Alyona Mysko

Venture Capital Fundraising Deck Template: Carta and Kauffman Fellows present a comprehensive venture capital fundraising deck template to guide General Partners (GPs) in attracting limited partners (LPs). Here’s what to include: 1) Background: Highlight the unique qualifications and track record of your team. LPs are investing in the people as much as the strategy. 2) Differentiators: Showcase what makes your fund stand out—whether it’s your access to networks, industry expertise, or proprietary methodologies. 3) Investment Thesis: Present your vision for the market, future trends, and how your fund will capitalize on these opportunities. 4) Track Record: Include metrics like IRR, multiples, and past successful investments to demonstrate your fund’s potential for generating returns. 5) Terms: Outline the economic terms, including fund size, management fee, carried interest, and target raise. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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Dropbox reviewed 100,000+ pitch decks to determine the perfect deck 👇 Here are the Key Insights: 1️⃣ Length of Pre-Seed Decks: The average deck contained 19 slides. 2️⃣ Investor Meetings: On average, founders engaged with 52 investors before successfully raising funds. 3️⃣ VC Engagement Time: Venture capitalists spent an average of 2 minutes and 42 seconds reviewing each deck. 4️⃣ Focus on Traction: Pitch decks that secured funding saw VCs spending 28% more time on their traction sections. 5️⃣ Business Model Scrutiny: For decks that didn’t receive funding, VCs spent 233% more time examining the business model sections. After this extensive study, Dropbox created a Pitch Deck Template: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸👇 Source: Rubén D. Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ] #startups #startuplife #startup #founders #entrepreneurship

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Y-Combinator Guide: How to Split Equity between Cofounders & When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Split… https://buff.ly/3WoVkav The Y-Combinator Guide delves into the intricate process of splitting equity among cofounders, outlining the crucial considerations and scenarios where equity division is warranted. Understanding the dynamics of equity distribution is essential for fostering a fair and sustainable partnership. By exploring real-world examples and statistics, cofounders can navigate this challenging aspect of startup collaboration more effectively. It is crucial to establish clear guidelines and agreements to prevent potential conflicts in the future. This guide provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs embarking on new ventures. #StartupEquity #CofounderCollaboration #venturecapital #startups

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Predictors of SaaS Growth: CAC Payback Period & NDR The one and only Kyle Poyar from Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged explores in a recent post how combining CAC payback period with net dollar retention (NDR) offers strong insights into SaaS growth efficiency: Top performers: Companies with high NDR (100%+) and a low CAC payback period (<18 months) show a median growth of 65% YoY and a Rule of 40 at 45%. Enterprise focus: High NDR but a longer CAC payback period (18+ months) yields 35% YoY growth, but the Rule of 40 drops to 5%. PLG model: Low NDR and a short CAC payback period correlate with 25% YoY growth and a Rule of 40 at 35%. KEY TAKEAWAYS Pairing NDR and CAC helps identify growth efficiency, especially across different business models like PLG and enterprise SaaS. Subscribe to ‘Siliconnector’ Telegram channel for insights and news from Tech world and Silicon Valley: https://t.me/siliconnector

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Founders - when fundraising becomes slower, you need to extend your runway. Here is a guide from Sequoia. 🌿 𝗥𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗮𝘆 = 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 It’s your cash balance divided by your monthly burn. For example: → you have $10M in cash → you spend $500k a month → $10M / $500k = 20 months It gets a little more complex than that. Sequoia recommends calculating cash balance as: → 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 = 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵 - 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 Because debt is borrowed money. It comes at a cost. And you have to repay it. 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁? You should calculate it every single month. Once it comes close to 12-18 months, start fundraising. Especially in the current market where closing takes longer. The good thing is: it gives you a target. Investors are waiting for the next milestones. Runway gives you a timeline. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗮𝘆? The deck explains it well, the main idea is to: → understand your current spend → break it into components → prioritize the reduction in the matrix (slide 18) → set a goal and execute on it Credit & Thanks to Hugo Rauch

