Welcome to Cinderwood
Why We Started Cinderwood (And Why It Matters for Founders)
By Nicholas Roche, Managing Partner • September 22, 2025 • 5 min read
Three years ago, I was sitting across from a founder who'd just been quoted a $1.2M retainer by a bulge bracket bank. His company was doing $2M ARR. The math didn't work.
That conversation happens every day. Talented founders building real businesses get stuck between two bad options: go it alone and miss out on institutional capital, or pay investment bank prices that only make sense for $100M+ raises.
We started Cinderwood to be the third option.
The Problem No One Talks About
Everyone knows fundraising is hard. What they don't tell you is that the infrastructure for raising capital is fundamentally broken for early-stage companies.
Investment banks won't touch you unless you're raising $50M+. When they do, they assign junior analysts fresh from undergrad who've never built anything. Boutique advisors often lack the relationships and rigor you need. Solo consultants don't have the bandwidth for complex processes.
Meanwhile, VCs are drowning in deal flow. The average partner sees 1,200 pitches per year and invests in 2. Without warm introductions and a professionally-run process, your deck ends up in the same pile as the other 1,198.
What Actually Works
After helping 20+ companies raise $50M+ (and going through the fundraising gauntlet myself as a founder), here's what I've learned:
Relationships trump everything.
The best investors rarely respond to cold outreach. You need warm intros from people they trust.
Process creates leverage
Running parallel conversations with 50+ qualified investors changes the entire dynamic. One interested party becomes five competing term sheets.
Positioning beats product.
I've seen inferior products raise at higher valuations because they told better stories. Your narrative matters more than your features.
Speed preserves value.
Every month you spend fundraising is a month not building. Our 90-day process isn't simply focused on efficiency, but minimizing dilution.
What Actually Works
We built Cinderwood around three principles:
I. Investment banking quality, startup economics.
We bring the same rigor and relationships as Goldman Sachs, but at prices that make sense for Series A companies. No seven-figure retainers. No massive upfront fees.
II. Partners only, no junior teams.
When you work with us, you work with people who've raised capital, scaled companies, and navigated exits. Not MBAs learning on your deal.
III. Aligned incentives through warrant structures.
We typically take most of our compensation in warrants. We literally only win when you do.
Who We Serve
We work with B2B technology companies that are too small for investment banks but too serious for DIY fundraising. Typically:
- $500K to $20M ARR (or strong product-market fit signals)
- Raising $3M to $50M (Seed through Series B)
- Technical founders who'd rather build than pitch
If that's you, let's talk.
What's Next
Over the coming weeks, I'll be sharing everything we've learned about fundraising, growth, and exits. No gatekeeping. No "book a call to learn more" nonsense. Just practical insights you can actually use.
Topics we'll cover:
- How we helped Warmly raise $17M (with the actual process)
- Why 73% of Series A decks fail (and how to be in the 27%)
- The pitch deck template that's raised $50M+
- How to get warm intros to any VC
- The negotiation tactics that increase valuations by 40%
This isn't content marketing. It's everything I wish someone had told me when I was raising my first round.
Welcome to Cinderwood. Let's get you funded.
Nicholas Roche is Managing Partner at Cinderwood Capital. He's a serial entrepreneur, raised $50M+ for portfolio companies, led three exits. Reach him at
