This chapter’s core message is simple: don’t rush to raise—earn the right to raise. Before chasing capital, focus on validating the problem, customer, solution, and business model through low-cost experiments (often dozens of customer conversations and scrappy, manual minimum viable products [MVPs]), because early credibility comes more from evidence of learning than from polished decks. Be deliberate about whether you even need external funding yet—bootstrapping, grants, accelerators, or angels may be better fits depending on your capital intensity, timing, and ambitions—and use this phase to build signals investors care about: early users, clear traction indicators, credible advisors, and a compelling, evidence-backed narrative. Fundraising should be a strategic enabler, not a default milestone; the goal is to build something genuinely valuable, with capital following progress rather than substituting for it.