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The most important fundraising KPI: 1st pitch → 2nd meeting conversion rate Is yours low? (< 30-50%) Something is wrong. Here's how to diagnose your issue and fix it: There are two types of potential problems... 1️⃣ Investor targeting 2️⃣ Pitching 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is targeting the wrong investors. Usually you're reaching out to investors that focus on a different stage or industry. Do some research on the investors that didn't convert to a second meeting. The most important resource: their portfolio page. Ignore the "about" section, or their blog. That's mostly about marketing to potential investors in their fund. Instead, look at what they've actually invested in and the stage at which they invested (Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, etc.) Remember: trust the portfolio, not the thesis. __ The other main issue is unclear outbound messaging. Investors think you do one thing (industry, business model, tech, etc.) but you actually do something else. I recommend sending your outbound email template to 5+ friends that don't know anything about your startup. Ask them: • What kinds of customers do you think we serve? • What benefits do you think we provide for them? • What product features do you think we have? • What technologies do you think we use? If more 20% of your friends answer these questions incorrectly, you need to write new outreach emails. 𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆: The most common issue is just that your pitch is weak. Usually because you aren't telling a story. You're just sharing disconnected data. The best pitches are stories that foreshadow the only possible outcome: your startup's tremendous success. It feels inevitable. The easiest test to figure out if you're telling a story: try connecting the main idea of each of your slides with "but," "so" or one of their synonyms. If the natural link between slides is "and" or if you can move the order around, you don't have a story. Chronology matters in storytelling. Go back to the drawing board and try to write your inevitable success story. __ Maybe your overall pitch isn't weak. But VCs may still be spotting a red flag when you pitch. It turns them off right away. If you think this might be your issue, it's important to start asking questions. Most pitches have time for you to ask questions at the end. Here's my go-to to diagnose this issue: "What would you need to see in order to get excited about investing in <<STARTUP>>?" If they tell you a primary KPI that you need to improve, then you've probably identified the issue. The other possibility: They try to avoid giving you a specific answer. If they're evading your question, you NEED to dig in to get to the bottom of it. Your fundraising success may depend on it. —— Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders!

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What is the #1 GTM strategy you share with your startup founders? Following on from yesterday https://bit.ly/3UmS7Hp, this is another question I always field as an investor in digital health and fintech. At Canvas Ventures, we work with early-growth companies that have found their product-market fit and are ready to scale. I often advise my founders on making time–every single week–to talk to current and potential customers. Listening to your customers is the single most important thing a startup founder can do to grow a company. Let’s break that down: • Be curious and humble about who your user actually is; my guess is it’s not you. A bright red flag for me is when a founder starts talking about themselves or their wife or their kid. I'm like y'all aren't the target market. What does resonate is when they start showing me how the actual consumer who found the product is using it. Then, when I talk to the person using that product, we find out why. Oftentimes it's very different than even what the entrepreneur thought when they were first developing it. • Engage key opinion leaders in your vertical. I encourage my CEOs to create small advisory groups of key opinion leaders. Take them out to a really nice dinner, show them what you’re planning and thinking about, encourage them to debate it and pick it apart. They get invested in your success. • Meet them where they are. When Doximity's CEO, Jeff Tangney, noticed doctors were still relying on fax machines, his team embraced it. They could have fought against it and designed a product that was super technologically forward. But they said, Wow the user wants fax and we need to meet the user where they're at. That insight certainly didn’t slow down their technological progress. They ended up having one of the best AI teams in our portfolio. AND they built incredible trust with their community. I talked a lot more about this on Grace Gong's incredible Smart Venture Podcast. https://bit.ly/49Pgge6 I’d love to hear what other questions you think might be interesting to share insights on! #StartupAdvice #VentureCapital #FounderInsights #GTM

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💡 How much of your company will you own after fundraising? Founders often wonder about the equity they'll retain post-fundraise, so here's a simple breakdown using a typical scenario: 1. Pre-raise equity value (pEV): 100% 2. Employee Option Pool (EOPD): 15% 3. Pre-money valuation: $4M 4. Capital raised: $1M 5. Post-money valuation: $5M 6. Capital Raised Dilution (CRD): 20% 👉 Founder’s Ownership Calculation: 1. TFOF (Total Founder Ownership Factor) = (1 - EOPD) * (1 - CRD) = 0.85 * 0.80 = 68% 2. Founder's post-raise equity: 68% In this example, the Founder experiences 32% dilution (20% from the capital raise, 12% from the post-money option pool). Key takeaway: Understanding how different elements like option pools and new investments impact your ownership is crucial before closing a deal. #StartupFinance #FounderTips #VentureCapital #Fundraising #EquityManagement #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Ownership #BusinessGrowth #StartupLife #parsbem

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Fundraising for your SaaS startup? Memorize these benchmarks: 1. CAC Payback: 0-6 months 2. OpEx Efficiency: 1.5X+ 3. Net Revenue Retention: 120%+ 4. Time to Cash Out: 24+ months 5. Revenue Growth: 125%+ 6. Logo Retention: 95%+ These are the BEST benchmarks. Anything less is just... less. Investors have their benchmarks. You need to have yours too. Aim high. Grow fast. Retain customers. Be efficient. Then fundraise like a boss. 😎 The metrics tell your story. Make it a bestseller. 📈 — 📌 If you liked this (and want to support my work): - Like - Repost And follow me (Chris Tottman) for more B2B tips. Thank you! #BrainDumps 🧠 💩 // Brain Dump #52

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These are excellent benchmarks.

