For many high-tech startups, raising venture capital is one of the earliest hurdles to overcome on the journey from idea to unicorn. Especially in a technology sector where AI is making it easier every day to launch products, receiving funds it's one of several ways entrepreneurs can still gain a real long-term advantage over their competitors.

One of the biggest problems founders face when raising funds is failing to adequately prepare for their fundraising. Many founders believe that fundraising is an isolated task that can be done in 2-3 months when needed. The truth is that a successful fundraising is often the result of a careful planning process after which the founders find themselves in a suitable position to seek venture capital.

Here are four things companies can do from day one to put themselves in the best possible position to raise venture capital when they need a capital injection.

1. Reduce legal risks

As a lawyer, I've had many startups come to me with term sheets in hand, asking for their legal documents to be adjusted retrospectively to ensure there are no problems when they go through due diligence.

The film social network, that is regarding the founding of Facebook, it shows how important it is for a company to have proper incorporation documents, founders' agreements, employment contracts, IP assignments, independent agreements, etc.

While Facebook was successful enough to land a $65 million settlement with the Winklevoss Twins, most startups won't survive early legal challenges, meaning legal missteps early in a company's life can be quite risk of scaring off any potential investors.

If you can't afford one lawyer in the early stagesusing template agreements from sites like Law4Startups or LegalZoom can be an affordable way to make sure you're not making legal mistakes.

Related: How I raised $2 million without knowing any VC

2. Network

Fundraising is significantly easier when you already have a network of investors to reach out to instead of having to build that network while fundraising. This is something many founders learn the hard way.

The reason for this is twofold. First, it's much easier to build relationships with VCs when you're a founder, building an interesting product, and you don't need anything from them. When your first contact with a VC isn't asking for money, but instead to share a little about your project and educate them on your market, you can create a natural relationship with them. When you start to raise money, you don't have a chance to build a personal relationship apart from the fundraiser.

Second, yours fundraising process it can be simplified when you have an established network. Instead of giving pitches, asking for funding, doing due diligence, etc. all at once, you can set a date to reach out to your network, update them on your growth, set aside a week to talk to all investors and then set a deadline for them to commit. This simple increase will be more successful and take less time. If you don't have an existing network, you can get started by attending local startup events, connecting with VCs and founders on X, or signing up for online investment networks like NFX's Signal.

3. Tracking Metrics

When you go to raise, investors will want to see the data. Even if you have limited customers, they want to see that you already have some customers, some signs of product market fit, and some level of shipping speed behind your company. A key thing with your metrics is to make sure you're not just showing numbers out of context, but are specifically focused on metrics that show the momentum and movement of your company.

This means you want to show revenue growth rates, user acquisition, etc. The easiest way to make sure you do this effectively is to connect automated tools like Google Analytics, Ordway, and Stripe to your website and payment systems right from the start.

4. Craft your narrative

One of the most common mistakes I see is waiting until the founders need to pitch before they start creating the narrative around their company. This often fails to impress because founders are tempted to build a narrative around investors, potential, finances rather than their customers. Building a story about your customers requires you to create that story as you work alongside those customers.

The easiest way to do this is to start crafting your company narrative based on the benefits expressed by your earliest adopters when you launch your product rather than what you think will attract VCs to a council room. The reality is that a real story with real people benefiting from the product you've built will always be more compelling and effective than what you build in hopes of attracting investment.

Paying attention to why customers are using your products and constantly repeating your company's narrative long before you need venture capital will allow you to create an honest narrative that will connect with investors.

Related: 5 trends to watch out for in venture capital this year

CONCLUSION

Overall, one of the easiest ways to streamline the fundraising process and increase your chances of success is to plan to have critical fundraising elements like your pitch, network, metrics and story developed. long before you need capital from outside investors. Using existing software and devoting some time to these tasks from the start will allow you to do this without making other sacrifices, while reaping numerous incidental benefits for accounting, marketing, culture and more.