1.First, are you default alive?
Graham's test: hold expenses where they are, assume revenue keeps growing at its recent rate, and ask whether you reach profitability on the money you have. He says half the founders he talks to can't answer 
Default Alive or Default Dead?.
“The fatal pinch is default dead + slow growth + not enough time to fix it.”
Paul Graham·Default Alive or Default Dead?·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)2.Fundraising is plan A, never the only plan
“So no matter how good your growth is, you can never safely treat fundraising as more than a plan A.”
Paul Graham·Default Alive or Default Dead?·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)He suggests writing down a plan B and the point at which you would switch to it Default Alive or Default Dead?.
3.Raise in parallel, decide fast
In How to Raise Money, Graham says to commit fully to fundraising or not do it at all, talk to all plausible investors at once ranked by expected value, and take acceptable offers rather than hold out for valuation How to Raise Money. Altman's playbook gives the same order: raise in parallel and quickly 
Startup Playbook.
“Treat investors as saying no till they unequivocally say yes, in the form of a definite offer with no contingencies.”
Paul Graham·How to Raise Money·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)4.Spend slowly, hire slowly
“Hiring too fast is by far the biggest killer of startups that raise money.”
Paul Graham·Default Alive or Default Dead?·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)Graham notes Airbnb waited four months after raising before hiring anyone Default Alive or Default Dead?. His 2005 advice was the same: investor money isn't revenue, so get big slowly and stay cheap How to Start a Startup. Altman tells founders to delay hiring but never compromise on quality Startup Playbook.
“Though it sounds slightly paradoxical, if you want to raise money, the best thing you can do is get yourself to the point where you don't need to.”
Paul Graham·How to Raise Money·Read in context(opens the original in a new tab)Our reading: Read together, the three essays treat money as a way to buy time for the product, not as progress in itself.
Written by Founder Atlas from the full public texts and the YouTube captions of the talks listed here, drafted with AI and checked against them. Quotes are word for word; talk quotes come from captions, which can mishear, so each one links to the moment it is said. Paraphrases are ours and may simplify.
