Inside PearX is a series that gives a deeper look into our pre-seed accelerator. Interested in joining PearX? We just announced that we’ll be accepting late applications until October 8th at 11:59 PM PST. Apply now.
Fundraising is one of the hardest parts of being a founder. It is complex, high-stakes, and often takes months to navigate, especially for first-time founders. The first time I raised capital, it took me more than eight months and I lost over 20 pounds.
At Pear, we believe founders shouldn’t have to go through that process alone. That’s why PearX, our 12-week accelerator, is designed to give founders the structure and hands-on support to not only build their product and early team, but also raise capital. Today, 80-90% of PearX companies go on to raise successful rounds from institutional investors, and our alumni have collectively raised over $2B in capital.
Our focus goes deeper than whether a company can simply raise at the end of the program. The real question is: do we have a venture-scale story and are we building the foundation for a massive company? This is the underlying work we do with founders from day one.
Fundraising is Built Into Everything We Do
Our approach at PearX is intentionally hands-on. We keep our twice-a-year cohorts small, with no more than 20 companies at a time. As a result, our partners and platform team spend meaningful time with each founder in all aspects of their business. Companies frequently have multiple touch points with the Pear team every week. Fundraising is embedded in every part of our program, from building the foundation of a successful business to shaping the story for Demo Day.
We invest between $250K to $2 million in every PearX company. We know that some teams only need a small amount of capital to ideate and others are in more capital-intensive verticals that require more funding. We provide customized support to each company based on their individual needs.
Every Pear partner has been an operator or a founder. Together with our platform team, we help founders with product-market fit, hiring, and GTM execution. These building blocks are essential for success.
We’ve also consolidated all of our internal know-how on company building and fundraising into the Pear Almanac. Pear Almanac is our resource for founders to answer common questions on company building and includes an in depth guide on raising capital.
Building the Foundation
The first six weeks of PearX are focused on building. We work closely with founders to strengthen and validate their ideas, launch products, and close early customers. While fundraising is not the direct focus at this stage of the process, building a strong foundation sets you up for success later on.
Telling Your Story
In addition to building and growing customers, the next six weeks of the program also focus on storytelling. Here we spend effort shaping the narrative, preparing the pitch deck, and ensuring the pitch can stand up to investor scrutiny.
We guide founders through a disciplined process of refining their pitch decks, sometimes going through 30 iterations to get the story just right. Beyond the deck, we run live practice sessions with the PearX cohort and offer direct and real-time feedback. By the time Demo Day arrives, every founder has the confidence and clarity to deliver their pitch and run a fundraising process.
Demo Day
Demo Day is an unparalleled opportunity for PearX companies to tell their story to a room full of curated in-person and virtual investors. This is where 80-90% of our companies get funding. Unlike other accelerators, where many companies are already funded before Demo Day, PearX companies are unveiling their story for the first time. This means all investors have the same access to companies, creating a lot of interest for the teams that are presenting.
There are so many companies that raise after demo day but here are a few recent examples:
- Piston (W25) raised $7.5M led by Spark
- TrueMeter (W25) raised $4M led by Ulu Ventures
- DevAI (S24) raised $6M led by Emergence Capital
Beyond Demo Day
After Demo Day, founders start an intense fundraising period meeting dozens of investors in short order. Although the Pear team is not in the meetings with founders, we’re behind the scenes working with them on every pitch and helping them negotiate and close successful rounds. Our goal is to help our companies find the best investors at the most favorable terms. Fundraising is a full-time job, but founders shouldn’t have to do it alone.
Ongoing Founder Support
PearX support doesn’t end after 12 weeks. Our companies remain part of the Pear portfolio, and we continue working with them for years as they build their companies and continue to raise additional rounds of capital. Just as with the first round, raising the subsequent rounds requires hard work, and we’re ready to put in the work alongside our founders.
Interested in learning more about PearX? Hear from Resiquant founders on their PearX experience and how they went from dorm room to thriving business.