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What is a Portfolio Review Meeting in Venture Capital A portfolio review meeting in the context of Venture Capital is a dedicated time for the investment and operational team members at an investment firm to align on recent updates across the portfolio. Other purposes of this meeting are to exchange cross-functional insights and coordinate the best ways to support portfolio companies. Who typically leads Portfolio Review Meetings? Portfolio review meetings can be led by anyone at the firm but since the meetings are largely focused on updates about portfolio companies, it is often led by the person responsible for collecting and synthesizing updates from portfolio companies on a regular basis. At a smaller firm, this person may be a Partner, and at a larger VC firm, this person often has the title of Platform Manager, Director of Portfolio Operations, or someone in finance. Ultimately, it should be led by someone with a wide-lens view of what is going on across the portfolio. Related Resource –> Portfolio Data Collection Tips for VCs Portfolio Review Meeting Frequency According to a poll led by Visible, 50% of VC’s are hosting Portfolio Review Meetings on a quarterly basis, followed by 29% weekly, and 14% monthly. The frequency of this meeting largely depends on the size of your portfolio company and how hands-on you are with your companies. A quarterly frequency makes sense for most VC firms because 70% of investors are collecting structured data from their companies on a quarterly basis. (Source data is aggregated usage data on Visible’s portfolio monitoring platform used by 350+ VC funds). Three Necessary Elements to Lead an Effective Portfolio Review Meeting 1) Up-to-date, accurate information from portfolio companies Most investors are collecting 5-15 metrics from companies on a quarterly basis. These include core financial KPI’s and sector-specific metrics. Additionally, it’s common to ask for qualitative updates from companies as well to ensure you have a holistic view of how a company is performing. Related Resource –> Which Metrics Should I be Collecting from My Portfolio Companies 2) Customizable visualizations to engage your team Looking at just raw data points from companies can be, well…boring. To get more engagement during Portfolio Review Meetings it’s a great idea to create engaging visualizations that clearly demonstrate the growth journeys your companies are on. By displaying your data in a Flexible Portfolio Company Dashboard your team will be able to more clearly identify trends and insights. To help your team digest the information about portfolio companies, it’s important to keep your data visualizations consistent for each company. Visible makes this easy by allowing you to save custom dashboards as templates and apply them to all companies in just a few clicks. Learn more about creating flexible dashboards for portfolio review meetings in the video below. 3) A Place to Take Notes & Document Action Items It’s a great idea to document meeting discussion notes and action items as soon as they arise during a meeting. Documenting action items on a company’s dashboard is a great way to keep team members accountable for execution because you can refer back to the notes during future meetings. How Investors Are Leveraging Visible to Enhance Portfolio Review Meetings VKAV’s Portfolio Company Dashboards Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), a long-term Visible user, hosts a formal Portfolio Review Meeting on a quarterly basis. During this meeting, Portfolio Review Committee members join to review the performance of the portfolio companies during the quarter. Additionally, VKAV’s investment team holds an internal Portfolio Review Meeting every other week. Right now, the purpose of this meeting is mostly to check the status of action items (either for VKAV or the portfolio company). VKAV keeps track of open action items directly on a company’s dashboard in Visible so that it is linked to the broader context of how the company is performing. View VKAV’s Portfolio Review Dashboard Example –> View Dashboard 01 Advisors Approach to Portfolio Review Meetings 01 Advisors a San Francisco-based venture firm utilizes Visible’s Request feature to streamline the way they collect data from companies on a quarterly basis. The team meets 1-2 times per quarter for an internal Portfolio Review meeting. Check out their meeting agenda outline below. 01 Advisors Portfolio Review Meeting Agenda Investment Strategy Portfolio Company Categorization Reserve Allocation Strategy Portfolio Company Support Learn more about how 01 Advisors uses Visible for the internal portfolio review meetings in this video.

As a venture capital investor, it’s critical to maintain accurate, up-to-date information about your portfolio companies and investment data. This helps investors make data-informed investment decisions, provide better portfolio support, fulfill audit requirements with relative ease, and not to mention, impress LPs. What’s even better than just having your data well-organized and easy to find, is when investors can seamlessly turn that data into meaningful insights that are easy to share with internal team members and stakeholders. Below we describe three different dashboard types supported in Visible that help investors surface and communicate important updates about their portfolio. Flexible Dashboards for Internal Portfolio Reviews Flexible dashboards in Visible allow investors to integrate metric data, investment data, and properties directly into a dashboard. The flexible grid layout means investors have control over how they want to visualize and communicate updates to their team. Investors commonly use these dashboards to facilitate internal portfolio review meetings which keeps their team up to date and engaged about important updates across the portfolio. View flexible dashboard examples in the guide below. Fund Performance Dashboards for Communicating with LPs Visible allows investors to track, visualize, and share key fund performance metrics. Investors can choose from 14+ different chart types and use custom colors to incorporate their branding into their dashboards. The fund metrics supported in Visible include: TVPI DPI RVPI MOIC IRR Unrealized and realized FMV Total Invested Capital Called and more. Learn about the 30+ fund metrics supported in Visible. Related resource: VC Fund Performance Metrics 101 View a Fund Performance Dashboard example in the guide below. Portfolio Metric Dashboards for Cross-Portfolio Analysis As a venture capital portfolio grows, it’s helpful for investors to be able to pull quick insights across all their companies. Visible’s Portfolio Metric Dashboards let investors compare performance across the entire portfolio for a single metric. This view can be filtered by a custom segment and time period. Visible also automatically calculates quick insights such as: Total Min Max Median Quartiles View a Portfolio Metric Dashboard in the guide below. Visible’s dashboards give investors control over how they want to track and visualize their portfolio KPIs and investment data. Learn more about Visible.

If your portfolio data is patched together in an excel file with questionable version control or is buried in a slide deck prepared six months ago, your team is likely missing the opportunity to take action on important portfolio insights. Up-to-date, accurate portfolio insights help venture capital investors: Provide better portfolio support Make data-driven investment decisions Validate markups and markdowns during evaluation exercises or an audit Demonstrate traction to LPs while fundraising for future funds …but only if the insights are accessible. Visible’s dashboards help venture capital investors visualize and explain the journey companies are on in a way that actually resonates. Learn more about leveraging dashboards in Visible. About the Guide This guide demonstrates how venture capital investors can turn their portfolio data into actionable, accessible insights. The guide also includes examples of three different flexible dashboard types in Visible. Topics covered include: Portfolio data collection best practices Creating dashboards for internal portfolio reviews (Flexible dashboards) Identifying cross-portfolio insights (Portfolio metric dashboards) Sharing portfolio insights with Limited Partners (One pagers) Visible has helped over 350+ venture capital funds streamline the way they collect, analyze, and report on core metrics from their portfolio companies on a regular basis.

