Fundraising is a black box. Most founders pitch, wait, and get silence or a vague "not a fit," with no idea what to change. I am the honest room you walk into first. I act as a real investor would, tell you exactly what is working and what is not, and show you how to make your company more investable. No hype. No "one weird trick." No guarantees, just the truth and a path forward.
Built by someone who has actually raised the money and built the companies
You have built something real. Before you spend months pitching into silence, get an honest read. I score your company the way a careful investor would, tell you where you actually stand, and show you what to sharpen before it counts.
Ironwood does the sourcing and screening so you do not have to. Before any company reaches you, I have already pushed on the places deals fall apart: the unit economics, the use of funds, the gaps in the team. You see only companies that survived that, matched to your thesis.
Submit a short intake. I review every one personally and tell you honestly whether and how I can help. If it is not a fit, you will hear that from me directly, with a reason. No waiting in silence.
I evaluate your company across Product, People, Market, and Capital, with real weight on the Value Drivers question: exactly what each dollar will do and what it will produce. You get a scored report you can act on, whatever the outcome.
When a company is genuinely ready, I make warm, thesis-matched introductions to investors and partners who actually fit. Deliberate, with full context. Never a blast to a list.
Evaluation Score Breakdown
| Category | Max Points | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Product | 20 | 20% |
| People | 30 | 30% |
| Market | 20 | 20% |
| Capital | 30 | 30% |
| Total | 100 | 100% |
Companies that score above 75 are ready for warm introductions. Every company gets its full scored report and a clear path forward, no matter the number.
Equity investors, middle-market investment banks, debt financing firms, and corporate acquirers, across the US and internationally. Each one has told me their thesis directly. Introductions happen only when a company fits it.
I started Ironwood because I was tired of watching good founders get ground down by a process that tells them nothing. I have raised the money and built the companies, on three continents, and I know how much a single honest conversation can change.
So I became the person founders can come to before they go to investors: someone who will actually tell them the truth and help them get better.
"I have been on both sides of the table, as a founder raising capital and as an operator working alongside investors. I built Ironwood to give founders the honest read I wish I'd had."
David Erickson, Managing PartnerExperience
8 companies founded across the US, Africa, and Europe. Operations in the DRC, Ghana, Utah, and England. Raised capital from angel investors, institutional funds, and impact investors.