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Marc Andreessen, cofounder of a16z, on the most common fundraising mistake that founders make: "The single biggest thing entrepreneurs are missing on fundraising and how they run their companies is the relationship between risk and raising cash." - Marc Andreessen The lesson? Understanding risk and its impact on your ability to raise funds is crucial. As entrepreneurs, it's vital to not just chase cash but to build a business model that intelligently manages risks. A clear and impactful message, encouraging entrepreneurs to reevaluate how they approach the crucial stages of building and funding their companies. By aligning risk management with your fundraising strategy, you open the door to more sustainable growth and success.

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Today or tomorrow, I’ll hit a new milestone on LinkedIn. 🌟 20,000 followers (𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿?) My commitment to posting 1-2 times daily has transformed my reach, driving 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 of founders and LPs to our site 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵. This is core to our RevOps strategy (demand generation): → How we attract LPs → How we attract Startup Founders → And yes, I play to win. 🏆 𝗔 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗼, I got serious about LinkedIn. → 7,434.9% increase in reach 📈 → 3.5 million impressions 🎉 But it all started with that first post back on 6/13/22. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, I know our brand’s success depends on a clear message and a global presence. At CanaGlobal, we’re focused on four pillars: 🚀 Startup Church 🚀 Startup School 🚀 Startup Incubator 🚀 Startup Venture Studio Though we have a stellar team, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. We’ve become a global brand — a global movement, attracting founders from around the world and all walks of life. 100% of our LPs are faith-driven patriots — proudly MAGA — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 100% 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to learn from LinkedIn pros like Kevin Jurovich and Nat Berman. 🔹 I’ve studied their strategies, connected with them, and continue to cheer them on daily. So, if you’ve been part of this journey — thank you! It’s been a privilege to get to know you, support you, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽: 100,000. ~~~ Need help, 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 and reach out. Follow me, Gerald Duran for daily startup and VC mentorship, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘁 from CanaGlobal's faith-driven venture studio and startup incubator. #startups #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

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Check it out: we’ve been working with Companyon Ventures this year on building out a thought-leadership playbook, from topic ideation to execution. 💪 Together, we’ve created two ongoing series: Behind the Curtain and Tales from the Trenches. 🤫 In “Behind the Curtain”, we share behind-the-scenes perspectives that inform key best practices for all things VC—funding, sales compensation frameworks, pitching to investors, and the like. 🗣️ In “Tales from the Trenches”, we take a closer look with more in-depth conversations straight from the experts themselves. It’s easy to craft compelling content when you’re able to pull from folks with such deep subject matter expertise. 🙌 We’ve had a blast interviewing the folks at Companyon (and learning so much along the way). [ 🙏 Thank you Tom Lazay, Firas Raouf, David McFarlane, Ronny Chatterjee, Andrew Berg, Meg Henry, Parthib Srivathsan] Be sure to follow Companyon for ongoing insights into the VC world. #Startups #VC #VentureCapital #IDSpotlight #Ideometry

