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Stop Leaving Money on the Table: A Founder's Guide to Grant Writing

Hi Friends, 


Welcome to May! This month we're dedicating our #MondayMusings to our Founders and Entrepreneurs! Founders and entrepreneurs are in a group of their own - not only do they need the "regular" career and personal growth guidance, they also have to be "everything"for their organization. Very often this means being the brain behind the organization, the strategist, the fundraiser, the admin assistant, the content creator, the graphic designer, the promoter, the teambuilder and so on. And it can often be a solo endeavour. So this month we're dedicating our attention to you and we're starting with an area that many dread: FUNDING. Specifically grants. 


What if your biggest investor never asked for equity? Grants are a great way to obtain non-dilutive funding. You don't always have to give away a part of your equity in your business or idea in order to gain the support needed to grow, scale, or quite frankly..... just exist. 


At the same time grant writing and applying to grants can be very time consuming! In between being everything your business or organization needs to exist there may be little time to dedicate to the paperwork or trying to showcase your edge in a competitive field. In addition, paying someone else to be your grantwriter is a luxury not many startups can afford. 


We get it. So at Team Konseye we've prepared 3 tips to help you with your next grant writing that may make this process a bit easier for you. 


1. Don't Cast a Wide Net: Be Selective. 

The biggest mistake founders make? Applying for everything. Save your energy and time and stay focused. 

If your startup is pre-seed or early stage,  do not spend time looking for commercialization grants. Instead you want to focus on research & development (R&D) focused programs. Examples of global early stage grants include: 


PRO TIP: Before you write a single word, ask yourself: Does the grantor’s mission overlap with my specific technical milestone? If it does not, walk away. Your time is worth more than a "maybe," and you do not want to spend time trying to contort your organization's mission and milestones to fit with someone else's vision. 

2. The "So What?" Factor

Reviewers are human. They are tired, they are busy, and they are reading your proposal after reading fifty others. If your narrative is buried in jargon, you’ve already lost.

  • Don't tell them your tech is "efficient." Tell them it "reduces latency by 35% compared to industry benchmarks."

  • Don't tell them there is "significant market demand." Tell them "47% of surveyed clinic managers in our target region said they would pay for this today."

  • Don't tell them your pilot was "successful." Tell them it "reduced post-harvest loss by 22% across 3 farming cooperatives in a 90-day trial."

  • Don't tell them your approach is "innovative." Tell them it "is the first to combine satellite imagery with soil microbiome data to predict crop failure 6 weeks in advance."

The rule is simple: if you can't attach a number, a name, a place, or a timeline to a claim — keep rewriting until you can. Specificity is not a stylistic preference. It is the difference between a proposal that feels real and one that feels like a pitch deck from nowhere.


PRO TIP: Quantifiable impact is the currency of a winning narrative. Bridge the gap between your technical brilliance and the real-world problem you’re solving. Make the reviewer feel the gravity of the "So What?"

3. Show the "We've Already Proven This" Story

Grant reviewers don't want to fund a gamble. They want to fund something that already has some evidence behind it even if that evidence is small.


Think of it this way: every test you've run, every person who has used your prototype, every problem you've already solved along the way is proof that you are not just someone with a good idea. You are someone who has done something with it.


So if you've already run a pilot, say so. If you've already won a previous grant or competed in an innovation challenge, say so. If you've already spoken to 50 potential customers and changed your approach based on what they told you, say so. Each of these things tells the reviewer: this team has put action where their mouths are. 

The same logic applies to risks. Every grant application carries an unspoken question from the reviewer: "What could go wrong here?" Your job is to answer that question before they ask it. Walk them through the main risks of your idea, and then immediately show what you have already done, or plan to do, to address each one. This is not about admitting weakness. It is about showing that you are clear-eyed, realistic, and prepared.


PRO TIP: The founders who win grants are rarely the ones with the most spectacular ideas. They are the ones who make a reviewer feel confident that the money would not be wasted.

Bringing It All Together

Applying for grants is one of the few ways to fund your idea without giving away a piece of it, and that alone makes it worth serious consideration. But we'll be honest: we know this takes time and a lot of effort. The good news is that if you approach it strategically, the process of writing a grant is not just a means to an end. It is, in itself, one of the most clarifying exercises you can do as a founder.


When you are forced to articulate your problem, your solution, your evidence, and your plan in a way that a stranger can understand and believe in, you get sharper. You find the gaps in your thinking. You discover which parts of your story you can defend with confidence and which parts still need work. You often stumble onto other opportunities, partnerships, or angles you hadn't considered before.


So even if a particular application doesn't go your way, you will come out of the process with a clearer pitch, a stronger grasp of your own idea, and documentation that can be repurposed for the next grant, the next competition, or the next conversation with a potential partner. The work is never in vain.


Write the grant like you mean to win it. But know that either way, you are building something more valuable than a funding application. You are building the foundation of how you talk about your work to the world and that is important. 


Wishing you a wonderful week ahead! 


Maureen & Adejoké

Team Konseye


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