Solo GPs (the sole general partner of a fund) are a unique and growing breed of venture capitalists. Unlike larger venture capital firms, solo GPs manage their own investment funds independently, without the backing of a larger organization. While solo GPs may have smaller teams and fewer resources, they offer unique strengths and benefits to startups. They are often more nimble, able to make faster investment decisions and move more quickly to support portfolio companies. They may also have more flexibility in terms of investment focus, as they are not beholden to the constraints of a larger firm. However, solo GPs also face challenges such as limited resources and networks compared to larger firms, and they may need to work harder to build credibility with investors and establish their reputation in the industry. Despite some challenges they may face, solo GPs are increasingly playing an important role in the venture capital ecosystem, providing a valuable source of funding and support for startups across various industries and stages of growth. Investment Focus of Solo GPs The investment focus of solo GPs varies widely depending on the individual investor’s background, interests, and expertise. Some solo GPs may specialize in a particular sector, such as healthcare or fintech, while others may focus on a specific stage of the startup lifecycle, such as seed or early-stage investing. Additionally, some solo GPs may have a geographic focus, investing primarily in companies in a certain region or market. For startups seeking funding from solo GPs, it is important to understand the individual investor’s investment focus and determine whether their startup aligns with that focus. This can help increase the likelihood of a successful investment and ensure that the startup receives the support and resources it needs to succeed. Resource: You can filter through our Connect Investor Database based on these focuses Raising Capital from Solo GPs Versus Traditional VC Solo GPs and traditional VCs differ in several ways when it comes to the investment process, including how they source deals, conduct due diligence, make investment decisions, and approach risk and portfolio management. Sourcing deals Traditional VCs often have larger teams and more resources, which allows them to source deals through a wider variety of channels, including conferences, events, and partnerships with accelerators and incubators. Solo GPs, on the other hand, often rely more heavily on their personal networks and referrals from other investors. Due diligence Traditional VCs often have larger teams and more specialized expertise, which allows them to conduct more detailed and comprehensive due diligence on potential investments. Solo GPs, on the other hand, may have to rely more on their own knowledge and experience when conducting due diligence, which can make the process more time-consuming. Investment decisions Traditional VCs often have more rigorous investment decision-making processes, which may involve multiple rounds of pitches, due diligence, and review by investment committees. Solo GPs, on the other hand, may be able to make investment decisions more quickly and independently, given their smaller team and more streamlined decision-making process. Risk management Traditional VCs often have a more diversified portfolio, which can help mitigate risk. They may also have more resources to devote to risk management and monitoring of portfolio companies. Solo GPs, on the other hand, may take a more hands-on approach to risk management, given their closer involvement with their portfolio companies. Portfolio management Traditional VCs often have larger portfolios, which can make it more challenging to provide individualized attention and support to each portfolio company. Solo GPs, on the other hand, often have smaller portfolios, which allows them to provide more personalized attention and support to each investment. Overall, the differences in the investment process between solo GPs and traditional VCs often stem from differences in team size, resources, and investment focus. Traditional VCs may have more specialized expertise and more resources to devote to due diligence and portfolio management, while solo GPs may take a more hands-on approach and rely more heavily on personal connections and networks when sourcing deals. Benefits of Solo GPs Raising capital from a solo GP can be a different experience for a founder compared to raising capital from a larger venture capital firm or other types of investors. Some of the key differences and benefits include: Personal relationship With a solo GP, the founder will likely have a more personal relationship with the investor. This is because the GP is typically the sole decision-maker and has a more hands-on approach to working with their portfolio companies. Easier access It may be easier for founders who are just starting out or who have limited connections in the industry to get access to Solo GPs. They may also be more willing to take a chance on early-stage startups that have not yet established a track record. Long-term partnership Solo GPs often view their investments as long-term partnerships, rather than just financial transactions. This means that the GP may be more invested in the success of the startup and more willing to provide ongoing support and guidance. Faster decision-making Solo GPs often have a shorter decision-making process compared to larger firms, as they don’t have to go through multiple layers of approval. This can be beneficial for founders who need to move quickly to secure funding. Smaller funding amounts Solo GPs typically manage smaller funds compared to larger firms, so they may offer smaller investment amounts. However, this can be beneficial for early-stage startups that are not yet ready for large rounds of funding. More flexible terms Solo GPs often have more flexibility in terms of investment focus and deal terms. They may be more willing to invest in unconventional or niche markets and may be open to negotiating terms that are more favorable to the founder. While solo GPs can offer many benefits to founders, they also have limited resources compared to larger firms. This means that founders may need to be more self-sufficient and may not receive the same level of support and resources that they would from a larger firm. Solo GPs to Watch Underline Ventures GP: Bogdan Iordache About: Underline Ventures partners at the earliest stages with Eastern European founders building high-growth startups with global ambitions Thesis: We believe founders should be in control of the company they are building. We subscribe to their strategy and align our interests for the long term, while providing a needed critical view. And, if things don’t go as planned, which they often do, we help them through thick and thin. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Remote First Capital GP: Andreas Klinger About: A group of remote founders, operators and early investors investing in the next generation of remote work. Thesis: First investor in ideas by global talent going after global opportunities. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Angel, Early Stage Wischoff Ventures GP: Nichole Wischoff About: Wischoff Ventures invests in early stage, high growth technology companies bringing massive offline industries online. Investment stages: Pre- Seed and Seed Coelius Capital GP: Zach Coelius About: Coelius Capital provides entrepreneurial early-stage capital for technology startups. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Streamlined Ventures GP: Ullas Naik Location: Palo Alto, California, United States About: We are a seed stage investment firm rooted in the belief that the founders of companies are the true heroes of entrepreneurial value creation in our society. We are passionate about working with visionary founders to help them create exceptional companies and help them capture as much of that value for themselves as possible – they deserve it! If we stay true to our beliefs and we are good at what we do, then we will benefit too. Our style of engagement with all our stakeholders focuses on low ego behavior, mutual respect and clarity of thought. We seed invest in visionary founders who are building the next generation of transformational technology companies. Investment stages: Series A, Seed Buckley Ventures GP: Josh Buckley Location: San Francisco, California, United States About: We partner with entrepreneurs to build ambitious technology companies Investment stages: Seed, Growth Anamcara GP: Annelie Ajami About: Anamcara is a pre-/seed stage fund investing angel-size checks in B2B companies across Europe. We are reimagining the future of commerce by investing in companies that are leading the new wave of business technologies. Thesis: Anamcara means ‘soul friend’, a person with who can share anything with without judgment. Our mission is to find the best founders and to build meaningful partnerships to help them achieve greatness. Investment stages: Seed, Pre-Seed Buckley Ventures GP: Josh Buckley Location: San Francisco, California, United States About: We partner with entrepreneurs to build ambitious technology companies Investment stages: Seed to Growth Stellation Capital GP: Peter Boyce II Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States About: Stellation’s mission is based on the belief that communities of learning, mission-driven, talent magnets shape the future of technology in service of improving human livelihood. We bank on people because we believe they are the fundamental atomic units of every successful company, even and especially at their earliest stages. Investment stages: Seed to Growth D2 Fund GP: Amory Poulden Location: London, United Kingdom Thesis: Technical founders building capital efficient businesses Traction metrics requirements: No, although we prefer to see some signs that you have built a first version of your product. Sales carry enormous weight. