild confidence daily

This isn’t about replacing experience.
It’s about compressing it.

The tedious, messy, high-friction parts of fundraising are about to become fast, structured, and learnable.

The human part (trust, emotion, narrative) becomes the main event again.

Would you use this type of AI for your own fundraise if let you use it?

The top 1 hardest part about raising startup funding: 

As a founder you are most likely a domain expert about your industry. 

1. Speaking to customers may seem easy. 
2. Understanding your problem is a given. 
3. Knowing what to do is systemised. 
   
Your founder life is organised and structured to succeed. 

But when it comes to fundraising its the complete opposite. 

And there's a major reason for that. 

You've got to where you are in your founder journey. 
BECAUSE YOU COULD FAIL. 

Those failures made you. 
Sculpted you. 

But with fundraising you don't have that ability. 

You only have one shot at each investor... 
If you fail that shot you fail your raise. 

And because you don't have the ability to fail. 
You have ZERO clue on what you need to do. 

So fundraising feels: 

• Slow 
• Chaotic 
• Unfocused 

You don't have an understand of what matters. 
And what doesn't.

So everything breaks. 

You barely get more than 5-10 investor meetings. 
Those rarely get past the first meetings. 
Your round gets dragged along. 

And suddenly your 6+ months gone... 

Having wasted all this time fundraising with nothing to show for it. 

This is why you need to ACTUALLY understand what you are doing right or wrong in a raise. 

That way you become structured like everything else. 

It's the only way to increase your chances to raise. 

What do you think you're missing in a round?

How many more random people are gonna start posting about how to grow on Linkedin in 2026? 

2025 was crazy how many randos with 2000 followers are doing it. 

For some reason they think they can just copy others and everything will be fine? 

Where's your expertise? 
Where's your love of doing something? 

You just see someone else getting likes so may as well do it as well? 

The scary thing is that I truly think 2026 may just beat it. 

What's your thoughts?

Matthew Schneider

CEO @ Building, Inc | RWA Tokenization | Smart Cities

Researcher and practitioner of real estate, finance, and digital infrastructure. I’ve been in this space since 2020, though I'd been tracking digital assets closely since 2017. I first founded a company focused on tokenized investment syndication, which led me to explore how AI, blockchain, and IoT could bring new levels of transparency, efficiency, and liquidity to real estate.

That experience grew into Building, a company focused on turning messy real estate data into something organized, trusted, and usable. We work with developers and asset managers to streamline their information and get their properties ready for valuations, compliance, and tokenization. The aim is to make every project finance-ready from the start.

I’m cross-disciplinary, juggling a wide range of fields daily: architecture, engineering, construction, operations, urban planning, sustainability, blockchain, artificial intelligence, data science, capital markets, compliance, banking, and policy.

Outside of running a startup, I travel the world speaking publicly—keynotes, panels, and roundtables—while collaborating with startups, institutions, and government officials. My work advocates for RWA tokenization, data standards, and smarter cities. Improving the built environment and all its dependencies is one of the most challenging, but rewarding, pursuits.

I also host Code & Concrete, a podcast exploring real estate, technology, and the systems that hold cities together.

The longer story: I’ve been drawn to entrepreneurship since my earliest days. At four years old, I ran profitable theme parks in Zoo Tycoon. At nine, I programmed Minecraft servers and launched a YouTube channel. By sixteen, I had published a novel. From there, I zig-zagged through music production and day trading before landing in real estate, where I’ve been ever since.

A quote I like: “Courage isn’t having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

CEO, Co-Founder

🟦 e-States is the next generation of commercial real estate. We're pushing the built world to be democratized, optimized, and sustainable.

▷ Designed company business models and strategized growth from concept to launch. 
▷ Congregated an experienced c-suite, talented advisors, and many industry thought leaders.
▷ Successfully raised capital for business and product development.
▷ Supporting nearly $1B in deals in 2024

Let’s partner: matt@e-states.com

Excited to announce that I’ll be speaking at Future Proptech Miami — Where real estate meets technology!

This event brings together over 5,000 attendees and 1,500 organizations from around the world (their last event was held in Dubai, UAE).