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VC Secrets: How I Use GRR and NRR Signals to Identify Investable Software Startups When evaluating software startups for investment, I rely on two key retention metrics: Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and Gross Revenue Retention (GRR). These metrics reveal how well a company retains its revenue and grows it through upsells, providing clear indicators of scalability and product-market fit. 📊 NRR > 100% and GRR > 80% are my go-to benchmarks. Here’s how I break it down: 🚀 Rocket Ship (High NRR, High GRR): These startups are ideal candidates because they retain and expand revenue, signaling product-market fit and efficient scaling potential. 🪣 Leaky Bucket (High NRR, Low GRR): Growth through upsells, but customer churn is dragging retention down. I ask: Is the ICP misaligned? How quickly does the product deliver value? These insights help me assess whether the company can plug revenue leaks. 🔗 Shackled Sprinter (Low NRR, High GRR): Great retention but no upsell strategy—my focus shifts to understanding their upsell/cross-sell strategy. Even great retention won’t lead to the scalable growth I seek if expansion opportunities are lacking. 🧟‍♂️ Walking Dead (Low NRR, Low GRR): Weak product-market fit with high churn. High risk without a clear pivot strategy. I look for potential pivots or I pass if no clear path to recovery exists. 📍 Sometimes, just one is enough: While I usually consider both metrics, sometimes one carries more weight than the other, depending on the startup's stage. For example, early-stage companies with strong GRR show retention potential, while growth-stage companies with high NRR indicate scalability. 👉 Bottom Line: By analyzing GRR and NRR within the retention dimension, I gain insights into how well a company maintains and grows revenue from its existing customer base. In addition, I evaluate the economic dimension through unit economics to understand the underlying financial sustainability. Together, these metrics reveal a company’s growth potential, with segment-level insights often uncovering hidden risks or opportunities that guide investment decisions and post-investment support. #VentureCapital #SaaS #Fundraising #SeriesA #Seed #Startups #CustomerRetention

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A single payment dashboard boosts your profit 💰 Here’s how: Imagine you have several payment providers connected. Then the number grows to 10, 15, or more. What happens when a user contacts you with, “My transaction failed”? You’re left scrambling and searching for which provider handled the transaction, manually logging into each account to find out the details. It’s a time-consuming mess. A single payment dashboard aggregates all your data in one place, giving you a unified interface to look up transactions quickly. Plus, you maintain full control with a single entry point, eliminating the need to log into multiple providers' systems. Want to see how your business can benefit from it? Let’s chat at SiGMA in Malta. Visit Corefy at booth 1028! SiGMA World #sigmaeurope #sigmamalta #gambling #igaming

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This is interesting article giving good #insights on how #startup fundraising can be done in right way to that it can continue on the #innovation path. Thank you Vipul Mehta for sharing this.

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SaaS founders: (deferred) revenue booking, are you doing it right? 💵   Clearly accounting principles are not on the top of every founder's priority list.   But if you want insight into MRR/ARR/gross margin/CLV/CAC and most other key SaaS metrics, you will need to know how prepaid subscriptions translate into actual and deferred revenue.   The relevant accounting principle here is that you should: 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗲 revenue when it is 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱. 💡   How does this work in practice?   Let's take an example:   📈 Your SaaS business sells yearly subscriptions.   💰 Payment terms are 100% upfront (let's say EUR 12k).   So for EUR 12k, a client can use your SaaS product for 12 months.   How to account for this revenue?   What you shouldn't do: ❌ Account for EUR 12k in the month the subscription went live and you received your full payment.   What you should do: ✅ Account for EUR 1k in month 1 (EUR 12k divided by 12 months), EUR 1k in month 2, all the way up to reaching cumulative EUR 12k in revenue after 12 months.   Looking at month one: - You have sold a EUR 12k yearly subscription, but - Only recognise EUR 1k of that in revenue in your P&L (profit and loss statement). - The remaining EUR 11k goes into a balance sheet liability called "deferred revenue" (also called "unearned revenue").   So after month one, you will have: ➡️ Revenue: EUR 1k ➡️ Deferred revenue: EUR 11k   After month two, you will get plus EUR 1k in revenue, and minus EUR 1k in deferred revenue. So: ➡️ Revenue: EUR 1k + EUR 1k = EUR 2k ➡️ Deferred revenue: EUR 11k - EUR 1k = EUR 10k   All the way up to the end of month twelve, where your revenue will be EUR 12k, and your deferred revenue went down to zero.   ❌ To what revenue does this NOT apply? Implementation/consultancy fees (assuming they occur within one month) Hardware sales Other one-off revenues   This is also why it's a good idea to split subscription revenues from other sources of revenue in your P&L (such as services, hardware, etc.).   If you are interested in a more in-depth review, I highly recommend the article on this topic by Ben Murray (also called the SaaS CFO). I'll add the link in the comments below (and consider following him, he offers a lot of high quality content and templates).   Accounting for deferred revenue is step one in your journey to getting a proper SaaS P&L.   Even if you don't have this implemented in your actual book keeping (or balance sheets scare you 👻), I recommend tracking at least your subscription revenue in the "correct" way somewhere in your internal management reporting/KPI sheet/or such.   Because, even if you might not care much for it: your (potential) investors (as well as exit candidates) will.   #startups #saas #recurringrevenue #venturecapital #fundraising #vc #founders #accounting #finance

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