Why is this a big opportunity to return the fund for this VC firm? Consider your team, market, value prop, etc.
What does your company do uniquely well for whom?
Founding team backgrounds (with LinkedIn profiles)
How and why did you come together to solve this problem?
How are you uniquely qualified to build this business?
Does your team have experience in the space?
Have you worked together before?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Who will be your references?
How could this business become a billion dollar opportunity?
Why now? (Why is this the right time for this business?)
What is changing in terms of customer behavior? Competition? Product? Cost?
Is the industry becoming more concentrated or fragmented?
Is this a new category? How new?
How does the tech tie into industry development?
In what macro-industry and sub-sectors does this company belong?
Is the problem Unworkable? Does your solution fix a broken business process where there are real, measurable consequences to inaction? Will someone get fired if the issue is not addressed?
Is fixing the problem Unavoidable? Does a governance or regulatory control mandate drive it? For example, is it caused by a fundamental requirement for accounting or compliance?
Is the problem Urgent? Is it one of the top few priorities for a company? In selling to enterprises, you’ll find it hard to command the attention and resources to get a deal done if you fall below this line.
Is the problem Underserved? Is there a conspicuous absence of valid solutions to the problem you’re looking to solve? Focus on the whitespace in a market or segment.
Do you have any great quotes from customers?
How can you convey the pain that customers feel?
Can you share notes from a customer call?
For (target customers)
Who are dissatisfied with (the current alternative)
Our product is a (new product)
That provides (essential problem-solving capability)
Unlike (the product alternative)
Describe its main features and a basic overview of its functionality. How do these features solve specific customer pain points?
What challenges are associated with technology: adoption, cost, etc.?
Why is this technology a better approach?
Does this company have long-term defensibility?
How replicable is it? If it is replicable, how long would it take?
Is there specific expertise required to build this tech that only your team has?
What unique combination of Different innovation, Defensible technology, and Disruptive business model are you using?
What makes it truly compelling?
Who is your target customer? Outline the buyer persona for each use case.
Who influences their decisions? Describe their decision-making unit (DMU).
What is the overall state of competition?
Are you targeting whitespace?
Where does your company outperform the competition?
Where might it underperform?
Describe each competitor, highlighting key advantages/disadvantages, funding highlights, positioning, and traction.
What do they think of the market and whitespace?
Summarize validation from analysts, customers, employee calls, and other primary research.
Highlight key stakeholders, significant/unusual shareholders, government grants, and other relevant information about your prior funding.
What’s the total to be raised?
What parties are involved?
Include a pre- and post-financing cap table.
Add a forward projection of the cap table that includes next-round ownership, with pool increases.
Outline how you split ownership between founders.
What plans are in place to mitigate these risks in the next period?
Which milestones will increase your company’s value?
Which will de-risk the venture?