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Zeev Ventures GP: Oren Zeev Location: Palo Alto, California, United States About: Zeev Ventures is an early-stage venture fund that invests in technology, financial, e-commerce, and consumer service sectors. Investment stages: Seed and Series A Beyond Capital GP: Gloria Bäuerlein Location: Berlin, Germany About: We are a €21.5M angel-operator fund dedicated to partnering with exceptional European pre-seed and seed founders who aspire to build transformational B2B companies. We aim to support you like a founding team member, not like another investor, even if it means negotiating against ourselves. We work tirelessly to support you on your journey, connecting you with early customers, world-class talent, and global investors. We strive to be the highest value per euro invested on your cap table. We collaborate with other investors and will help you build an exceptional support group, optimising for your success and without our own agenda. Investment stages: Pre- Seed and Seed Air Street Capital GP: Nathan Benaich About: Air Street Capital is a venture capital firm investing in AI-first technology and life science companies. We invest as early as possible and enjoy iterating through product, market and technology strategy from day 1. Thesis: AI-first technology and life science companies. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed No Label Ventures GP: Ramzi Rafih Location: London, England About: No Label Ventures (NLV) is a European early-stage VC fund built to capitalise on the over-performance of immigrant founders. NLV backs exceptional immigrant founders from Day 1, helps them with visa and immigration, as well as introductions to clients and downstream funding. Investment stages: Early Stage Nomad Capital GP: Marc McCabe About: Nomad Capital is a seed stage fund focused on investing in emerging companies building marketplaces and B2B software. Nomad is founded by Marc McCabe who previously worked at Google, SV Angel and was an early employee at Airbnb where he led numerous projects including Airbnb for Work and Samara. Since leaving Airbnb in 2018, Marc has been angel investing and supporting clients with fundraising, business strategy, hiring and organizational design. Investment stages: Seed Curious Capital GP: Andrew Dumont Location: Seattle, Washington About: Since 2017, and long before that as operators, we’ve been bettering the odds for companies we work with. We do this as minority investors in our seed companies, majority owners in the companies we operate, and occasionally with outside companies we advise and consult. Every company we support benefits from our scaling machine. Curious was founded by Andrew Dumont, a former technology CEO with nearly 20 years of hard-earned experience operating and scaling early-stage companies. Thesis: As investors and operators, we join you in the trenches to better the odds. Curious has three distinct pillars. An investment arm that supports seed-stage companies, a holding company that operates majority-owned businesses, and a machine that helps them reach scale. We’re the empathetic partner you’ll want on your cap table and in your corner. Investment stages: Seed Pretiosum Ventures GP: Yana Abramova About: We invest in the Future of Businesses, Web2 and Web3 Infrastructure your company should care about. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed 20VC GP: Harry Stebbings About: Building the next great financial institution at the intersection of venture capital and media. 20VC raised $140M across two separate vehicles from some of the most renowned limited partners in venture including MIT, Harvard, Sequoia Heritage, and RIT Capital Partners. Early breakout investments include BeReal, Sorare, Linktree, Nex Health, Merge API, Linear, TheyDo.io, and many more. Investment stages: Pre-Seed and Seed Start Your Next Round with Visible We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VCs and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like you. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. After learning more about them with the profile information and resources given you can reach out to them with a tailored email. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.

Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. A fundraise is full of challenges. On top of building a fundable business, meeting with the right investors, and working through due diligence — you need to share the right documents, with the right investors, at the right time. Over the course of a fundraise, it is all but guaranteed that you’ll need to share a pitch deck, data rooms, and other assets with potential investors. When expecting to communicate with 50+ investors it is crucial to have a reliable system and tool to share your most important fundraising materials. Related Read: What Should be in a Startup’s Data Room? Below, we highlight some of the most popular alternatives to DocSend when it comes to reliably sharing your data room: 1. Visible Integrated fundraising tools for every part of the process. At Visible, we like to compare a fundraise to a traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel: At the top of the funnel, you are finding potential investors via cold outreach and warm introductions. In the middle of the funnel, you are nurturing potential investors with meetings, pitch decks, updates, and other communications. At the bottom of the funnel, you are working through due diligence and hopefully closing new investors. Just as a sales and marketing team has dedicated tools — we believe the same should be true for founders managing their current and potential investors. With Visible you can manage and track every interaction. Find investors at the top of your funnel with our free investor database, Visible Connect Track your conversations and move them through your funnel with our Fundraising CRM Share your pitch deck and monthly updates with potential investors Organize and share your most vital fundraising documents with data rooms Visible Data Rooms allow you to re-purpose your existing Visible assets to quickly build and securely share (via login or link) your data room. We’ll offer granular data so you can understand how different investors are engaging with your data room materials. Related Read: Manage Every Part of Your Fundraising Funnel with Visible Data Rooms Key features Fully integrated with our other fundraising tools — like our Fundraising CRM, Pitch Deck Sharing, Investor Updates, and Dashboards Segmented permissions so you can share individual folders, documents, and assets with different investor groups Advanced analytics so you can understand how individual investors are engaging with your data room materials Manage your fundraise from start to finish with Visible. Give it a free try for 14 days here. Pricing options You can learn more about Visible pricing here. Visible Lite Plan includes data rooms, pitch deck sharing, dashboards, and updates and starts at $59/mo Visible Pro Plan includes the above with more usage and advanced features and starts at $99/mo Visible Scale includes the above with full customization, custom domains, and other advanced features and starts at $199/mo 2. DocuSign Best for electronic signatures. As put by their team, “Contract collaboration doesn’t belong in email, documents and chats. With your most important documents stored and managed in one place, you can focus on what matters most.” Learn more about Docusign and it’s key features below: Key features 400+ direct integrations Easy electronic signatures Contract lifecycle management Pricing options DocuSign pricing differs depending on what products and features you’d like to use. Their trademark eSignature tool starts at $15/month and goes up to $65/month depending on usage. 3. Paperflite Best-rated sales content management. Paperflite is file management software focused on sales and marketing organizations. As put by their team, “Paperflite’s dynamic content hub brings all your sales collaterals, playbooks, marketing materials, and content your teams need and use every day from multiple sources in one single intuitive interface.” Learn more about Paperflite and its key features below: Key features Intelligent content discovery Direct integrations to a mailbox Analytics to help understand how prospects are engaging with your content As we mentioned above Paperflite is highly geared towards sales and marketing teams and does not mention use of data rooms for fundraising. Pricing options Paperflite pricing starts at $50/month and scales up to $500/month depending on feature usage. 4. emPower Document management system. Empower offers document management geared towards learning at large organizations. With their suite of tools, you can organize and share your organization’s important policies, quizzes, and documents. Etc. Learn more about emPower and its key features below: Key features Centralized training materials for teams Create your own quizzes for training Set automatic email reminders for team member training assignements Pricing options The team at emPower does not publicly list pricing for their product. 