I’m Kaleb Janzen, CEO at Bumpr.

We utilize rideshare vehicles and have patented one-way transparent screens that we place in the rear windows of Uber and Lyft cars. 

This setup creates unmissable brand awareness by displaying advertisements on these cars.

We sell this advertising space in specific cities to businesses looking for high-visibility marketing. 

Our technology allows us to offer this advertising at a fraction of the usual cost due to its unobtrusive nature.

I came up with the idea while I was in college getting my finance degree. My roommate and I needed to pay for school, so we started an irrigation company. 

We grew it to $500k in sales, but one day I noticed our competitors had branded trucks, which got me thinking about creative ways to get our brand seen all over the city. 

I started researching transparent tech, eventually sold the irrigation company, and a year later, had a prototype for our advertising screens.

We've raised $300k at a $2.5M valuation for our pre-seed round. It was my first time seriously raising capital, so there was a lot of learning involved. 

I initially aimed to raise $1.2-$1.5M, but quickly realized that setting such high targets without understanding my audience was a mistake — so I adjusted my targets significantly.

We're now in the middle of raising another seed round, targeting between $500k and $750k, depending on investor interest. 

I've found it’s better to start with a lower goal because you can always extend the round, but missing a higher target can be problematic. 

We're only looking to raise $500k for now and have already secured $100k. 

We have several investors interested in the remaining $400k, and it's a matter of who puts the money in the account first.

Our pre-seed round last summer took about 4 months from pitching to getting the money in the account. 

There were some challenges, like dealing with angel investors who had personal issues and wanted to back out after signing documents.

I had to reassure them and emphasize that they were investing in me as much as in the company.

We've been running the current fundraising process since February and expect it to be completed by the end of May.

During our pre-seed round, our goal was to get our screens out into a city to see if they could generate revenue and prove the product's feasibility. 

At that time, we didn't have any revenue or a product in the market — just a workable MVP. We told our pre-seed investors that if we could show we could sell $1, we could eventually sell $1M. 

That was the focus for our pre-seed funding.

At the seed stage, we've actually become a profitable, cash flow-positive company. We can show investors that we've proven the concept in one city. 

The pitch is now, "If we did this in one city, what's stopping us from doing it in 100 cities?" 

We're structuring our progress in a way that makes it clear to investors: we had specific goals for the pre-seed, achieved them, and now have ambitious yet achievable goals for the seed round.

While the growth didn't happen in separate phases, it helps to present it this way to investors. 

We box our progress into these categories to make it easier for them to see our journey: pre-seed focused on proving revenue, and seed focused on scaling that proven model.

We looked for investors who had previously invested in similar companies. 

For one investor, we actually used a bit of a guerrilla tactic: we knew he had tons of money and office space that was available, so we rented from him.

He had previously invested in a company that wrapped vehicles, so I knew that if I got in touch, he’d be interested in our product. 

Sure enough I kept running into him, and eventually, I got the chance to pitch him and he invested.

It worked out well because he introduced us to his network, and we discovered our values aligned. 

From there it was about creating a bit of competition among potential investors, seeing who would commit first. This approach helped us close some key deals.

We tried cold outreach, but found that cold DMs on LinkedIn didn't yield great results. While a lot of people responded, the quality of the meetings was usually not high. 

A simple warm introduction from someone I knew was far more effective. It allowed me to get in front of the right people.

I focused on leveraging my network, working through people who knew someone who knew someone. 

I often became good friends with these third connections, which led to introductions to key contacts. 

Building relationships on a deeper level and aligning on values and goals was really important as well. 

If the introduction highlighted that I was trying to empower Uber drivers globally, it resonated more than just trying to sell them on the financial opportunity.

I probably sent out maybe 50-60 LinkedIn requests. Out of those, I managed to get meetings with about 10 investors, and 4 of them ended up writing checks. 

Once I got in front of them, I felt pretty confident and made sure they were the right fit for the meeting, which helped keep my conversion rate high.

