Fundraising is not a numbers game. It is a psychology game.

Every round runs through two brains: the investor's and the founder's. Investors decide with spreadsheets, but also with instinct, fear of missing out and pattern recognition. Founders who ignore this end up pitching harder to the wrong people, falling into avoidable traps and losing momentum just when they need it most.

In this session, you'll learn how investors really think and decide, and how to use that knowledge to move your round toward a yes.

This Session: Fundraising That Hits the BrainHosted by Iskender Dirik, fundraising advisor, investor and serial entrepreneur.

Iskender has sat on every side of the table. He has built companies as a founder, led Samsung NEXT Europe as Managing Director and backed startups as a VC, and today advises founders on how to raise successfully.

He brings real stories from hundreds of fundraising conversations, along with the mental models and brain hacks that separate rounds that stall from rounds that close.

What We'll Cover

  • How to create healthy, high-performing FOMO among investors

  • The most important fundraising pitfalls and how to avoid them

  • How to influence VCs on a subconscious level

  • How to be persuasive and use investor psychology to get to a yes

  • The founder mindset that leads to the best fundraising performance

What You'll Walk Away With

✅ A clear picture of how investors think and make decisions✅ Mental models and brain hacks you can apply in your own fundraise✅ Tactics to build momentum and competition in your round✅ Insider knowledge and stories from someone who has been a founder, a VC and a leading fundraising advisor

Who It's For

✅ Founders and CEOs currently raising a round✅ Founders preparing to raise and wanting to get it right the first time