Can Founders Delegate the Raise?

An article we liked from Thought Leader Stéphane Nasser of OpenVC:

Can you hire a pro to raise for your startup?

This is one of the most common questions we get at OpenVC:

"Can I just pay a pro to raise funds for my startup?"

And yes, why not? After all, founders often lack investor connections and fundraising knowledge. This person will take care of your raise from start to finish and get paid on a success fee. Sounds like the perfect plan, right?

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

Here's the whole truth about outsourcing your raise to a pro.

I. Work with an investment banker (IB) at Series B+

1. Investment bankers raise big rounds from start to finish

Investment bankers are professionals who help companies raise capital - typically from Series B to pre-IPO.

Investment bankers take care of everything: preparing the deck, connecting with investors, and even negotiating the term sheets. The founder just shows up for key meetings and weekly check-ins. Very efficient.

You know the big banks: JP Morgan, Rothschild, etc. However, there are many local investment bankers who also offer their services to founders.

For example, here's a landscape of the French investment banks in 2025 - big thanks to Augustin de Cambourg from Raiser Partners for this!

2. Investment bankers charge a fixed fee + a success fee

Investment bankers typically charge a fixed fee and a success fee:

Fixed fee AKA "retainer": $5k/mo to $20k/mo depending on the bank and round size
Success fee: 3% to 5% of the amount raised

Some bankers may want exclusivity. Some may want to be paid on the whole round - not just the amount they bring you. Some may deduct the fixed fees from the success fees. These terms are part of the negotiation and need to be clarified upfront.

Regardless, working with an investment banker is expensive.

A 4% success fee on a $10M raise amounts to $400,000 for a few months of work. Add to that the retainer: even if the raise fails, you're still on the hook for anywhere from $10k to $100k in fixed fees.

So is it worth it? Let's model a few scenarios.

Here are my key takeaways:

If you're a "hot deal" with investors throwing themselves at you, raising alone is probably fine. You'll likely get a great outcome regardless. A banker might still be valuable to streamline the process and free up founder's time, but that's pretty much it.
If you're a "normal deal", that's where a banker adds most value. By running a tight process, a banker can get you more interests and ultimately better terms. It's better to have a "great outcome with a banker" than a "good outcome alone". But it's a bet.
If you're a "bad deal", you probably shouldn't raise at all, but especially not with a banker, because the fixed fees will bury you into a grave. Any honest banker should tell you upfront if they think you're a poor VC case; unfortunately, they are not all honest.

What's the likelihood that a banker will get you better terms than what you could have gotten on your own? Is it really worth all that money? That's for you to decide.

3. Investment bankers will NOT raise your pre-seed

Investment bankers don't usually raise for early-stage startups. It's just too much work and not enough money for them:

Pre-seed founders are often inexperienced. The banker would have to do a lot of handholding and spend time explaining the basics. => Too much work
Pre-seed rounds have a high rate of failure. The success fee on a $500k round is mechanically 10x smaller than a $5M round. => Not enough money

Instead, they focus on…