Relentless follow-ups were key, and I learned to ask direct questions, such as gauging their interest level and how much they might be willing to invest. 

I found that trying to get them to commit in the first meeting was crucial.

Having a blank SAFE ready for them to fill out on the spot was a game-changer. 

It was all about being prepared and not being afraid to ask those awkward — but necessary — questions to seal the deal. 

I’d directly ask questions such as “What would your interest level be?” or “How much would you be willing to commit?” and trying to get them to commit in the first meeting instead of delaying their decisions.

I realized the importance of founder fit a bit late in the game. 

We initially didn't have anyone with deep industry experience, which meant we had to learn everything ourselves, including selling advertising.

This was a significant weak point in our pitch because early-stage angels often look for someone in the industry to hedge their bets. 

If they don't understand the space, they want assurance from someone who does.

We eventually brought on an angel investor for $50k. 

His company operates in the ad tech space, generating around $30M in annual revenue and valued at about $300M. 

Having him on board made a big difference. It was easier to pitch to other investors by pointing to his involvement and success.

His presence added credibility and opened doors, making it more attractive for others to invest. 

Having an industry insider on our team provided the validation that early-stage investors were looking for.

I wish I had known about the importance of having a strong process in place during my pre-seed round. 

It dragged on for so long because I relied too much on people signing the forms and just hoping they’d follow through. 

I’ve now learned how to create a sense of urgency. I can say something like, "There’s a decision being made on April 27th, so if you want in, it has to be before that." 

This adds pressure and helps move things along. I also realized that talking to a larger number of investors would have driven more urgency. 

Setting a firm deadline and a cap on the amount we were raising would have created a competitive environment and probably would have sped things up.

Having a clear strategy and deadlines is something I now see as crucial for an effective fundraising process.

We were a pretty lean team, and as a founder, one of my main goals was to ensure we didn't run out of money. 

This meant either selling more or raising more. Ideally, selling more is the best option, but during the fundraising process, I found myself spending a lot of time away from driving sales. 

This impacted our cash flow because our sales funnel died up while I was focused on raising funds.

Managing cash flow during the raise was tricky. There’s often a gap between when an investor signs a commitment and when the money actually hits the account, which can be quite stressful. 

I learned the hard way that it’s crucial to keep focusing on sales even while fundraising.

It’s a tough balance because there are only so many hours in a day, and you can't do everything. 

It's important to delegate effectively and ensure that sales efforts continue even as you’re raising money.

I found that having an interest outside of investment, whether it's religious, sports, or something else, bonding over that can be incredibly effective. 

For me my faith played a key role. Through my faith community, I got introduced to people who shared the same values.

These connections created a bond that I didn't anticipate. People were more inclined to invest because they felt a sense of trust and camaraderie. 

They saw me as a young person of faith and wanted to support me, saying things like, "It's rare to find someone like this these days."

It wasn't something I planned or felt comfortable talking about initially, but it turned out to be a real and important factor in raising our round. 

For what it's worth those personal connections can sometimes make all the difference.

Enjoy the process! It's all about learning. Going back and looking through 50 versions of your deck and seeing how far you've come is completely normal. 

You're gaining so much knowledge along the way, even if you don't see the immediate payoff. The value of these experiences is really special.

When I look back I see how much I've learned from constantly pitching and refining my approach. These lessons translate to all areas of life. 

I'd encourage you to embrace the journey, keep pushing forward, and appreciate the growth you're experiencing.

I found "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries to be incredibly helpful. It emphasizes focusing on an MVP and shipping your product quickly, even before it's fully refined. 

This approach helps you learn if people will actually buy it. For someone young and still learning like I was, it’s a great place to start.

Another book I'd recommend is "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss. He was an FBI negotiator who transitioned his skills to the business world. 

It teaches you not to trap people into saying "yes" but to focus on genuine negotiation tactics. It's full of practical advice that can be applied to various aspects of business and life.