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40+ Rejections Later: How We Finally Raised Our Seed Round

 Raising nearly $50M for beehiiv across 4 rounds—each with its own wild story.

Let’s set the record straight: raising money isn’t an achievement; it’s just a means to an end. Look at Bench Accounting—$100M raised, only to shut down over the holidays before a last-minute acquisition. Funding doesn’t mean success.

Back in 2021, my cofounders (23) and I (26) couldn’t afford to bootstrap. We moonlighted beehiiv for a year before realizing we were letting a massive opportunity slip. So, I set one goal: raise enough to quit our jobs and go all in.

That summer, I was in Venice—standing at a makeshift desk (aka a stack of books)—pitching investors all day. 40+ rejections later, we finally got a yes. We had no product, no revenue, no customers… but belief.

 Want to understand what it really takes to raise funding? From 40+ rejections to securing millions, every round had its own challenges and lessons.