The Fundraising Blueprint eBook: The Founder-Approved Guide, Written by a Venture Capitalist by Marlene from Encour Press: is it worth buying?
You’re staring at a blank pitch deck, a messy cap table, and a calendar full of investor calls you’re not sure you’re ready for. The advice online usually comes from founders who are either too late to give it or too early to have learned it. What you actually need is the playbook from the other side of the table—someone who has seen thousands of decks and knows exactly why most fail. The Fundraising Blueprint eBook is written by Abhishek Maran, a venture capitalist who has spent years documenting the fundraising process on his blog Superfluid. At $10, it’s a tactical guide designed to take you from cold outreach to a signed term sheet in weeks, not months, by stripping away the mysticism of VC relationships.
Quick answer
| Best for | First-time founders who need a structured, step-by-step process to raise capital and want to understand investor psychology. |
| Skip if | You are looking for general startup theory, or if you have already closed a Series A and don’t need early-stage tactical advice. |
| Price | $10 (pay-what-you-want option available) |
| Format | 147-page PDF eBook with pitch deck templates, worksheets, and financial concept explanations. |
| One-line take | A VC’s insider playbook that turns fundraising from a guessing game into a repeatable process. |
What you’re actually buying
For the price of a lunch, you get a 147-page tactical manual that functions as both a textbook and a working toolkit. The core of the Fundraising Blueprint is a narrative framework that helps you craft a story investors can’t ignore, moving you past the “interesting but not investable” pile. But it doesn’t stop at theory. You get concrete, fill-in-the-blank assets like pitch deck storyboards and data room structure templates that let you organize your materials before the first call.
The real differentiator here is the “insider insight” section. Abhishek breaks down the common mindsets, processes, and incentives that drive VCs—knowledge that is rarely shared publicly. Instead of wondering why an investor ghosted you, you learn how their internal decision-making actually works. This is paired with clear explanations of key financial concepts, so you can walk into a meeting with confidence when they ask about your cap table or burn rate. The package also includes bonus content that can be updated live, meaning the advice stays relevant as the market shifts. (The Fundraising Blueprint eBook:)
One buyer noted that the mix of clear advice and worksheets makes the process “less of a headache,” specifically because they could flick through the stages to find exactly what they needed at that moment. Another described it as making a “dense subject accessible and intuitive,” highlighting the practical tools for people just commencing a fundraise. Gumroad reviews back this up, with readers praising the actionable nature of the worksheets and the clarity of the VC perspective.
Why it’s on our radar
Most fundraising guides are written by founders who are trying to sell you their next course or their own startup. This one is written by a VC, which means the advice is calibrated to what actually gets a “yes” from an investor’s perspective. The combination of a 147-page deep dive with immediate-use templates makes it a rare $10 offer that covers both the strategic “why” and the tactical “how.” It’s on our radar because it solves the specific pain of early-stage founders who feel out of their depth in investor meetings. The fact that it’s from Encour Press, a publisher known for practical business resources, adds a layer of trust to the eBook and template pack.
What actually matters
Before you hit buy, check that the templates match your current stage. The pitch deck storyboards are designed to help you structure your narrative, so if you already have a polished deck, you’ll get more value from the financial concept explanations and the VC mindset breakdowns. If you are just starting out, the data room structure templates will save you hours of disorganization.
Also, note that this is a PDF. While it’s 147 pages, it’s designed to be skimmed for specific stages of the raise. It’s not a novel you read cover-to-cover; it’s a reference book you keep open on your second monitor while you prep for meetings. The “live update” bonus content is a nice touch, but the core value is in the static frameworks that don’t change much from year to year. (The Fundraising Blueprint eBook:)
Mid-check
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start executing your raise, the Fundraising Blueprint pricing is a low-risk entry point.
FAQ
Is this book suitable for non-technical founders? Yes. The financial concept explanations are written to be accessible, breaking down terms like cap table and burn rate in plain language. You don’t need a finance degree to use the templates.
Will this help me if I’m raising a seed round? The guide is built for early-stage capital raises. The frameworks for cold outreach and term sheet negotiation are specifically tailored to the seed and pre-seed stages where most first-time founders struggle. (The Fundraising Blueprint eBook:)
How is this different from a YouTube course? While video courses can be long and passive, the Fundraising Blueprint is a 147-page PDF with worksheets you can fill out. It’s designed for active use—print the worksheets, fill them in, and use the templates directly in your work.
Bottom line
If you are about to start a fundraise and you’re feeling the weight of the unknown, The Fundraising Blueprint eBook is a smart, low-cost investment. It gives you the structure of a VC’s playbook and the tools to execute it, all for $10. You’re not just buying information; you’re buying a reduction in the chaos of the process.