5. Showell Best for sales enablement. Showell is a centralized place for sales and marketing teams to centralize their most important documents. Showell is especially useful for sales enablement leaders looking to set their sales and marketing teams up for success. Learn more about Showell and its key features below: Key features Single platform to centralize all sales and marketing collateral Can be used to share and present your sales materials to clients real-time Content tracking and analytics to understand how leads are engaging with content Pricing options Showell offers a free plan. Depending on usage and number of users prices will scale. Their first paid plan starts at $25/month. 6. 360Learning Best for knowledge sharing. 360Learning is a tool dedicated to learning and development managers looking to level up their team training and development. Learn more about 360Learning and its key features below: Key features Direct integrations to automatically centralize vital L&D documents and materials Use off the shelf content created by the 360Learning team to learn from the best organizations that have mastered L&D Workflow tools to help encourage your team members to move along with their learning materials Pricing options 360Learning pricing is based on individual users. Per-seat pricing starts at $8/user for the first 100 users and offers custom pricing from there. 7. Box Best maximizing sales and customer growth. Box offers secure document management for teams across an organization. In addition to their document management and storage, Box offers tools to help with esignatures. Learn more about Box and its key features below: Key features Box offers an e-Signature tool to help users sign critical documents Box offers direct integrations with thousands of tools Workflows to help build process and systems around your document sharing Pricing options Box pricing is based on number of users. Plans start at $20/month per user (with a minimum of 3 users). Depending on usage and features, plans can scale to as much as $47/month (per user with a minimum of 3 users). 8. Docuware Best for digitizing your paperwork. Docuware focuses on digitizing business paperwork to help teams boost productivity. Docuware helps with documents in every corner of the business from HR to sales materials. Learn more about a few of Docuware’s key features below: Key features Fully automate invoice processing with their digitization and workflows Support remote team members with digital documents Archive and store critical documents Pricing options Docuware does not publicly list its pricing options and plans. Share documents and connect with investors using Visible At Visible, we oftentimes compare a fundraise to a B2B sales and marketing funnel. At the top of your funnel, you are finding new investors. In the middle, you are nurturing and pitching potential investors. At the bottom of the funnel, you are working through diligence and ideally closing new investors. With the introduction of data rooms, you can now manage every aspect of your fundraising funnel with Visible. Find investors at the top of your funnel with our free investor database, Visible Connect Track your conversations and move them through your funnel with our Fundraising CRM Share your pitch deck and monthly updates with potential investors Organize and share your most vital fundraising documents with data rooms Manage your fundraise from start to finish with Visible. Give it a free try for 14 days here.

At Visible, we often compare a venture fundraise to a traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel. At the top of your funnel, you are adding potential investors via warm introductions and cold outreach In the middle of the funnel, you are nurturing potential investors with meetings, updates, pitch decks, and other materials At the bottom of the funnel, you are hopefully adding new investors to your cap table Just as a traditional sales and marketing funnel starts by finding your ideal customer, the same idea is true with fundraising — you might consider location, check size, investment velocity, etc. If you are a founder in Silicon Valley, check out our list of investors in the area below. 1. Bessemer Venture Partners Location: Redwood City, CA – San Francisco, CA Focus: BVP invests in many focus areas. A few key areas include – SaaS, cloud, healthcare, vertical software, and marketplaces. Related Resource: 32 Top VC Investors Actively Funding SaaS Startups Stage: BVP invests across all stages. Typically writing checks anywhere between $100K and $50M. As put by their team, “Bessemer Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to build and forge long-standing companies. With more than 135 IPOs and 200 portfolio companies in the enterprise, consumer and healthcare spaces, Bessemer supports founders and CEOs from their early days through every stage of growth.” Notable investments: Twilio Pinterest Shopify Yelp Twitch 2. Citi Ventures Location: Palo Alto, CA Focus: Citi Ventures invests in 7 key focus areas: Fintech Data Analytics & Machine Learning Future of Commerce Security & Enterprise IT Customer Experience & Marketing Proptech DLT & Digital Assets Related Resource: FinTech Venture Capital Investors to Know Stage: Citi Ventures invests across all stages with a focus on Series B and later. As put by their team, “Citi Ventures is committed to charting the unknown in a world of unprecedented change and disruption. We invest in innovative startups, and we work with our colleagues, clients, and the innovation ecosystem to experiment with next-generation technologies.” Notable investments: Some of Citi Ventures’ most notable investments include: C2FO Docker Honey 3. Amplify Partners Location: Menlo Park, CA – San Francisco, CA Focus: Amplify Partners focuses on companies building developer tools & computer infrastructure, machine learning & artificial intelligence, data & analytics, and cybersecurity. Related Resource: 15 Cybersecurity VCs You Should Know Stage: As put by their team, “Amplify is an early, early stage investor: we meet many of our founders well before they start their companies, or even settle on a product idea.” The Amplify team further goes on to state, “We believe that technical problems are best solved by the people who experience them firsthand. Our founders tackle what bothered them and their teams as practitioners. Empathy for your end user is much more powerful when you are your end user. From the start, Amplify has been working with engineers, professors, researchers, and open source project creators to help turn their bold ideas into beloved products and companies. Long live the technical.” Describe this venture capital firm and why they are a notable firm in Silicon Valley. Notable investments: Datadog Gorgias Primer 4. Accel Location: Palo Alto, CA – San Francisco, CA Focus: Accel is industry agnostic in their investment focus. Stage: Accel invest across all stages. As put by their team, “Accel is a leading venture capital firm that invests in people and their companies from the earliest days through all phases of private company growth.” Notable investments: 1Password Away Invision 5. UpHonest Capital Location: Give the location of this firm. Focus: List the industries of focus for this firm. Stage: Give the funding stage(s) this firm invests in. As put by their team, “UpHonest Capital is a sector agnostic early stage VC based in Silicon Valley. Our thesis is using our cross border network and information arbitrage to invest in tech driven founders in the U.S. and the next generation of high-impact Chinese and Chinese-American founders. We identify and invest in the next wave of early stage startups in consumer, enterprise and deeptech.” Notable investments: Ironclad Substack Instacart 6. Designer Fund Location: San Francisco, CA Focus: Designer Fund is industry agnostic. Stage: Designer Fund invest in early stage companies that “use design to improve health, sustainability, and prosperity for all people.” As put by their team, “Designer Fund invests between $100K – $1M in tech startups that are design leaders including Stripe, Gusto, and Omada Health. Designer Fund specializes in helping design products and scale design teams through their community of designers from companies like Apple, Facebook, Google, Airbnb, Pinterest, and Dropbox.” Notable investments: Some of Designer Fund’s most notable investments include: Framer Gusto Stripe 7. GSR Ventures Location: Menlo Park, CA Focus: GSR is focused on healthcare and healthtech companies. Stage: GSR is focused on early stage companies. As put by their team, “Founded in 2004, GSR Ventures is one of the world’s most successful early-stage venture firms, with over $3 billion under management. We are focused on early-stage digital health companies that leverage emerging technology to transform the healthcare landscape.” Notable investments: Alpha Glimpse Nimble 8. GGV Capital Location: Menlo Park, CA Focus: GGV Capital is industry agnostic. Stage: GGV Capital invest across multiple stages. As put by their team, “GGV Capital is a global venture capital firm focused on multi-stage, sector-focused investments. Recognizing that the talent to build great companies can come from anywhere, the firm invests in founders building category-leading companies around the world. Founded in 