Last week we published an article by Gaetano Crupi, a partner at VC firm Prime Movers Lab, which identified three pillars needed to support a Series B data room: a strategy memo, a pitch deck, and a forecasting model.
In a follow-up, he explains the next step: packaging this information for potential investors to “create the blueprint and backbone for an in-depth Series B due diligence process.”
If you’re preparing for a Series B, these articles will explain exactly what investors are looking for and how each piece of content works individually and in tandem.
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Crupi also discusses some of the less obvious aspects of Series B fundraising, such as the need for topic-specific breakout decks, a comprehensive due diligence questionnaire and, critically, how to put it all together.
If your startup still doesn’t fit the product market, you can skip this article and get back to work. As Crupi points out:
The advice presented here will only help companies that have really good foundations. You have to have the goods – everything else is window dressing that puts luck in your favor.
Thank you very much for reading,
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, businesskinda.com+
@yourprotagonist
Contents
‘Just break even’ may be the worst possible advice for startups in turbulent times
A friend shared a photo on Twitter of a NYC feral cat walking on the electrified third rail of a subway train.
It was dangerous, but as long as the animal avoided making contact with the ground and the railing at the same time, it could very well have been the safest route to its destination.
Refusing to cut costs during a recession is akin to walking on the third track: Companies that can maintain this tricky balance can maintain the growth that propels them to the next level, according to Igor RyabenkiyCEO and managing partner of AltaIR Capital.
“Founders usually like the idea of getting it right as quickly as possible,” he writes.
“While their company may not become a unicorn, it can now provide them with a stable salary and dividend. But for an investor, this is terrible.”
4 employment law mistakes that startups can no longer make today
There’s no nice way to say this: When it comes to onboarding new employees, most early-stage startups are either inept or disinterested.
At that point in a company’s development, speed and growth are considered more important than the basic paperwork. And since most novice founders have no management experience, eventually problems will arise.
In her third article for TC+, attorney Kristen Corpion examines the risks associated with non-compliance and describes four common mistakes that cause problems later.
“By being proactive about addressing employment law issues early on, a startup can scale itself seamlessly,” she writes.
YC’s Michael Seibel clarifies some misconceptions about the throttle
In a conversation based on the Equity podcast, Michael Seibel, partner at YC and managing director of YC Early Stage, spoke about startup during a recession, why his accelerator offers greater controls, diversity and other issues relevant to startups in the starting phase.
Midway through last year, we started asking the question, “What’s the plural of revenue here?” And we started to see companies increase their sales 100x to 350x.
So if I have $3 million in revenue, I have a multi-billion dollar business. Any of us around for more than two seconds? [knows] that doesn’t feel sustainable.
So our partners, Dalton Caldwell, Jared [Friedman] and I sat down that fall and we were like, “Let’s just say this isn’t going to happen,” because that seems to be for sure. “What can we do to help YC companies in a recession?”
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