What does it really take to raise capital and grow a business? In this episode of UNMASKED: The Capital Raise Files, Alan McLaren sits down with Brandon Davis, Founder of Trek One Capital, to discuss the realities of raising capital, scaling businesses and learning from years of experience in investor rooms and M&A. Brandon shares candid insights from more than two decades of building, funding and operating businesses across energy, industrial services, consumer products and specialty manufacturing. In this episode, we explore: ➡️ What you learn after sitting in thousands of investor rooms ➡️ The realities of raising capital and securing funding ➡️ What happens when business growth moves faster than committed capital ➡️ How operational discipline impacts successful growth ➡️ The lessons Brandon has learned from years of investing, M&A and entrepreneurship Whether you’re preparing to raise capital, navigating investor conversations or scaling a growing business, Brandon’s experience offers valuable lessons on what it takes to turn ambition into sustainable growth.
UNMASKED: The Capital Raise Files: Real stories from CEOs who have raised capital, so other leaders can move through the process with more clarity, confidence and fewer wasted rooms.
In this special series of Unmasked: The CEO Files, we sit down with CEOs and founders who have actually lived through a capital raise to uncover what happened behind the deck, the numbers and the polished story.
Why was the money needed? How did they approach the market? How many investor rooms did it take? What questions created pressure? Where did trust form, and where did resistance show up?
Most importantly, what would they do differently if they had to raise again?
Because raising capital is never just about the business opportunity, the financial model or the pitch deck. Investors are evaluating the leader in the room, too. How clearly can a CEO communicate under pressure? Can they build trust? Can they respond when challenged? And how does the way they show up influence the outcome?
The Capital Raise Files goes beyond fundraising advice to explore the lived experience of raising capital, giving CEOs and founders practical insight they can take into their own investor rooms.
If you’re preparing to raise capital, considering M&A or moving toward an IPO, these are the real stories worth hearing.
We’re researching why some capital raises move quickly in fewer investor meetings while others drag through extra meetings and follow-up.
If you’ve raised capital, we’d value your input. It takes under a minute and all responses are aggregated and never attributed.
Click here: https://tally.so/r/68yyZB
If you are interested in the findings let us know at alan@strataoriginals.com
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