2000 with roots in Singapore and Silicon Valley, GGV has expanded with additional offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, and Beijing.” Notable investments: Airbnb Slack Opendoor 9. Expa Location: San Francisco, CA Focus: Expa is industry agnostic and focuses on “tech-enabled” companies Stage: Expa invests in early-stage startups and also helps launch companies via their studio. As put by their team, “We fund passionate founders that are building revolutionary, tech-enabled companies. We invest in startups at the earliest stages. Expa founders receive access to a global community of founders, startup resources, funding, and personalized support from our network of operators.” Notable investments: Metabase Kit Clyde 10. Artiman Ventures Location: Palo Alto, CA Focus: Artiman Ventures is industry agnostic Stage: Artiman Ventures focuses early-stage investments As put by their team, “Artiman is an early-stage sector agnostic venture fund with offices in Silicon Valley and Bangalore. We are seeking to invest in entrepreneurs building white space companies that have the potential to create or disrupt multi-billion dollar markets. As former entrepreneurs, we bring empathy, curiosity, passion, experience, and (occasionally) patience to the table. As investors, we bring capital plus access to a network that reflects the diversity of the firm and our portfolio. Artiman was founded in 2001 and has over $1 billion under management.” Notable investments: Aditazz Airwide ApplyBoard 11. Sapphire Capital Location: Menlo Park, CA – San Francisco, CA Focus: Sapphire Ventures invest in many areas: AI/ML B2B SaaS Crypto Cybersecurity Data & Analytics DevOps Fintech Healthcare Vertical SaaS Related Resource: 10 VC Firms Investing in Web3 Companies Stage: Sapphire Ventures is focused on growth and expansion stage companies. As put by their team, “Sapphire is a leading global technology-focused venture capital firm with more than $10.2 billion in AUM and team members across Austin, London, New York, Menlo Park and San Francisco. For more than two decades, Sapphire has partnered with visionary teams and venture funds to help scale companies of consequence. Since its founding, Sapphire has invested in more than 170 companies globally resulting in more than 30 Public Listings and 45 acquisitions.” Notable investments: Box Chargebee DocuSign 12. Corner Ventures Location: Palo Alto, CA Focus: Corner Ventures is industry agnostic Stage: Corner Ventures invest in growth stage companies. As put by their team, “Corner Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in companies as they hit the inflection point of growth, supporting founders and companies as they transition from promising startups to category-defining leaders. Founded in 2004 as DAG Ventures, DAG Ventures was rebranded Corner Ventures in 2018 by its founders as the firm’s next chapter.” Notable investments: Instawork Grubhub Yelp 13. K9 Ventures Location: Palo Alto, CA Focus: As put by their team, “We do not follow a sector strategy like other venture firms. Instead, we look for either core new technologies or radically new markets.” Stage: K9 Ventures is focused on pre-seed and early-stage investments. K9 wants to be the first institutional check. As put by their team, “K9 Ventures is a technology-focused Pre-Seed fund based in Palo Alto, California. We believe that extraordinary things are possible when great teams come together around technology. We primarily invest at the pre-seed stage, when the founding team is established and just starting to build the product, but we sometimes invest even earlier and engage with founders when they’re just thinking about the idea and haven’t yet incorporated their company. K9 wants to be the first institutional/professional capital raised by the companies we invest in. This means we typically engage with companies either when they have raised no capital at all (preferred) or when they have raised only friends' and family money. If a company is going through an incubator/accelerator, then that’s probably already too late for K9 to engage.” Notable investments: Twilio Lyft Card.io 14. Tribe Capital Location: San Francisco Focus: Tribe Capital is focus agnostic. Stage: Tribe Capital is stage agnostic. As put by their team, “Tribe Capital is a venture capital firm focused on capturing a perpetual edge in venture and crypto using data science. The team is made up of investors, engineers and scientists who use data to model venture-backed private companies. The San Francisco-based firm has approximately $1.5 billion in assets under management.” Notable investments: Bolt Docker Kraken Network with investors in Silicon Valley with Visible As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, we often compare a venture fundraise to a traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel. Just as sales and marketing teams have dedicated tools, shouldn’t a founder managing a fundraise and their current investors? Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days.

Investor Reporting Meaning & Definition Put simply, the definition of investor reporting is the act of sharing key qualitative and quantitative data with your financial investors. Investor reporting can look different for different companies, depending on the company stage and vertical. A pre-revenue company may share a light, qualitative investor report, while a publicly traded company is obliged to share an in-depth report covering everything from executive compensation to granular financials. Whether a company is just 2 founders in a garage or 30000 employees spread across the globe, investor reporting is a vital part of running a successful business. Investor reporting can also take place outside of a physical report. The function of investor reporting, or an investor relations team, also covers board meetings, press conferences, releasing financial data, etc. For a publicly traded company, the meaning of investor reporting involves more regulation and knowledge of government policy. Whereas a startup will communicate directly with their investors, an investor reporting team at a publicly held company primarily deals with analysts who are responsible for providing an opinion to the public on the potential of investment in said company. At a startup, or privately held company, the meaning of investor reporting slightly changes. Instead of focusing on sharing financial and legal information for the public to make an investment decision, privately held companies often focus on engaging and leveraging their investors. Unlike a publicly held company, a privately held company is not legally obliged to report to their investors. However, the numbers show that companies who have taken on venture capital it is beneficial to practice investor reporting. According to our data, companies that regularly communicate to their current investors are twice as likely to raise follow-on funding. Outside of the increasing the likelihood of raising follow on funding reporting to your private investors has other benefits. Chances are if you have accepted venture capital, the venture capitalist and partners at the firm can offer you a wealth of knowledge, experience, and introductions. By practicing investor reporting, founders can build a relationship with their investors and increase their chances of receiving help, time, and introductions from their investors. Related Resource: How to Build a Strong Investor Relations Strategy Investor Reporting Software While most startup founders and leaders know they should be sending investor reports, it can often get lost in the shuffle of building a great product, repeatable sales process, and attracting top talent. To help combat this, there are several solutions and products that help relieve the stress of investor reporting and build a professional and repeatable investor reporting process. The most common investor reporting solution is a simple email update template. These are generally sent on a monthly or quarterly basis and include a recap from the previous period, important company key performance indicators, big wins, losses, and asks for your investors. Visible Updates are a solution to bring a professional, beautiful, and engaging touch to your investor updates. Visible allows you to connect your key data, build beautiful charts, and add qualitative data to create beautiful investor updates. Send your Visible Investor Updates via email, slack, or PDF. In turn, we’ll provide engagement statistics to see how your investors are interacting with your Updates. Visible also allows founders to segment different groups of investors and different stakeholders. For example, a founder may want to send a more in-depth investor report to their board members and maybe a liter version to their less engaged investors. Investor reports can also be used as a means to nurture potential investors. No matter how you define investor reporting, it can be a vital—and often overlooked—aspect of building a strong venture-backed business. Investor Email Templates and Examples Investor Relations Examples As mentioned above, investor relations and reporting can take different forms. Investor relations examples vary greatly from public to private companies, and from early stage to growth stage companies. