Before You Raise Money: What Every Founder Should Know | OUAS x Entrepreneurs Talk Ep.1

Before you raise money, you should understand what venture capital really means.

In this special crossover episode of Once Upon a Student x Entrepreneurs Talk, we explore what every founder should know before entering the fundraising journey: when VC makes sense, when it might not be the right path, what investors actually look for, and how founders can navigate the emotional reality behind raising capital.

Together with Magdalena Möslinger-Gehmayr from PUSH VC, Hannah Wundsam from AustrianStartups, and Michael Hofmannrichter, CEO & Co-Founder of silana, we discuss venture capital from three different angles: the investor perspective, the ecosystem perspective, and the founder perspective.

We talk about:
• Why venture capital is not the right path for every startup
• What early-stage investors look for in founders
• Why the founding team often matters more than the idea
• How fundraising momentum can change everything
• What students and first-time founders often misunderstand about raising money
• Why execution, timing, and obsession matter more than having the “perfect” idea

This episode is for students, aspiring entrepreneurs, and early-stage founders who want to better understand the reality behind venture capital before they start raising money.