#32: How Shane Mac of Assist Raised Funding for His Startup Without Ever Asking for Money

Shane Mac, a Silicon Valley transplant from his hometown of Pekin, Illinois, is a master of building authentic relationships based on trust and personal connection. In fact, he’s so good at winning people over with his honest Midwestern brand image, that he’s learned how to raise capital without ever asking for money. I met Mac a few years ago at the Big Omaha conference in Omaha, Nebraska, and he’s consistently blown me away with his ability to grow funded companies ever since. He’s worked on the Gist and Zaarly teams, and he now runs Assist, a free-to-use travel and shopping chatbot for SMS and Facebook Messenger. This interview was recorded early last year, shortly after Mac closed a $5.5 million Series A round for Assist, which he achieved based on the strength of his professional relationships alone. Mac believes relationships are the backbone of any business venture, and he’s a devoted practitioner of what he preaches. In our interview, he shares counterintuitive but proven strategies for creating authentic connections and gaining interest in your business. He believes in closing fundraising rounds by consciously refraining from making a direct ask. He also regales me with a too-crazy-to-be-made-up story of how he closed Assist’s $500,000 seed round in five days—over a holiday break. If you like the wit and wisdom Mac shares in this interview, be sure to check out his podcast, ask., as well as his very unique and enlightening business book, Stop with the BS. Mac is very active on social media, so feel free to reach out to him on Twitter, Instagram and elsewhere @ShaneMac. In this episode with Shane Mac, you’ll learn: Why the best way to raise money is to avoid asking for it (5:16) Step-by-step strategy for attracting investors, including one crazy success story (9:18) How to build authentic business relationships based on trust (20:07) Asking someone to tell their story is the best way to get them interested in you (30:36) Why humility and gratitude are the keys to an outstanding pitch (37:45) Actionable tips for making potential collaborators like you (47:20) ---- Download show notes and transcripts at www.powderkeg.com This episode of Powder Keg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you. DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup. So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to developertown.com/powderkeg. Thanks again to everyone who has shared an episode of Powderkeg, subscribed to us on iTunes, or left us a review. It’s the only way we’re going to spread this message and reach new people and we could do it without you. We’re coming out with new episodes every Tuesday, so make sure you subscribe on iTunes or at powderkeg.co/itunes