Fundraising Knowledge

What this skill does

# Fundraising Knowledge for Startup CEOs

## Overview

This skill provides comprehensive fundraising guidance for VC-backed startup CEOs across all stages from pre-seed through Series C+. It covers pitch deck creation, investor outreach, term sheet analysis, and due diligence preparation.

## Pitch Deck Fundamentals

### Core Principles

Every pitch deck must answer three questions:
1. Why now? (Market timing and urgency)
2. Why you? (Team and unique insight)
3. Why this? (Product-market fit evidence)

### Deck Length Guidelines

| Stage | Slides | Time |
|-------|--------|------|
| Pre-seed | 8-10 | 5-10 min |
| Seed | 10-12 | 10-15 min |
| Series A | 12-15 | 15-20 min |
| Series B+ | 15-20 | 20-30 min |

### Sequoia Format (Recommended for Seed/Series A)

1. **Company Purpose** - One sentence describing what you do
2. **Problem** - The pain point you're solving
3. **Solution** - Your product and how it works
4. **Why Now** - Market timing and trends
5. **Market Size** - TAM, SAM, SOM analysis
6. **Competition** - Landscape and differentiation
7. **Product** - Demo or screenshots
8. **Business Model** - How you make money
9. **Team** - Founders and key hires
10. **Financials** - Metrics and projections
11. **Ask** - Amount raising and use of funds

### YC Format (Recommended for Pre-seed/Seed)

1. **What do you do?** - Clear one-liner
2. **Problem** - Customer pain point
3. **Solution** - Your approach
4. **Traction** - Growth metrics
5. **Market** - Size and opportunity
6. **Team** - Why you'll win
7. **Ask** - Raise amount

### a16z Format (Recommended for Series A+)

1. **Title** - Company name and one-liner
2. **Mission/Vision** - Long-term ambition
3. **Problem** - Deep problem analysis
4. **Solution** - Product walkthrough
5. **Market Opportunity** - Bottoms-up TAM
6. **Business Model** - Unit economics
7. **Go-to-Market** - Distribution strategy
8. **Competition** - Category dynamics
9. **Traction** - Metrics deep dive
10. **Team** - Unfair advantages
11. **Financials** - P&L and projections
12. **Ask & Use of Funds** - Milestones

## Investor Outreach Best Practices

### Email Structure

**Subject line**: Keep under 50 characters, mention referral if warm intro
**Opening**: One sentence on why reaching out to THIS investor
**Body**: 3-4 sentences on company, traction, and ask
**Close**: Clear call to action (meeting request)

### Outreach Sequence

| Day | Action | Content |
|-----|--------|---------|
| 0 | Initial email | Introduction + ask |
| 3 | Follow-up 1 | New data point or news |
| 7 | Follow-up 2 | Social proof (new investor/customer) |
| 14 | Final follow-up | Direct ask for response |

### Warm vs Cold Outreach

- **Warm intro** (80% response rate): Through portfolio founder or mutual connection
- **Cold outreach** (5-15% response rate): Direct email with strong hook

## Term Sheet Analysis

### Key Terms to Evaluate

**Economics:**
- Pre-money valuation
- Investment amount
- Option pool (and who bears dilution)
- Liquidation preference (1x non-participating preferred is standard)
- Anti-dilution (broad-based weighted average is founder-friendly)

**Control:**
- Board composition
- Protective provisions
- Voting rights
- Information rights

**Other:**
- Pro-rata rights
- Drag-along/tag-along
- No-shop period
- Founder vesting

### Red Flags

- Participating preferred (double-dip)
- Full ratchet anti-dilution
- Multiple liquidation preferences (>1x)
- Excessive board control
- Broad protective provisions
- Long no-shop periods (>45 days)

## Stage-Specific Guidance

### Pre-Seed ($250K-$1M)

- **Typical terms**: SAFE or convertible note
- **Valuation caps**: $3M-$10M
- **Focus**: Team + vision + early signal
- **Investors**: Angels, pre-seed funds, accelerators

### Seed ($1M-$4M)

- **Typical terms**: SAFE, convertible, or priced round
- **Valuations**: $8M-$20M pre-money
- **Focus**: Product + early traction
- **Investors**: Seed funds, angels, some multi-stage

### Series A ($8M-$20M)

- **Typical terms**: Priced equity round
- **Valuations**: $30M-$80M pre-money
- **Focus**: Product-market fit + repeatable GTM
- **Investors**: Multi-stage VCs, Series A specialists

### Series B+ ($20M+)

- **Typical terms**: Priced equity round
- **Valuations**: $100M+ pre-money
- **Focus**: Scale + path to profitability
- **Investors**: Growth funds, multi-stage VCs

## Due Diligence Preparation

### Document Categories

1. **Corporate**: Incorporation docs, cap table, board minutes
2. **Financial**: Financials, projections, bank statements
3. **Legal**: Contracts, IP assignments, employment agreements
4. **Product**: Technical architecture, security audits
5. **Commercial**: Customer contracts, pipeline, churn data

### Common DD Requests

For detailed due diligence checklists by stage, see `references/due-diligence-checklist.md`.

## Fundraising Metrics by Stage

| Metric | Pre-Seed | Seed | Series A | Series B |
|--------|----------|------|----------|----------|
| ARR | $0 | $0-$500K | $1M-$3M | $5M-$15M |
| MoM Growth | N/A | 15-30% | 10-15% | 8-12% |
| Burn Multiple | N/A | <3x | <2x | <1.5x |
| NRR | N/A | >100% | >110% | >120% |
| CAC Payback | N/A | <24mo | <18mo | <12mo |

## Additional Resources

### Reference Files

For detailed guidance, consult:
- **`references/deck-templates.md`** - Slide-by-slide templates for each format
- **`references/term-sheet-glossary.md`** - Complete term definitions and analysis
- **`references/due-diligence-checklist.md`** - Stage-specific DD preparation
- **`references/outreach-templates.md`** - Email templates and sequences

### Example Files

Working examples in `examples/`:
- **`example-cold-email.md`** - Sample cold outreach email
- **`example-term-sheet-comparison.md`** - Term sheet comparison framework