Happy holidays from the Potomac Growth team! If you’re planning to raise in 2026, now is the right time to start preparing. Once the holidays hit, everything slows down. Use that window. The groundwork you do now means you can hit the ground running when the new year starts.
The best campaigns we’ve seen don’t come together in a week. They’re built over months: the network gets mapped, the materials get tightened, the story gets sharper. By launch day, everything is already in motion.
After managing a multitude of equity crowdfunding campaigns at Potomac Growth, we’ve put together this 8-point checklist to help you prepare for 2026:
1. Set your launch date first, then work backwards.
Everything flows from timing. When does the campaign go live? When does it close? What has to happen between those two points: video production, platform approval, PR hits, ad creative, email sequences- the list can feel endless.
Write it all down. Assign dates. Build your momentum week by week.
2. Map your network…before you need them.
Although it may not seem like it, there are many people who would invest or introduce you to someone who would, in your contact list. The key is mapping them out before launch day.
Build a spreadsheet. Include:
- Who they are and your relationship
- How much they might invest
- Who they could introduce you to
- Contact info
- When you last reached out
- Your preferred mode of communication (phone call, text, email, in-person)
- Next steps
This list becomes your day-one activation squad.
3. Create an inner-circle communication channel.
Slack, WhatsApp, Discord: pick one. Add your co-founders, advisors, early believers, past investors, and anyone who genuinely wants to see you win.
Use it to share updates and get honest feedback. When the campaign launches, these are the people who share it, invest early, and create the social proof that attracts the broader audiences.
4. Warm up past investors and email subscribers.
If you’ve raised before, don’t let past investors hear about your new round from LinkedIn or an email blast.
Send updates in the weeks before launch. Share what you’ve built since last time: revenue growth, product improvements, team additions, customer wins. By the time the campaign goes live, they’re already primed to move.
5. Update your fundraising video.
Your 2024 video won’t cut it. Investors notice when footage is stale, numbers are outdated, or the founder message doesn’t match current reality.
Reshoot or re-edit. Reflect new traction. Show current product. Add recent customer testimonials. If something major happened in 2025, it needs to be in there.
A dated video signals a company that isn’t moving forward.
6. Gather all your social proof in one place.
Press mentions. Awards. Customer quotes. Partnership announcements. Investor testimonials. Product milestones.
Pull it all into a single document or folder. You’ll use this across your campaign page, pitch deck, ads, and investor emails.
7. Refresh fundraising document.
Your pitch deck, presentations and marketing materials need to tell the same story, with current numbers. Inconsistencies make investors pause. They start wondering what else doesn’t add up.
8. Audit what investors see when they Google you.
When someone gets your campaign link, the first thing they do is search your name and your company. What comes up needs to match what you’re telling them in the upcoming offer page.
If these 8 steps sound like a lot of work, that’s because they are! That is precisely why you should take advantage of the last few weeks of the year,and the first few weeks of the new one, to get started. Once you’ve completed these steps, you will be in a much stronger and more confident position to begin your 2026 fundraise.
