Fast Five Friday: How facebook actually raised capital (and how you should too)

Hi,

Welcome to Bankrolling Tomorrow. Your no-BS guide to capital raise.

It's Friday, and I decided to open Facebook today. I haven't in about a year, but every now and then, I feel the urge to go back to that platform - especially when I'm talking about their capital raise strategy.

I know Instagram and TikTok are the new hotness, but back in the day, Facebook was the thing. Long before it became our unofficial birthday calendar, FB was just a low-budget college website with a surprisingly strategic approach to money.

And even today, just because the "cool" young crowd has mostly migrated elsewhere, Facebook stayed ruthlessly strategic. The older folks still scrolling? Perfect for high-value ads - they actually have money to spend. Makes sense, right?

But Meta didn't just wave goodbye to the younger market either. They bought Instagram and now make bank showing reels and ads to that crowd too.

They've basically built a maze of offerings and covered every corner there was to cover. Love that. In 2025, we're all living in the Meta web whether we like it or not.

Anyway, I could rant about Facebook and Meta all day (and I did in Tuesday's newsletter). 

But today, I'm cutting straight to the chase: Facebook's capital raise breakdown in a way you can directly apply to your business.

1/ Think rhythm, not jackpot:
I get it - a massive funding round sounds sexy. But here's what actually happens: you blow it on random hires, fancy offices, and "growth experiments" that go nowhere. Facebook raised small amounts every 12-18 months instead. Why? Because when you're not sitting on a pile of cash, you actually focus on what moves the needle.

2/ Show, don't pitch:
Stop begging investors to "imagine the potential." Instead, show up every 18 months with actual wins: better margins, a killer hire that's already paying off, customers who stick around without heavy discounts. These aren't just updates - they're trust deposits. When you ask for money, it sounds like opportunity, not desperation.

3/ Let your numbers do the talking:
Your charm gets you in the room. Your metrics keep you there. When your unit economics are clean and your delivery actually scales, investors stop asking "does this work?" and start asking "how big can this get?" That's the conversation you want to be having.

4/ Your decisions are your story:
Forget the dramatic founder origin story. What investors really want to see is consistent judgment. Why this product over that one? Why you said no to the shiny opportunity everyone else chased? Why you picked this customer segment? Smart choices signal leadership. When your decisions make sense, investors bet on you, not just your business.

5/ Don't reinvent behaviour - monetise it:
Facebook didn't create new habits. They watched what people already did (post photos, scroll endlessly, stalk exes) and built money machines around it. Find the stuff your customers already do obsessively, then figure out how to make money from it. Obvious habits make the strongest businesses.

Facebook didn't get to $15B by swinging for the fences - they got there by consistently hitting singles, proving results, and raising smart money when they had leverage, not when they were desperate.

Thanks for allowing me into your inbox every week.

If you have any questions, or want to discuss any of my rants on these topics in depth, reply to this email, and I will get back to you ASAP.

Talk soon,

James