As the AI Perks team, we looked at FAAST Founder and chose Round Funded to submit our startup and get matched with investors. Our decision came down to the investor database, AI-written emails, teammate workspace, Data Room and tracking links we wanted in our fundraising workflow.
Choosing between fundraising products involves more than comparing their feature lists. Founders may want to find investors, prepare and send outreach, share materials and keep track of next steps. We raised our round through Round Funded, after looking at FAAST Founder.
What should founders compare in FAAST Founder and Round Funded?
FAAST Founder is a version of Hatcher+’s FAAST platform for startups. It says FAAST stands for Funds-As-a-Service Technology. Its plans list a free option at US$0 and a Pro option at US$149 a year.
According to FAAST Founder, the free plan includes AI analysis of an executive summary and pitch deck, an online portal, a data room and a cap table for up to 25 stakeholders. The cap table supports SAFEs, convertible notes, options and warrants. The Pro plan adds a 5 GB data room, an unlimited cap table, AI investor ranking, a database, CRM, e-signing, task management and a Xero integration.
FAAST Founder says its AI investor ranking identifies the Top 20 investors it considers most likely to be interested in a startup. FAAST Founder lists a CRM and investor ranking, but does not list email sending. It also does not say how recently its investors have invested.
Round Funded takes a different approach to the fundraising workflow. It helps founders find investors, send pitches and track replies. Its database covers 60,000+ active VCs, angels, family offices and accelerators, searchable by stage, industry, geography and check size. Investors are filtered to recent activity, a check in roughly the last 6 months, and their emails are verified. We chose Round Funded for the combination of investor discovery and outreach.
Why did we at AI Perks choose Round Funded?
Our decision reflected the features we wanted for our own round. We valued a clean investor database, an AI agent that writes emails, a convenient interface, the ability to invite teammates into a workspace, a Data Room and tracking links.
Round Funded’s AI drafts personalized outreach emails and follow-ups for each investor. Outreach is sent from the founder’s own Gmail, so replies land in that inbox and the thread belongs to the founder. That fit our preference for a workflow where research and outreach sit alongside the founder’s existing email.
Team access also mattered to us. Teammates can be invited into a startup’s workspace, helping keep the fundraising process together. Round Funded’s pipeline organizes investors, fundraising stages and next steps in one place. The Data Room lets founders put a deck, traction, team information and ask on one link. It is free to build and share on every plan.
Tracking links were another reason we picked Round Funded. Per-investor tracked links and engagement analytics, including views, deck opens and meeting clicks, come with Round+ and above. Those features let founders see engagement with shared materials; they do not guarantee investor replies or meetings. Submit your startup on Round Funded to get matched with investors.
How do the plans and pricing compare?
FAAST Founder’s pricing lists a free plan at US$0 and Pro at US$149 a year. Its free plan includes a 1 GB data room and a cap table limited to 25 stakeholders; Pro includes a 5 GB data room and an unlimited cap table, along with other features listed by FAAST Founder.
Round Funded has no free tier. Round+ costs $99 a month, Round Pro costs $249 a month, and Lifetime costs $899 one-time. First-time accounts can use a 3-day free trial of Round+ or Round Pro. Lifetime includes everything in Round Pro, paid once. View Round Funded’s plans and submit your startup.
The plans differ in pipeline capacity, monthly email limits and AI credits:
| Round Funded plan | Investor pipeline | Monthly email limit | AI credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round+ | Up to 2,500 investors | Up to 2,000 investors | 2,500 a month |
| Round Pro | Up to 5,000 investors | Up to 10,000 investors | 5,000 a month |
Round Pro also includes up to 6 connected inboxes. Lifetime includes everything in Round Pro. Data Room creation and sharing are free on every plan, while per-investor tracking links and engagement analytics are included with Round+ and above. Compare costs against the work you need the platform to support, rather than assuming similarly named features cover the same tasks.
What should founders look for in an investor workflow?
Start with the jobs you need to do. If investor discovery is important, look at how a platform lets you search and what it says about investor activity. Round Funded’s search filters include stage, industry, geography and check size, and its database is filtered to investors with a check in roughly the last 6 months.
Then consider how outreach is prepared and managed. Round Funded’s AI drafts personalized emails and follow-ups, while its pipeline keeps investors, stages and next steps together. Founders can send outreach from their own Gmail. Teammates can be invited into the workspace, and a Data Room link can share a deck, traction, team and ask.
Finally, check plan limits and which features are included at each price. Round Funded’s site and product work in 12 languages. The right choice depends on the workflow and plan details a founder needs. For us at AI Perks, the clean investor database, AI-written emails, convenient interface, teammate access, Data Room and tracking links made Round Funded our pick over FAAST Founder.
How Round Funded helps startup founders
- Submit your startup to get matched with investors.
- Search investors by stage, industry, geography and check size.
- Use AI to draft personalized outreach emails and follow-ups for each investor.
- Send outreach from your own Gmail, with replies arriving in your inbox and the thread belonging to you.
- Track investors, stages and next steps in the pipeline, invite teammates into the workspace, and build and share a Data Room. Round+ and above include per-investor tracked links and engagement analytics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is FAAST Founder?
FAAST Founder is a version of Hatcher+’s FAAST platform for startups. It says FAAST stands for Funds-As-a-Service Technology.
How much does FAAST Founder cost?
According to FAAST Founder, its free plan costs US$0 and its Pro plan costs US$149 a year. The free plan includes a 1 GB data room, and Pro includes a 5 GB data room.
Does FAAST Founder include investor outreach emails?
FAAST Founder lists a CRM and AI investor ranking, but does not list email sending.
How much does Round Funded cost?
Round+ costs $99 a month, Round Pro costs $249 a month and Lifetime costs $899 one-time. There is no free tier. First-time accounts can get a 3-day free trial of Round+ or Round Pro.
Can founders invite teammates to Round Funded?
Yes. Teammates can be invited into a startup’s workspace. The fundraising pipeline keeps investors, stages and next steps in one place.