Some of the event’s partners include TheBlock FZCO, the Saudi Business Council, the Silicon Valley Proptech Association, Build Australia, and FIBREE.

As a tokenization researcher and practitioner, I’ll be joining speakers such as Frederico Egli from IBM and Christine A. McHugh, mMBA from the U.S. Proptech Council.

This year, the event is also partnering with PropTechBuzz, and this week marks my one-year anniversary as part of that community.

See you all in May. Let’s talk about digitizing and tokenizing real estate!

Matthew A. Schneider

President and CEO at Building, Inc | RWA Tokenization | Smart Cities | Lecturer, Speaker and Podcast Host

This year marks a shift from building platforms to helping shape institutions. I have joined the Board of Directors of FIBREE.

FIBREE is one of the most globally networked PropTech research and standards organizations. In 2026, I am stepping up to help lead its growth and public-facing strategy.

The organization, headed by its President, Jo Bronckers, is the only PropTech NGO to hold Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

We will lean into this mandate and expand our efforts to design and implement stronger governance frameworks for real estate and infrastructure data.

One priority is the development of a globally recognized quality label for tokenization platforms and the financial instruments issued through them.
Standards have long been a priority for me, and I am eager to see broader adoption emerge from this work.

I would also like to recognize the other members of the Board—prominent leaders in RWA many will recognize: Rubens Neistein, Denis PΞtrovcic, John Dean Markunas, Achim Jedelsky, Makram Hani, Kevin O'Grady, Walter Strametz, Andres Assmus, and Cristina  C. C.. Also joining the Board is Anniina Saari.

💠 Quality has long been a concern in Real World Asset tokenization. To address this, FIBREE has launched a cross-jurisdictional initiative to develop a Quality Label for the industry.

Throughout 2026, a global working group of legal, financial, and technical experts will collaborate to examine the standards needed for responsible and scalable adoption.

The goal: build shared trust, improve transparency, and support the long-term credibility of tokenized Real World Assets.

🌐 Our delegates include:

🇳🇱 Jo Bronckers from FIBREE
🇺🇸 Matthew A. Schneider from Building, Inc
🇸🇮 Denis PΞtrovcic from Blocksquare
🇧🇷 Andreas Blazoudakis from netspaces
🇪🇸 Ludovico Rossi from Brickken
🇹🇭 Kevin Goos from Propbase
🇦🇱 Eni Shtini from T-Blocks
🇳🇱 Harsh Mohan from Asset List
🇩🇪 Roland H. FARHAT from Gühring KG
🇳🇱 Bert-Jan van Essen from Fractionalmission.plus
🇧🇷 Rubens Neistein from netspaces
🇺🇸 John Dean Markunas from FIBREE
🇪🇸 Miguel Caballero from Tutellus
🇪🇸 Enrique Lahuerta Colás from Tutellus
🇮🇱 Yael Tamar from DIBS - Distributed Brokers
🇸🇬 Oliver Siah 佘仰文 from Fraxtor Group
🇩🇰 Claus Skaaning from DigiShares
🇵🇹 Cristina  C. Campian from FIBREE
🇺🇸 Edward Nwokedi from RedSwan Digital Real Estate

These are the architects of tomorrow’s markets. Engage with them to share perspectives on building reliable, transparent, and accessible tokenization.

If you are interested in participating, please message Jo Bronckers, Foundation President.

Calling all ETHDenver attendees: I’m an official 🎙️ Podcaster and ⭐️ Creator for this year’s event!

That means I’m looking for founders, executives, researchers, and builders who want time in front of the microphone and camera to talk about BLOCKCHAIN, RWA, & CRYPTO 📣

There is zero cost to participate — just show up and share your expertise with the world.

🎤 We’ll have 4 microphones available, so panel-style recordings are possible as well.

Please DM me here on LinkedIn if you’re attending and want to join me in the studio.


P.S. Code & Concrete is now the highest-rated PropTech podcast. Our 2026 guest lineup is shaping up exceptionally well, and we have one (1) sponsor slot remaining, which includes:

• 15–30 second advertisement at the start of each episode
• Permanent backlinks on YouTube, Spotify, Apple
• Alignment with a trusted, global brand

DM me to secure the slot. See you in February!

