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Underscore VC's Seed Round Fundraising Toolkit in 2023

Templates and resources to help you find, pitch, and update investors.
👈 The Underscore VC team gets fundraising questions from early-stage entrepreneurs all the time:
How do I get in touch with investors?
What progress are VCs looking for at X stage?
How much detail should I include in my pitch deck?
The answer is an often unhelpful, “It depends.”
So we’ve packaged some repeatable tactics and best practices designed to get you started on each step of the fundraising process.
In this toolkit, you’ll find resources to help you find and build relationships with VCs, prepare your fundraising materials, and move the process forward. We’ve published these resources as a Coda doc, so you can take notes and save files as you go. The resources are ordered chronologically, and we recommend that you start by reading through them in this order.
Before you dig into the toolkit, you can also take some time to explore our video series on Seed fundraising:
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At the end of the day, you’re the expert on your business. Trust your gut. Take what’s helpful, and leave what’s not.
👈 About
Underscore VC
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Underscore is an early-stage Boston-based VC firm backing bold entrepreneurs with an aligned community designed to fit each startup's unique needs.
If you have questions, or are looking for additional resources, drop us a line: hello@underscore.vc.
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Resources
Category
Link
Description
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1
Pitching
Seed Milestones: How Much Traction Do You Need to Raise Seed Funding?
And what counts as traction? The answer from many VCs is: It depends. This article demystifies what Seed funding “depends” on.
underscore.vc
The answer from many VCs is: It depends. This article demystifies what Seed funding “depends” on.
Open
2
Investor Relations
How to “Nurture” a VC Relationship (And What That Actually Means)
VC relationship building happens over time. Here's how to focus your timeline, share the right info, manage inbound interest, and more.
underscore.vc
VC relationship building happens over time. Here's how to share the right info, manage inbound interest, and more.
Open
3
Pitching
A Detailed Guide to SaaS Operating Metrics
Metrics, definitions, and use cases galore.
coda.io
A dashboard that highlights key SaaS operating metrics that’s relevant to your team, board, and investors.
Open
4
Pitching
A Template to Write Out Your Seed Pitch Narrative
Put your investor hat on and set your fundraise up for success.
coda.io
Effectively manage inbound interest, focus your timeline, share information, meticulously track your conversations, and more.
Open
5
Investor Relations
How to Smartly Leverage Your Network to Get Warm Investor Intros
Despite their clear importance, many founders don't approach investor intros thoughtfully. Here's how to leverage your network the right way.
underscore.vc
Approach investor intros thoughtfully. Here's how to leverage your network the right way.
Open
6
Pitching
How to Create a Compelling Market Size Slide (With Examples)
Building a market size slide for your pitch deck? Learn how to approach market sizing and see real examples of slides in this overview.
underscore.vc
Avoid common traps and use a bottom-up approach in determining your startup’s market opportunity.
Open
7
Pitching
How to Create a Differentiated Competitive Landscape Slide
Creating a competitive landscape slide for your pitch? Learn how to frame your thinking and see real examples in this overview.
underscore.vc
This slide is not about defending yourself or complaining about your competitors; it’s an opportunity to share your unique insights about what makes you different.
Open
8
Investor Relations
Track Your Interactions with Venture Investors in this Simple CRM
An easy way to keep track of all the conversations, emails, calls, tweet storms—you name it.
coda.io
An easy way to keep track of all the conversations, emails, calls, tweet storms—you name it.
Open
9
Investor Relations
Thoroughly Vet Potential VCs With This Questionnaire
Use these 38 questions to carefully vet potential investors and find the right long-term partners for your startup.
underscore.vc
You might have heard the saying, “A startup’s relationship with a VC is like a marriage,” given SaaS companies take an average of nine years to exit—longer than the average US marriage.
Open
10
Pitching
A Simple Template for Your Seed Funding Pitch Deck
To take some of the guesswork out of early-stage fundraising, we pulled together a Seed pitch deck template. Simply make a copy and edit.
underscore.vc
What belongs in a pitch deck? How much information is too much? How do I tell a compelling story about my business?
Open
11
Investor Relations
How to Announce Your Startup’s Seed Round
Don’t let your Seed round announcement go to waste. Maximize reach, engagement, and impact with this complete guide.
underscore.vc
Don’t let your Seed round announcement go to waste. Maximize reach, engagement, and impact with this complete guide.
Open
12
Investor Relations
Underscore VC’s Board and Investor Update Template
An investor update template that makes it easier to outline and structure information
coda.io
An investor update template that makes it easier to outline and structure information.
Open
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