Be aware of "funding cycles" - sometimes its easy (relatively) to get money and other times its very difficult.

If your industry, vertical, or competition is getting a lot of media coverage right now, it is probably a good time to be pitching your startup. Investors want to get in on emerging trends.

If there isn't any buzz, you need to create your own. There are many ways to do this: getting some press, launching at a big event, or announcing a big partnership deal.

The goal is to create some hype around what you're working on to increase the funding chances when you're pitching investors.