Raising capital is a major time suck for most founders. But it's so much worse when a founder pitches the wrong deal to the wrong investor. These slides provide a simple methodology for building a killer investor pipeline spreadsheet to help the fundraising process move along. It also includes a Google Spreadsheet template to get the process started. Check out the template: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ThcQQS6eF05SBUxUVga91rPRxp5OpDraAuCukALzCU4/edit#gid=567913327

1. Keep Your
Funding Flowing
@jefielding

2. Get that Investor Pipeline
Spreadsheet in good shape!
Jenny Fielding
Managing Director, Techstars NYC
General Partner, The Fund
2@jefielding

3. Eat
Sleep
Raise
I help founders
raise capital. It’s
how I spend ⅓ of
every day
3@jefielding

4. Here are a few of the companies that
I’ve invested in and helped raise
capital:
4@jefielding 4@jefielding

5. 3@jefielding 5@jefielding
pipeline doc
critical
Raising capital has many dimensions,
but the actual is one of the
most

6. 95%ofthefoundersIcomeacrosshavenotbuilt
outakillerpipelinedocument:(
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7. 6@jefielding 7@jefielding
10x harder
Getting organized is a real time
commitment that most founders don’t
focus on
Lack of a great framework makes
fundraising

8. By failing to prepare, you are
preparing to fail.
– Benjamin Franklin

9. Here’s how it usually goes
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10. Founder: ‘Hey
Jenny, can you intro
me to (insert brand
name VC)?’
Jenny: ‘I can try.
Let’s first review
your investor
pipeline doc.’
10@jefielding

11. Founder: *silence*
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12. 12@jefielding
Founder: ‘Um, we use
Airtable & Streak & Pipedrive & Notion...
so we can’t really share the entire doc’

13. We don’t have one.
In other words:
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14. wrong investors
detrimental
Hitting up the can be
to fundraising
It can impact this raise and
subsequent fund raises as well
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15. 15@jefielding
wastes
an amateur
This tons of time and makes
you look like

16. time
fundraising
Founders will spend
way more than
they ever imagined
over the
life of the company
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17. 17@jefielding
wrong
Although there’s no one right way to
fundraise, there are many ways

18. 100+I’ve spoken to people who help
startups and this method resonates
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19. organizedAn processisthe
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20. thorough build out
Give yourself enough time to do
research and a killer
pipeline doc
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21. right investors
look up who invested
Do the work finding the
on Crunchbase, Pitchbook, Angellist
Then find startups in your space and
in them
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22. you don't have toDon't do work ...
For US seed/micro funds:
see this list by SVB’s Shai Goldman
For European seed/micro funds:
see this list by Techstars
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23. successful
still
Some of the most founders
I’ve worked with are using their
first investor pipeline doc
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24. Now let’s build the
spreadsheet!
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25. Google SheetStart with a
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26. Yep - I’ve tried tons
of fancy tools and
always come back
to Google Sheets
Nope, don’t use
Excel
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27. 27@jefielding
Depending on your stage, make a few
tabs in the spreadsheet:
Angel / FF
Microsfunds / seed
Series A
Growth

28. stage you are at now one
stage later
You’ll want to build out the spreadsheet
for the plus
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29. Sometimes which tab
to list an investor in is
unclear as they invest
across stages
That’s okay, do your
best. This is a living
document that will
change all the time
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30. Add these columns to each tab:
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Fund name
Investor name(s)
Check size
Lead / no lead
Fund size
Contact info
Last contact
Relevant portfolio
companies
Who can intro?
Theme

31. Why?
31@jefielding
Fund size: the size
of a fund gives a
sense of what an
investor can actually
offer.
* This will help you stay ahead of those tricky
investors who talk a big game but only have a
1m fund...
Theme: what the
investor invests in like
healthcare, network
effects, fintech,
female founders, etc.

32. 32@jefielding
Check out a template here

33. Don’t forget the column titled ‘who can
intro?’
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This is the key to the entire thing

34. editable
not going to erase
the doc!
Make sure the doc is fully
You are sharing this with your closest
confidants. They are
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35. ask an
insider
Before you send
out to a larger
group,
to take a
quick glance
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36. trusted
people make intros
Send this spreadsheet out to
who can help and
think of other investors you may have
missed
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37. Good introducers can be...
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Mentors
Advisors
Current investors
Founders in the target investors’ portfolio

38. Bad introducers are...
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not written
not that into you
Potential investors who have a
check already
Please don’t get sucked into this trap. Many investors are
trying to be nice and help - but if they are passing you along to
another investor, they are just . If the investor
has not written a check and they typically invest in your stage /
vertical, it’s a lousy intro.
Cold outreach or people who can’t really
vouch for you
Not everyone agrees with this but I feel strongly about it.

39. nice note
the purpose
Write your introducers a
when you share the spreadsheet
stating of the doc and the
аsk
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40. 40@jefielding
Dear [first name],
Hope you’re doing well. I’m reaching out to
share my investor pipeline doc with you. The
aim is to keep track of potential sources of
funding. I’d really appreciate it if you could put
me in touch with investors who you feel may
be relevant - happy to provide a customized
intro email if this would be helpful.
Thanks so much

41. Include forwardable info on the bottom
of your email for easy sharing
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42. custom emailsWrite for each intro;
some introducers will prefer that
Alex Iskold, former Techstars NYC
MD and Managing Partner at 2048
has a helpful post on this here
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43. FOMO works!
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44. fill upThe spreadsheet will with names
of people who can make each intro.
Anyone not making an intro will feel
pressured to do so… :)
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45. one week
wait for a
positive response
Give the introducer around
for the double opt in
Each introducer will want to
before making any
intro
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46. If you don’t get a
response,
politely
follow-up...
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47. Ask another personStill no luck? for
the intro!
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48. trusted people
Make sure that you have a good
selection of who can
help you with intros
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5-10 should work well

49. Be sure to follow-up
with anyone that makes
an introduction for you.
Let them know how the
conversation went,
whether good or bad.
It's helpful for the
introducer to know!
Close The Loop
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50. Some common mistakes
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51. 51@jefielding
categorization is off
You did not spend enough time
researching the investors and therefore
your

52. 52@jefielding
already spoken
You asked for intro even though you’ve
to someone else at that
same fund
This is a big no no. Transparency is key.

53. 53@jefielding
cold email
You sent a
It seems to be on trend for VCs to claim they
don’t prefer a warm intro and are happy to
receive cold intros that are well thought out. I
don’t really buy it. Sure, it happens, but why
take the chance when you can likely get an
intro with some additional effort?

54. 54@jefielding
Now you’re off
to the races!
Go build that
pipeline :)
Do the research.
Build a pipeline.
Ask for intros.
Follow-up.
Get
TLDR:

55. 55@jefielding
Good Luck