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite investor relations examples below. For the examples, we’ll share they are generally intended to be sent on a monthly basis. We’ve also created a library of great investor relations examples. Related Resource: Investor Relationship Management 101: How to Manage Your Startups Interactions with Investors Monthly Update Email Templates Our standard startup investor reporting example The standard investor reporting template by the team at Visible. What we have found to be best practices for investor reporting collected from our users and investor thought leaders. Techstars Minimum Viable Investor Update Email Template In the “Minimum Viable Investor Update”, Jens Lapinski, Former Managing Director of Techstars METRO, lays out 3 items that he finds most useful in his portfolio company updates. Founder Collective “Fill-in-the-blank” Investor Update Email Template An investor Update template for busy founders put together by the team at Founder Collective. Simply fill out the bolded sections and have your investor Updates out the door in no time. Kima Ventures Investor Update Email Template A monthly update email template put together by Jean and the team at Kima. Quickly fill in the quantitative and qualitative data Kima finds most useful. GitLab Investor Update Email Template A 6 part monthly update email template put together by the team at GitLab. Built for investors to quickly read and locate the information that is most relevant to them. Shoelace: Investor Update Email Template A monthly update email template based off of Reza Khadjavi’s, Founder & CEO of Shoelace, investor update email used to wow investors. Coding VC: Investor Update Email Template A monthly investor update email template from Leo Polovets, the general partner at Sosa Ventures, consisting of 5 sections that can be repeated on a monthly basis. Y Combinator Investor Update TemplateA monthly investor update email template from Aaron Harris of Y Combinator focusing on major KPIs and asks for your investors. Other Monthly Update Email Templates Outside of regularly sending your investors monthly email templates, founders will also want to send other stakeholders email reports. This can include your team, individual business units, advisors, clients, etc. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite stakeholder update email templates below: The CEO Note Template An Update to share information across your company using different methods and styles used by leaders like Marc Benioff, Scott Dorsey, and Kyle Porter. Fred Wilson: The Weekly Update Email A template based off of Fred Wilson’s Weekly Email intended for founders to share what’s on their mind, what happened the past week, and what’s on the schedule for the upcoming week. All-Hands Team Update Email Template An Update template intended to share before your next All-Hands meeting or share after to summarize the meeting. Largely based off of Square’s Town Hall meetings and is broken into 3 major categories; The Team, Mission & Goals, and Agenda & Questions. Pre-Board Meeting Update Email Template A Pre-Board Meeting Update Template that you can share with your board to help you make the most of your meeting time. By sending over a quick packet before your next meeting it will allow everyone to have time to prepare and come ready to discuss the topics that truly matter to the business. V2MOM Monthly Update Email Template V2MOM is a management process and acronym standing for vision, values, mission, objectives, and measures. Portfolio Management Software for Investors While it falls on the shoulders of founders and company operators to report to their investors, it is also important for investors to engage their portfolio companies and transform their portfolio company data into valuable information. A quick reminder from investors to their portfolio companies can help increase the odds of receiving an investor report or data from portfolio companies. Staying on top of portfolio companies allows investors to lend a hand to help the company with their challenges, in turn increasing their portfolio companies’ value. To help investors stay on top of their portfolio, and report to their own investors, there is portfolio management software for investors. At Visible, we have created our own portfolio management software for investors, Visible for Investors. Using portfolio management software, investors can easily lend a hand to their companies and turn their data into actionable reports that can be shared and used across the portfolio. In turn, investors can use this to manage their own investors or limited partners. Investor software generally operates like a traditional customer relationship manager with the customer being their portfolio companies and founders. Our Portfolio Management Software. Visible for investors is investor software to help stay engaged with your founders right from your pocket. Using portfolio management software be the value-add investor that you want to be. Tap into your experience, network, and resources to jump in and help your investments when you see indicators that they may be struggling. Managing an entire portfolio can be tough. Using our portfolio management software easily centralize all of your vital information in one place. From sentiment to investment memos, you’ll be able to customize your Visible instance to your needs. Using automated update request, create your own unique investor report to your firm. Automatically send update requests to your portfolio companies, with scheduled follow-ups, to receive consistent data across your portfolio. Prompt for key metrics, files, operating information and qualitative updates. Investor Management Software Everything we build at Visible is focused on the founder. To help complete the investor Update request founder’s can take advantage of our existing investor management software to tap into our learnings and resources. Easily use our integrations and API to automatically fulfill any investor request. Investor reporting has never been easier with the combination of our investor engagement software and portfolio management software for investors. What is Investor Relations? According to the National Investor Relations Institute, “Investor Relations is a strategic management responsibility that is capable of integrating finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company’s securities achieving fair valuation.” As we discussed earlier, investor relations can take different forms depending on the owners of the business. Investor relations for a publicly held company will greatly vary than the investor relations for a privately held, venture-backed business. While not required, the benefits of investor relations for a privately held company are instrumental in the growth and health of the company. Sending a simple email update, or creating an investor relations website, allows privately held companies to tap into their investors’ network, experience, knowledge, and ultimately additional capital. At a publicly traded company investor relations is legally obliged to have an internal investor relations team, meet certain requirements, and have the information audited. Often a larger team, the investor relations department is responsible for hosting an investor relations website for the public to access their key information to gather as much information as possible before investing. According to Investopedia, “IR teams are typically tasked with coordinating shareholder meetings and press conferences, releasing financial data, leading financial analyst briefings, publishing reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and handling the public side of any financial crisis.” Benefits & Importance of Investor Relations On the public side, the importance of investor relations is pretty clear. The role is to provide the analyst with vital and required information who in turn who provide public opinion on the company as an investment opportunity. By creating internal audits and becoming the source of truth between all business units. IR can manage an analyst’ expectations in turn influences the overall investment community showing the importance of investor relations in a big way. On the flip side, we have investor relations for privately held companies. In the total opposite fashion, privately held companies are in no way obliged to release their financials and meet any requirements from their investors. However, the benefits and importance of investor relations for a startup can be monumental in the company’s growth and health. The biggest benefit of investor relations is the likelihood of raising additional capital. Venture-backed businesses who send their investors monthly reports are twice as likely to raise follow on funding. As Jason Calacanis, famous angel investor, puts it; “There is another really awesome reason to keep investors updated: they didn’t give you all of their money — they have more! They want to give you more!” Another benefit of investor relations? The investors have likely been in the same situation or encountered it with other investments. At the end of the day, an investors job is to make investments that generate returns for their investors. By using investor relations to share bad news, your investors can step in and help get your company back on track with their depth of knowledge, experience, networks, and capital. All in all, the importance of investors relations at a venture-backed company is vital when it comes to attracting additional capital and talent. Investor Relations Salary and Jobs Since the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act, was passed in 2002 the marketplace