Fundraising Demystified - Weekly Newsletter for Founders & Fund Managers Raising Capital

FD Ep. 72 Laurits Just

Written by Jason Kirby | Feb 6, 2025 12:00:00 PM

Bootstrap, Fundraise or Exit?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You Probably Need Help With Your Pitch Deck...

For most first-time founders, the idea of a pitch deck sounds easy, but I often get decks with "v43" in the filename, implying it's the 43rd iteration of a deck 😖

Don't be this founder. Collaborate with active VCs on your deck and pay a professional designer to eliminate the guesswork and make a strong first impression when you're ready to pitch investors. 

I use DECKO for my clients to ensure I'm getting the expertise we need to get a great deck turned around quickly. They're a group of active VCs who help founders with their decks, you can't go wrong. And you get 10% off with the link below.

Give them a try.

Upgrade Your Pitch Deck with Decko

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Laurits Just flipped VC interest into an acquisition by Flipp

                                   

This week, I sit down with Laurits Just, founder of Bits For Digits. He shares how he built, bootstrapped, and sold his startup, a marketplace for partial business acquisitions, and why he chose to exit instead of raising venture capital.

What you can expect:

  • 01:40: The story behind the startup and bootstrapping
  • 02:49: Overcoming the challenges of a two-sided marketplace
  • 05:44: Growing profitably and attracting acquisition offers
  • 06:03: Why Laurits and his co-founder decided to sell to Flippa
  • 09:53: Bootstrapping vs. raising capital: The three-door dilemma
  • 12:34: Running a competitive sale process for maximum exit value
  • 18:10: Life after the acquisition: Transitioning to Flippa Invest
  • 21:04: How Flippa Invest offers an alternative to VC funding
  • 24:19: The types of businesses that fit the Flippa Invest model
  • 28:12: Understanding valuation and fundraising expectations
  • 36:45: How founders can explore funding through Flippa Invest

Watch it Now

ABOUT LAURITS JUST

Laurits Just is the co-founder and co-CEO of BitsForDigits, a marketplace for partial and full business acquisitions. With a background in finance, he worked at BlackRock and Rocket Internet in London before launching his startup. Holding three degrees—including a Master of Science from the London School of Economics—Laurits specialized in digital innovation, AI applications, and distributed ledger platforms.

After leaving BlackRock, he co-founded BitsForDigits with a mission to provide liquidity solutions for self-funded business owners. Inspired by a blog post on Jeff Bezos' investment in Basecamp, he and his co-founder built a platform that made secondary transactions more accessible. After scaling the business to profitability, they ultimately exited to Flippa, where Laurits now leads Flippa Invest, helping founders secure funding beyond traditional VC.

Connect with Laurits:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Free Fundraising Resources

😍 - Free list of AI Recommended VCs - Apply for free

👨‍💻 - Free fundraising coaching session - Schedule 15 minutes with us

📝 - Playbook for Negotiating Term Sheets - Download it Here

💽 - Playbook for Setting Up and Sharing Your Data Room - Download it Here

✉️ - Playbook for Sending Investing Updates - Download it Here

📞 - Guide to nailing your first calls with investors - Download it here


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Premium Resources

🗓️ - Book a one-hour private capital strategy call - Book Now

💫 - Pitch deck design services for founders by VCs - Decko

💼 - Startup Legal Services - Bowery Legal

📚 - Startup Friendly Accounting Services - Chelsea Capital

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upgrade to Thunder Premium to Unlock:

  • Access to VC firms' team tabs to see active partners of the fund & their LinkedIn
  • Navigate a VC's portfolio to see relevant portcos or competitors, quickly find their founders on LinkedIn to connect with them, and request warm intros 
    A downloadable CSV with the investor emails & LinkedIn URLs
  • Ability to filter your matches and adjust your profile
  • LiteCRM to track your progress
  • Request intros to VCs directly through the platform
  • Get our fundraising guide on how to increase your odds of getting a meeting
  • Upgrade to lifetime access (one-time fee of $497) and get a free coaching session

Upgrade Now

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's Connect:

  • Hosted by Jason Kirby - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonrkirby/
  • Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for market and industry news and tips when it comes to raising capital and growing your business - https://join.thunder.vc
  • Seeking to raise capital? Get your list of target VCs by creating a free profile here - https://web.thunder.vc
  • Looking to raise debt? Explore tailored debt options for free by completing a profile at https://debt.thunder.vc
  • Thank you for being a loyal subscriber to Fundraising Demystified. We appreciate your support, and we're excited to continue bringing you more inspiring stories from successful founders.