Seed, Angel, and Venture Capital Consulting

Reducing the burden on founders via process, structure, and connections.

Raising capital is a lot harder than it looks. For example, last year First Round Capital looked at 3000 business plans and invested in 21-- roughly a 0.7% hit rate for the companies that pitched. Similarly, Accel received 10,000 business plans and did 10 deals-- a 0.1% hit rate. Despite the image presented in TechCrunch, the odds are not in your favor.

Raising money is also a tremendous time committment. It is not uncommon to spend 3 to 6 months of nearly full-time effort on a successful venture round. The money hunt often becomes an all-consuming distraction for founders at the very time they need to stay focused on building their companies.

We can help. We've been through the process multiple times; we've served as Advisor, Consultant, or CFO to startup clients that have successfully raised funding. Our work includes:

Pre-Funding Prep:

  • Financing strategy within the context of founder needs and objectives (who, when, how much)
  • Positioning of the company in an optimal manner; Pitch development and refinement
  • Preparation of deal book, models, and due diligence binder

Roadshow Support:

  • Investor research; Creation of target investor lists; Management of "collective rolodex"
  • Investor outreach and networking; Meeting scheduling and roadshow management
  • Generation of "buzz" and momentum strategies to accelerate the funding & closing process


Our pricing structure & business model

A venture consulting engagement is typically structured as either an Advisory Board role (for "lightweight" engagements), or as an Interim CFO role (for more comprehensive, involved engagements).

Advisory Board roles are on an equity basis; Interim CFO roles are structured as a negotiated combination of equity, retainer, and deferred compensation. Interim CFO roles are often a natural extension of the relationship formed during a model and materials project or a startup consulting engagement.


More

Raising capital is a big commitment-- of time, effort, and emotion. To avoid wasting valuable startup cycles, we strongly believe founders should advance their company to a point where the deal is "fundable" before embarking on the money hunt. Read our article, "When Is A Startup Venture Fundable?" for a few thoughts on the subject.

Contact us to talk about how we can help. We'd love to hear from you.