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Raiser's Edge
Some entrepreneurs fly through fundraising; sailing through VC meetings, converting at high rates, getting to term sheets quickly and successfully. Other founders struggle; wading through hundreds of meetings and calls, reading thousands of online pitch guides, and still only producing a mediocre fundraising round. The very best founders seem to know cheat codes that the rest of the herd just lack, and this quickly creates capital advantage for their companies, allowing them to own their markets and achieve dominance in their industries. So what are these secrets that separate the best from the rest?
It turns out a lot of what these top raisers do is replicable - it’s just not easy to find on the internet or by asking advice from average peers. Raiser’s Edge bridges that very gap, sharing the strategies and philosophies that have separated industry leaders from the pack in order to transform mediocre raisers to excellent ones. Through interviews with outstanding founders who have themselves succeeded in the VC fundraising process, not only will listeners learn how to successfully fund their start-ups, but they will also learn how to raise strong rounds even in down markets, take advantage of VC funding and tailwinds, and impress investors in order to earn outsize capital. Most importantly, listeners will find out how the most skillful CEOs make it through the biggest challenges so that they can increase their own chances of surviving the challenges to come.
Each episode of Raiser’s Edge will interview a founder about the critical fundraising junctures in their company’s growth stage, highlighting stories in which they navigated investor concerns, challenging timelines, and emerging obstacles to raise and deploy funds successfully. By taking a closer look at these entrepreneurs’ paths to success, we’ll also shed a light on their moments of near-failure, self-doubt, and tough calls, and the way these challenges have transformed them into stronger leaders and fundraisers along the way. Through an entertaining, easy-to-follow interview format, this podcast hopes to demystify the fundraising process and serve as an intimate glimpse into the secrets of today’s business all-stars in order to inspire and teach the all-stars to come.
Raiser's Edge
Trust is a Long Game with Tushar Garg
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Tushar Garg raised over $200M for Flyhomes — one round closed in 30 minutes, another nearly collapsed while his co-founder was hospitalized after being hit by a drunk driver.
Tushar is the co-founder and CEO of Flyhomes, a proptech company that pioneered cash-backed offers for homebuyers. In this episode he traces a full decade of fundraising — from a 30-minute seed term sheet through a $150M Series C he didn't plan for, to a near-death survival round raised in a frozen market after cutting more than 80% of the company. Every round traces back to a relationship he had been quietly building for years.
In this episode:
- Why Tushar treats every investor meeting as a long-term relationship — even when they say no
- How he raised Series B while his co-founder was in the hospital and his daughter was in the NICU
- How a $30-50M Series C target became a $150M round — and why he says they raised too much
- The market crash playbook: cutting 80%+ of headcount, managing morale, and staying honest with investors
- How his original seed investor — met a decade earlier — led the survival round that saved Flyhomes
- His core principle: "Trust is your currency" — and what that looks like across a decade of building
Show notes:
00:00 — Intro: The two-minute arc of Flyhomes
02:02 — Tushar's background: Microsoft, Mayo Clinic, and becoming a realtor by accident
06:00 — Seed round: A 30-minute term sheet with Al Goldstein and Mark Vadon
07:11 — Series A: Why they chose Andreessen Horowitz's Alex Rampell over a higher offer
07:20 — Series B: Raising while a co-founder was hospitalized after a drunk-driving accident
09:18 — Series C: Planning for $30-50M, closing $150M with Battery Ventures and Norwest
15:30 — Market crash: Interest rates, revenue collapse, and cutting 80%+ of the team
19:05 — Survival round: Complicated cap table, big pref stack, and the seed investor who stepped up
21:00 — Investor green flags and red flags
23:01 — Relationship vs. transaction: Why Tushar sees no other way
25:12 — Founder advice: Trust is your currency
About Tushar Garg:
Tushar Garg is the co-founder and CEO of Flyhomes, a Seattle-based real estate technology company. He previously held roles at Microsoft, where he was PM for the core Bing search algorithm, and conducted AI and brain research with Mayo Clinic. Flyhomes has raised over $200M in equity financing and pioneered the cash-backed offer model for homebuyers.
About Raiser's Edge:
Raiser's Edge is a podcast for founders and operators navigating venture capital fundraising. Host Ben Elowitz interviews top founders about the real mechanics of raising — the strategies, the failures, the relationships, and the moments that made the difference. New episodes on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
Connect with Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elowitz/
Follow Raiser's Edge on Substack: https://substack.com/@elowitz