for investor relations jobs has greatly increased. An investor relations manager job can cover different facets of a business, but generally involve supporting the release of financial information, investor reports, and legal diligence. Investor relations responsibilities are vital to the life of a business from both the legal and operational standpoint. Investor relations jobs are often found as a subset of the companies public relations or finance department. From a legal standpoint, an investor relations manager is responsible for fulfilling legal requirements and financial documentation. Investor relations managers take company financials and data to turn them into compelling data stories that can be shared with analysts and eventually the public. Investor relations managers need to determine what data will affect the public shareholders and present that in an understandable and compelling way. From an internal standpoint, an investor relations manager is responsible for managing crisis and collecting feedback and passing that along to upper management. As CFI puts it, “Communication is also a two-way street; the IR department is also responsible for forwarding input from significant stakeholders of the company to management. During times of crisis (financial or otherwise), the IR department will advise management with a goal to preserve the company’s relationship with its investors, as well as to mitigate any damage to share prices.” According to Salary.com, an investor relations managers salary typically falls between $100,000 and $140,000. Of course, investor relations salary fluctuates depending on experience, education, certifications, etc. On the flip side, there are also investor relations firms that publicly traded companies can use to take on their investor relations responsibilities. The investor relations salary at a company or at an investor relations firm tend to be in the same range. A couple of popular investor relations firm include, KCSA Strategies, Liolis, and Al Petrie Advisors. Related resource: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis: The Purpose, Formula, and How it Works

For many founders, reaching out cold to potential investors is their only option to engage with a potential investor. However, most VC funds are skimming through hundreds of deals every month so it is crucial to put together a brief email that will grab their attention. Jonah Midanik, GP at Forum Ventures, joined us yesterday and broke down a great format for reaching out cold to potential investors: Lead with your strength  You only have 2-3 sentences to grab the attention of a potential investor. As Jonah puts it, “Regardless of round this is always true, lead with your strength.” Your strength could be you were employee #3 at Facebook, you had a consulting business in the domain, a specific metric, etc. Why is your company going to be big  Explain not what your company is but why it is an intriguing investment opportunity. As Jonah put it, “A VC wants to understand why your company is going to be big and why you are the person to do it.” 3 proof points A combination of metrics or other things that prove your company is an intriguing opportunity. These could be specific metrics, customer logos, previous experience, a big-name investor, etc. In addition to cold outreach, Jonah covered all things fundraising for pre-seed and seed-stage founders. Check out the recording here.

With more SaaS companies entering the market, the more SaaS venture capital options we have seen emerge. In order to help you navigate the space, we’ve laid out some helpful information for SaaS founders who are currently looking to scale their businesses and raise Venture Capital. We’ve also put together a list of VC firms with a proven track record of investing in SaaS startups. Using data from our investor database, Visible Connect, we highlight investors across different stages (if you’re looking for only seed-stage investors check out our list of 60+ Active Seed Stage SaaS Investors). Related Resource: Top SaaS Products for Startups You can check out our entire database of SaaS investors here. The Current State of SaaS The SaaS market is currently characterized by rapid growth, technological innovation, and intense competition. SaaS companies that can develop products to meet the evolving needs of businesses and users in a fast-changing landscape are in for a win! The SaaS market is one of the fastest-growing industries globally. The rise of cloud computing has accelerated the growth of the industry, as more businesses look to adopt software solutions that are delivered over the internet. This has led to the development of a wide range of SaaS products that cater to different industries. One of the notable trends in the SaaS market is the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies. SaaS companies are leveraging AI and ML to develop products that can automate processes and provide more personalized experiences for users. This trend is expected to continue, with the global AI market projected to reach $190 billion by 2025. Another trend is the growing importance of data privacy and security. As more businesses move their operations online, there is an increasing need for SaaS products that can provide secure and reliable data storage and management. SaaS companies are investing heavily in cybersecurity to meet this demand, and this has led to the development of new products that offer advanced security features. In terms of competition, the SaaS market is becoming increasingly crowded, with new players entering the market every day. This has led to a focus on differentiation, with SaaS companies looking to develop unique products that can stand out in a crowded market. The rise of open-source software has also increased competition, as businesses can now build their own software solutions using existing code. Related resource: 11 Top Industry Events for SaaS Startups SaaS Metrics Metrics play a crucial role in the success of SaaS startups, and they are especially important when it comes to securing funding from investors. Investors look for companies that can demonstrate strong growth potential and profitability, and metrics provide a way to measure these factors. Here are some of the key metrics that investors will be looking at: Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): MRR is the amount of revenue that a SaaS company generates each month from its recurring subscriptions. Investors will be looking for steady and predictable growth in MRR, as this indicates that the company has a solid customer base and is generating recurring revenue. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): CAC is the amount of money a SaaS company spends to acquire a new customer. Investors will be looking for companies with low CAC, as this indicates that the company has an efficient customer acquisition strategy. Lifetime Value (LTV): LTV is the total amount of revenue that a SaaS company can expect to generate from a customer over the course of their lifetime. Investors will be looking for companies with high LTV, as this indicates that the company has a strong customer retention strategy. Churn: This measures the percentage of customers who cancel their subscription each month. It’s important to keep churn as low as possible to maximize the lifetime value of customers. Monthly Active Users (MAU): This measures the number of unique users who engage with the product each month. It’s important to track this metric to ensure that the business is growing and that users are finding value in the product. To improve these metrics, SaaS founders should focus on developing a strong product and providing excellent customer service. They should also invest in marketing and sales strategies that are tailored to their target audience. To present these metrics to investors, SaaS founders should be prepared with clear and concise presentations that demonstrate the company’s growth potential and profitability. Related Metrics Resources: [Webinar Recording] Using SaaS Metrics to Build Your Fundraising Narrative with Forum Ventures Download Your SaaS Metrics Template: Our SaaS Metrics Template automatically calculates your key SaaS metrics like MRR, ACV, churn, CAC, payback period, and more. Simply enter in your new customer data and the template will handle the rest. Our Ultimate Guide to SaaS Metrics What VCs Look For in SaaS Companies Growth is the key to attracting investment, increasing revenue, and expanding market share. The SaaS industry is highly competitive, and startups must grow quickly to stay ahead of the competition. VCs want to see that your SaaS startup is gaining traction in the market. This can be demonstrated through metrics such as: Customer acquisition Retention Expansion Revenue growth Provide insights into effective customer acquisition strategies, such as content and value-driven marketing, paid advertising, and referral programs. Acquiring new customers is essential, but retaining them is equally important, as it is cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Expansion can come in the form of upselling or cross-selling to existing customers, or expanding into new markets. Scalability is another important factor as VCs are looking for startups that have the potential to grow rapidly and become market leaders. It’s important to have a business model and infrastructure that can support this growth and scale efficiently. By achieving growth through these