The Fundraising Edge Nobody Talks About (Because It Feels Embarrassing)
Daily affirmations sound like total bullsh*t, until you realize most fund managers are stuck in feedback loops of fear and ego
I think I discovered the I AM app about two years ago.
I got divorced in 2021 - my fourth or fifth. Honestly, I don’t even remember.
What I do remember is needing something to rewire the voice in my head.
I used to think affirmations were totally bullsh*t.
That started to change around 2007, when I first heard the story of David Sandler. He had a temporary role at a family-owned snack distribution business. Eventually he rose to become the company’s president, only to lose that position. That prompted him to pivot into sales more intentionally.
He never wanted to be in sales. Until he realized the problem wasn’t the pitch. It was the person doing the pitching.
Sandler saw that most salespeople were running on outdated emotional programming. The fear of rejection. The self-doubt. The desperation. So he did something totally radical.
He started reprogramming their minds. Literally.
Mirror work. Self-talk.
Daily repetition of phrases like “I’m OK, you’re OK” and “I have the right to walk away.”
In 1968, for a salesguy, this was totally mind-blowing sh*t.
It sounded really out-there, but it worked. And not because it was motivational. Because it changed the internal script that was tanking deals before they started.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that same idea - reprogramming internal scripts - would end up driving some of the most effective fundraisers I’ve ever worked with.
Over the last 100 days, the GPs in our cohorts have collected an average of $5.14M each. They’re adding $825K/day to their pipelines — that’s a $301M/year run rate per GP. Most are targeting raises of $61.5M.
And no, they’re not natural closers. Most hated sales. Until they rewired how they thought.
Note: I’m not getting paid to say this. I used the I AM app for two years and paid for it myself. I don’t get a cut, a referral fee, or anything else. I just think it works. So I recommend it.
Caught up today with an old Zendesk buddy. Now he’s a GP.
We were trading notes on what’s actually working in fundraising across asset classes - VC, PE, credit, infra, hedge.
Turns out there are two models that are consistently winning:
The Megaphone: GPs who’ve built massive platforms — high-traffic content, big newsletters, LP-focused media, large-scale events. They own attention.
The Gatekeeper: GPs with brutally tight, friction-heavy LP sales systems. Scripted, sequenced, and engineered to qualify hard. No warm fuzzies — just pipeline physics.
Everything else? Mostly noise. Waste of time and money.
The GPs we work with fall into that second camp. Here’s what their performance looks like:
$61.5M average raise target
$5.14M collected in the last 100 days ($18M+ run rate per GP).
$825K/day added to pipeline — or $301M/year per GP if the pace holds
That’s using a 25:1 cover ratio — extremely conservative. We model like pessimists. We execute like optimists.
And look: I hope you steal all of this. I couldn’t care less. These systems work. Use them.
Here’s all of the details about how our system works.
If you’d like to attend our weekly office hours you can click here, it’s practically free.
If you’d like to join the GPs in our cohorts every Thursday who raise about $51k every single day ($18M+ run rate annually per GP), click here. (Yes, you read that right: they pay $19 a day to raise $51K a day.)
But let’s talk about something most people skip: how these GPs stay mentally in the game.
Because you can have the right strategy, the right tools, and the right pitch…
And still sabotage yourself.
That’s where the I AM app comes in.
How a $14.99 App Is Quietly Rewiring GPs
The I AM app wasn’t built for GPs.
It was built for regular people - the anxious, the stuck, the self-doubting.
People trying to untangle toxic loops in their heads.
That’s exactly why it works.
Because here’s the truth no one says out loud: most GPs hate selling.
Not dislike - shame.
Pitching your fund feels like begging.
Talking about your track record feels like “bragging”. This is not factually accurate or true. But this is how it feels to many former doctors, attorneys, and academics.
Following up feels like “chasing”. Again, these are feelings, not facts.
And if you came from product or academia? Even worse. You were trained to let the work “speak for itself.” Now you’re in a game where silence kills deals.
This is the invisible weight most GPs carry - and it leaks out.
In posture. In tone. In pipeline drop-off.
The app is stupidly simple:
You pick a few affirmations.
They pop up 3 to 10 times a day. That’s it.
At first it feels really dumb. Then it gets under your skin.
Because your subconscious doesn’t care if something’s corny.
It listens to repetition.
And most high-achieving GPs have been repeating garbage for decades:
“I’m not good at sales.”
“I hate asking for money.”
“I’m not one of those ‘confident’ GPs.”
That script leaks into every Zoom, every email, every LP meeting.
You can have a perfect pitch - and still tank the round.
Then your spouse leaves.
Then you’ve got no fund, no momentum, and bloated expenses.
Now you’re polishing your resume for a MAG7 job you used to mock.
The I AM app flips that script.
It floods your day with new inputs:
“I’m comfortable asking for capital.”
“I’m building a powerful firm.”
“I'm worth investing in.”
It doesn’t just work for sales.
I’ve seen it help GPs rebuild after fund collapses, founders claw out of breakups, even walk away from toxic co-founders with clarity.
Because what it’s really doing is breaking loops.
Not with journaling. Not with therapy.
Just quiet, relentless pattern interrupts - dozens of times a day.
Affirmations aren’t “magic”.
They’re scaffolding. Mental infrastructure. But they work. They take about 7-14 days to work, but they work.
Most of your competitors are trying to fundraise from a nervous system built in childhood. You can do better.
P.S. If you want to learn more about how our GPs are raising $51k every day, deets are here.
Great post! Daily affirmations are SO important. If a person doesn't believe in themselves then they shouldn't be surprised if others don't believe in them.