Starting the New Year the right way — speaking at a massive event with ambitious students and entrepreneurs!

My friend Caden, who runs a group for Gen Z aspiring to be the 1%, hosts an event every year called the “Ripple Effect.”

I had the honor of participating on a panel that included three generations of leaders, each giving a unique perspective about overcoming challenges and inspiring others.

A huge shoutout to all of the speakers at this event: Caden Vittorini, Anthony Kasper, Eddie Slowikowski, Jacob Salem, RJ D., Carie Holzl, Matida L. and the emcees, Nick Schmidt and Anthony Vittorini.

Here’s the big takeaway that anyone can (and should) apply right away: any conversation has the power to change your life. A single moment can turn into a movement.

Always be ready — and embrace what comes!

After months of silence, more bad news for RealT: The City of Detroit is asking a judge to put a receiver in charge of the company’s troubled portfolio.

(Full article by Aaron Mondry・Outlier Media in the comments)

Last year, it was discovered that RealT:
- Raised $2.72M for properties they didn't own
- Had $3.6M in unpaid taxes
- 408 properties without certificates of compliance
- 58 properties flagged as health/safety risks

In a court filing last week, the city said RealT has failed to complete emergency repairs, and many tenants are still living without heat, water or safe structures.

The city also claims that RealT funneled ~$125,000 in rent payments to an off-the-books account — violating a court order that the money be held in an account controlled by the city. 

Where is the transparency in tokenized real estate?


Adam Zientarski | Elizabeth Hansson | Ronald Falls, Jr.

🔑 If information remains trapped in files, an asset remains trapped in uncertainty.

Buildings generate extensive documentation, yet value often remains unclear. The problem is not the absence of records, but their role. Documents capture moments in time; they are not designed to support trust across an asset’s lifecycle.

Rather than treating information as files to be stored, this article presents it as something that can function like an asset. That shift has meaningful implications for how assets are valued, financed, and managed.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬
‣ Documents do not scale trust. They are created for point-in-time review, not for reuse across teams, systems, or stages of an asset’s life.

‣ Information works best when it is organized and verifiable. With clear structure and context, data can be trusted consistently, not re-evaluated every time it is used.

‣ When information is usable, asset performance improves. Due diligence shifts from uncovering gaps to confirming facts, valuations tighten, and transactions progress with less friction.

𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫
‣ How much of your asset’s documentation can be understood by systems, not just reviewed by people?

‣ How often does trust need to be rebuilt when the same documents are reviewed by a new stakeholder?

‣ How would decisions change if information carried forward instead of being reassembled?

🔔 Follow and ring the bell for weekly insights on real estate, data infrastructure, and asset legibility.

Structured, verifiable information transforms static files into assets that can be evaluated, trusted, and transacted. Overview "From Documents to Ass

Open article: From Documents to Assets by Matthew A. Schneider • 7 min read

🔑 Trust in real estate is not earned by reputation alone — it must be engineered.

In complex asset markets, confidence does not emerge suddenly from brand names or past relationships. Instead, it's produced by systems that make behavior observable, outcomes verifiable, and rules enforceable.

That distinction matters because real estate involves long-lived assets, extended timelines, and considerable capital commitment; there are too few transactions and too many stakeholders to rely on personal familiarity. 

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬
‣ Trust comes from how systems work, not just who you know or what you’re known for.

‣ Good systems let people confirm facts, rather than rely on explanations.

‣ Technology alone does not create trust without governance and design choices. 

𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫
‣ How much of your trust today depends on reputation versus verifiable evidence?

‣ What systems let others verify claims without relying on reassurance?

‣ Where are decisions still made by judgment because the data is unclear?

🔔 Follow and ring the bell for weekly insights on real estate, data infrastructure, and asset legibility.

In complex asset markets, trust is created through auditability, controls, and verification—not reputation or narrative. Overview In complex asset mar

Open article: Trust Is an Engineering Problem by Matthew A. Schneider • 8 min read

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The Battle

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taplio

The Battle

Gian Seehra

Matthew Schneider

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Gian Seehra's LinkedIn Performance

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