Key takeaways
- One pipeline per round, one row per investor.
- Typical stages run from Prospecting to Closed won, with Passed possible at any point.
- Weighting each investor by stage gives a rough sense of whether the round can close.
- A pipeline without dated next steps quietly stalls.
Stages in a fundraising pipeline
Founders name stages differently, but most pipelines follow the same path. A common set is Prospecting (on the list, not yet contacted), Contacted, Engaged (interested and talking), In due diligence, Term sheet, Committed (amount and terms agreed) and Closed won (signed and funded). Passed can happen at any stage and is worth recording with the reason.
Reading a fundraising pipeline
- Committed against target: how much of the round is agreed.
- Weighted pipeline: each open investor's expected cheque multiplied by a probability for their stage. It is a planning number, not a forecast.
- Conversion by stage: where investors drop out, which often points to a part of the pitch to fix.
- Age of last contact: investors with no contact for weeks are usually lost unless someone acts.
How it differs from a fund's deal flow
A fund's deal flow is many companies moving toward one investment decision each. A founder's pipeline is many investors moving toward one round. The tools look alike, a board of stages and a table, but the founder's pipeline also tracks the round itself: the instrument, the target, the lead and a closing checklist.
Keeping one
A spreadsheet works; our investor pipeline tracker is a ready layout. Delsivo plans a fundraising CRM for founders for after its first release, where applications made through Delsivo fund portals join the pipeline with the fund's live status, and no fund can see the founder's pipeline.