Prepare for a VC Process

Fundraising becomes expensive when the company begins outreach before deciding what it needs and which investors fit.

Step 1: Confirm that VC is the right route

Revisit:

• why the company needs outside capital;
• what will change after an investor joins;
• whether other financing sources can reach the same milestone;
• whether the opportunity is large and capital-intensive enough for a fund.

Step 2: Define use, amount, and milestone

Prepare three linked statements:

1. Use: what the money will pay for.
2. Amount: how much that plan requires.
3. Milestone: what evidence or capability will exist when the money has been used.

If these statements do not connect, the fundraising story is not ready.

Step 3: Research funds

Build a focused list using:

• stage;
• typical cheque;
• sector;
• geography;
• ownership expectations;
• relevant portfolio companies;
• ability to support later rounds;
• people responsible for the decision.

The aim is not the longest investor spreadsheet. It is a list of investors whose strategy can genuinely include the company.

Step 4: Prepare a short introduction

The first contact should make it easy to understand:

• what the company does;
• for whom;
• what has been demonstrated;
• what the company is raising;
• why this investor may fit.

The book recommends a short initial conversation or teaser before a detailed presentation.

Step 5: Do not depend on one fund

A single promising conversation is not a financing strategy. Run a process with multiple suitable investors so that one delay or rejection does not stop the company.

Keep the stages of conversations reasonably aligned. End meetings with a next step and a date. Send a concise written summary of what each side agreed to provide.

Step 6: Prepare the evidence

Before detailed meetings, organise:

• pitch deck;
• operating budget;
• cap table;
• corporate documents;
• financial information;
• product and market evidence;
• team information;
• material contracts and risks.

The exact data room depends on the company and jurisdiction. The principle is stable: inconsistencies become more expensive once due diligence begins.

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Source: adapted and translated from the preparation and investor-acquisition chapters of the Polish original Anioł w Piekle (2021).