# three questions to ask before raising

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## Email content

It's Nathan.

I want to tell you about a calculation more founders are running before they raise.

It's the calculation that decides whether you keep $1.54m at your exit or hand it to a VC.

Imagine you meet this founder:

$1.5m revenue

Wants to fund a 12-month growth sprint

Needs $500k

Her instinct is to call her network and start the VC conversations.

Then, she has a meeting with a VC.

The pitch goes well, and she gets a term sheet at 5x annual revenue.

$7.5m valuation

$500k check

6.7% dilution

The founder signs the deal.

Four years later: exit at $25m.

That 6.7% she gave up equals $1.67m left on the table.

This founder could have done better math:

$500k fund

Same 12 months

She takes a SaaS term loan instead.

15% interest

36-month term

Total interest paid: $130k.

Cap table: unchanged.

At the same $25m exit, she keeps the $1.67m.

The $130k capital cost exists.

But the dilution cost was 13x higher.

This is something I can't stop thinking about since I sold my own company for much less than I should have in 2011.

This is why I built Founderpath, my non-dilutive fund.

Since then, I've watched 724 SaaS founders run this math and get life-changing money when they sell or exit.

To date, I've wired $271m to SaaS companies.

0 equity taken

No warrants

No personal guarantees

Just capital that doesn't change your cap table.

I want to share three successful founders who took this path:

BadgerMaps ($4.2m drawn): SaaS for field sales reps, used Founderpath to grow without dilution.

Exercise.com ($3.5m drawn over 19 draws): bootstrapped to a strategic exit. Joel said the deal was “maybe 10x more personal liquidity than any previous exit.”

BetterComp ($1.75m drawn): hit milestones without dilution, closed a $33m deal in July 2025.

Before you sign any deal, here's what to ask for:

1/ What is the all-in cost?

Add interest, origination fees, closing costs, and the value of any warrants. Compare totals, not headline rates.

2/ What covenants restrict how you run the business?

Stress-test each one. What happens if you breach it?

3/ What triggers early repayment?

Raising a VC round, selling, or customer churning?

Many VC pitches don't survive these three questions.

If you're weighing a round, run the math first.

Reply with your numbers, and I'll show you what the non-dilutive version looks like.

Or get a term sheet in 2 minutes (must have product and revenue).

Nathan Latka

CEO, Founderpath

PS: You can find the details of the deals we've done with 8 (out of the 724) founders here: https://founderpath.com/blog/category/case-study

PPS: I'm speaking at SaaStanak in Croatia this week. If you don't want to miss any top SaaS events in 2026: Bookmark this list . LMK if you're around and I'll try to get you intros.

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