Guides
Guides for people who screen and back startups
Practical guides on evaluating decks, writing a thesis, screening applications, diligence and committees. Short answer first, then the detail.
Deal flow and screening
Writing a thesis, managing deal flow, reading decks and screening applications fairly.
- How to evaluate a pitch deck: a slide-by-slide method for investorsA practical way to read a startup pitch deck: check thesis fit first, pull out every claim with its slide, test the numbers and turn gaps into questions.Read the guide
- How to write an investment thesis your team can actually screen withWrite a venture fund thesis your whole team can apply: hard rules, weighted preferences, named exceptions and open questions, with a worked seed fund example.Read the guide
- How to screen startup applications at volume, fairly and fastA screening process for funds and programmes: ask only for what you use, triage against written criteria, treat unknowns as questions and reply to everyone.Read the guide
- VC deal flow management: stages, owners and a weekly rhythmHow a small venture team manages deal flow: one record per company, stages with exit tests, owners and reply times, source tracking and a weekly review.Read the guide
- How VCs use AI: what it suggests and what people decideWhere AI helps a venture fund (reading decks, applying a rubric, drafting questions) and what people must still decide, with the checks that keep it honest.Read the guide
- How accelerators select startups: applications, interviews and cohortsHow accelerator selection works, from open applications to interviews and cohort decisions, and how programme teams can review every application consistently.Read the guide
- Reducing bias in startup screening: what the research shows and what to changeWhat research shows about bias in startup screening and the process steps that limit it: written criteria, the same questions, independent scores, reasons.Read the guide
- Pitch deck red flags: what to check and what to askThe pitch deck red flags worth a second look, from cumulative charts and undefined metrics to numbers that disagree across slides, and what to ask about each.Read the guide
- Inbound vs outbound deal flow: sourcing channels for a lean fundInbound, outbound and referred deal flow compared: where venture deals come from, what each channel costs a small team and how to run and measure all three.Read the guide
Founders and diligence
Questions, interviews, traction checks, data rooms and handling founder data.
- The VC due diligence process: stages, workstreams and recordsHow a venture fund runs due diligence on a startup: the stages, the workstreams, what to request at seed versus later rounds and how to record what you found.Read the guide
- How to verify startup traction: revenue, customers and usageCheck revenue, customer, usage and growth claims at pre-seed and seed: define each metric, ask for the right evidence, call customers and label what you know.Read the guide
- Questions to ask founders: what each one tells youThe questions investors ask founders in a first meeting, what each one tests, what a strong answer includes, and how to ask every founder fairly.Read the guide
- Asynchronous interview for startups: how funds run a fair first roundHow a fund runs a first-round founder interview without booking a call: live AI interviews, recorded answers and text, when each fits and how to assess them.Read the guide
- What goes in a startup data room: a founder's guide by folder and stageWhat founders should put in a fundraising data room, folder by folder, what to share at each stage of a raise and the gaps that most often slow diligence.Read the guide
- Founder data privacy: GDPR for venture capital fundsHow the GDPR applies to the founder data a venture fund collects: when it applies, the fund as controller, notices, legal basis, retention and processors.Read the guide
Committee and decisions
Running an investment committee, writing the memo and passing on a startup well.
- How to run an investment committee: packet, meeting and recordRun a venture investment committee that decides well: a fixed packet, independent views before discussion, a clear decision rule and a written record of why.Read the guide
- How to write an investment memo: structure, evidence and risksWrite a venture investment memo partners can decide from: lead with the recommendation, separate checked facts from claims and name the risks you accept.Read the guide
- How to pass on a startup: how to say no to founders wellHow a fund should pass on a startup: decide quickly, say no clearly, give a real reason, record why and set a revisit trigger if the door is open.Read the guide
Raising a round
For founders: running an investor pipeline and closing a seed round.
- How to manage a fundraising pipeline, from first list to closeA founder's guide to running a raise as a pipeline: build the target list, use stages with exit tests, track every investor and keep momentum to the close.Read the guide
- Seed round closing checklist: from agreed terms to money in the bankEvery step between agreed terms and a closed seed round: approvals, documents by instrument, signatures, funds, the cap table, filings and the closing update.Read the guide
Design partner pilots
Review your next deals with the evidence in one place
We set up your branded portal and thesis rubric with you, calibrate on your historical deals, then run live intake beside your current process.