How to Raise Funding: A Practical Introduction by a CFO

How do businesses raise funding, and what makes a company ready for investment?

This free course is a practical introduction to raising funding and preparing a business for investment, taught from the perspective of an experienced CFO.

Whether you’re studying finance, starting your career, already working in finance, or building a business, understanding how companies fund growth is an important commercial finance skill.

In this course, you’ll learn about the main funding options available to businesses, including equity, debt and alternative sources of finance. You’ll look at how different funding options affect a business and why the right source of capital depends on the company’s circumstances, objectives and stage of growth.

We’ll then look at investment readiness and the areas that need to stand up to scrutiny before a business approaches investors. You’ll learn how to assess financial health, scalability, market opportunity, leadership and other factors that can influence whether a company is ready to raise capital.

Finally, you’ll bring those areas together to identify gaps and create a practical investment readiness action plan.

I’ve also included a downloadable workbook with exercises, assessments and practical activities so that you can apply what you’re learning throughout the course.

I’m Mohamed Chaudry FCCA. I’ve spent 25 years as a CFO, raised more than $300 million, reviewed 250+ pitch decks and been through five business exits, including two as a founder. I’ve worked on both sides of the funding conversation, preparing businesses for investment as well as assessing the numbers and assumptions behind them.

This isn’t a theoretical course about finance.

It’s a practical introduction to understanding how businesses raise funding, what investors look for and how to assess whether a business is genuinely ready for investment.