means, SaaS startups can demonstrate their ability to scale and attract investment, which is critical for continued success. The Role of Technology for a SaaS Startup Technology plays a crucial role in scaling a SaaS business, as it enables companies to automate processes, analyze data, and optimize their operations. Data analytics is key to understanding customer behavior, user engagement, product performance, identifying trends, and making data-driven decisions. By leveraging tools and analyzing this data, SaaS companies can identify areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and optimize their products and services to better meet customer needs. For example, data analytics can help companies identify which features are most popular with users, which marketing campaigns are most effective, and which customer segments are most valuable. Automation plays a crucial role in scaling a SaaS business, as it enables companies to streamline their operations, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and can free up time and resources to focus on more strategic initiatives. Cloud infrastructure enables companies to scale their operations, as it provides the flexibility, scalability, and security needed to support a growing customer base. By leveraging cloud computing services like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, companies can easily scale their infrastructure up or down based on demand, without the need for significant upfront investments in hardware. SaaS Success Stories & How They Got There The success of these SaaS startups can be attributed to their ability to provide innovative solutions that met the needs of their target customers. Their fundraising strategies, customer acquisition tactics, and product development processes all played a crucial role in achieving their goals and building sustainable businesses. In terms of product development, all of these companies focused on building products that were easy to use and provided real value to their customers. They also prioritized customer feedback and made regular updates to improve their products based on user needs. Slack is a communication platform that has revolutionized the way teams work together. Slack’s success can be attributed to its user-friendly interface, integrations with other tools, and its focus on collaboration. Slack raised a total of $1.4 billion in funding before going public, and its customer acquisition tactics included word-of-mouth marketing, referrals, and a freemium model. Zoom is a video conferencing platform that has seen explosive growth in recent years. Zoom’s success can be attributed to its simplicity, ease of use, and reliability. Zoom raised $751 million in funding before going public, and its customer acquisition tactics included viral marketing through free trials and referrals. HubSpot is a marketing automation platform that provides a range of tools to help businesses grow. HubSpot’s success can be attributed to its all-in-one platform, user-friendly interface, and inbound marketing approach. HubSpot raised $375 million in funding before going public, and its customer acquisition tactics included content marketing, SEO, and social media marketing. DocuSign is a digital signature platform that enables businesses to sign and manage documents electronically. DocuSign’s success can be attributed to its ease of use, security, and convenience. DocuSign raised $518 million in funding before going public, and its customer acquisition tactics included partnerships with other software providers, targeted advertising, and a free trial offer. Resources For SaaS Founders Developing a Successful SaaS Sales Strategy 20 Best SaaS Tools for Startups VCs Investing in SaaS Companies SaaStr Fund Location: Palo Alto, California, United States About: SaaStr is the world’s largest community of SaaS executives, founders, and entrepreneurs. To continue expanding and serving the community, SaaStr has grown its offerings to include regional and global events, a co-selling space, an investment fund, and an automated e-learning platform. Investment stages: Seed Popular investments: Gorgias, RevenueCat, MaestroQA To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Related Resource: 14 Venture Capital Firms in Silicon Valley Driving Startup Growth 500 Startups Location: Mountain View, California, United States About:500 Startups is a global venture capital firm with a network of startup programs headquartered in Silicon Valley. Investment stages: Seed, Series A Popular investments: LottieFiles, Butlr Technologies, Flat.mx To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Frontline Ventures Location: London, England, United Kingdom About: We back B2B SaaS companies with international ambition. Whether you’re at an early stage with sights on the US, or at a later stage looking to the rich potential of Europe, we can help you get where you want to go. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Popular investments: Localyze, Koyo, Qualio To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Atlanta Ventures Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States About: We empower SaaS entrepreneurs to achieve their potential through community, content, and capital. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Popular investments: Terminus, MessageGears, Greenzie To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. VenTech Location: Paris, Ile-de-France, France About: Ventech is a global early-stage VC firm based out of Paris, Munich, Berlin, Helsinki, Shanghai and Hong Kong with over €900m raised to fuel globally ambitious entrepreneurs and their visions of the future positive digital economy. Since inception in 1998, Ventech has made 200+ investments. Investment stages: Seed, Series A Popular investments: Believe, Vestiaire Collective, Botify To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Molten Ventures Location: London, England, United Kingdom About: We invest in Europe’s tech leaders at Series A and beyond to make more possible. More from hardware, more from software, more from healthcare, more for consumers… the hardest tech problems are just the biggest business opportunities. Investment stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Popular investments: CoachHub, FintechOS, Lyst To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Shasta Ventures Location: Menlo Park, California, United States About: We invest in Europe’s tech leaders at Series A and beyond to make more possible. More from hardware, more from software, more from healthcare, more for consumers… the hardest tech problems are just the biggest business opportunities. Investment stages: Series A, Series B Popular investments: Partly, Tally, Data.world To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Seedcamp Location: London, England, United Kingdom About: We invest early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology. We are running our Investment Forum process entirely online and are proactively investing in European companies across pre-seed and seed who are building the breakout businesses of tomorrow. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Popular investments: CyberSmart, Treecard, Meilisearch To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. 1517 Fund Location: San Francisco, CA About: 1517 supports teams with pre-seed and seed funding for technology startups. Investment stages: Seed, Pre-seed Popular investments: Space Perspectives, Presso To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. 2048 Ventures Location: New York City, NY About: First and foremost, we always want to meet exceptional founders with a compelling vision and strong founder-market-fit, regardless of the space they are building in. We look for companies that are differentiated and defensible through data and technology. Investment stages: Pre-seed Popular investments: Koffie Labs, Mealco, Ware Check size: $300K-$600K To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Acceleprise Location: San Francisco, CA About: Acceleprise invests in early stage B2B SaaS and enterprise technology companies and unifies the global technology community through mentors. Investment stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Series A Check size: $50K-$1M Thesis: There are many founders who have great ideas in B2B, but don’t know enough about Sales and GTM to scale. With the help of top operators in our network from the likes of Salesforce, Cisco, Gainsight, Zuora, and more, we can help. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Active Capital Location: San Antonio, TX About: Active Capital is a venture firm focused on leading seed rounds for B2B SaaS companies outside of Silicon Valley. Investment stages: Pre-seed, Seed Check size: $100K-$1M Thesis: Active Capital is a venture firm designed to lead seed rounds for B2B SaaS companies outside of Silicon Valley. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Album VC Location: Provo, UT About: Album VC is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology ventures, shaping the future of technology and culture. Investment stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Check size: $500K-$5M Sweetspot Check Size: $1.25M To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Bessemer Venture Partners Location: San Francisco, CA About: Bessemer Venture Partners is the world’s most experienced early-stage venture capital firm. With a portfolio of more than 200 companies, Bessemer helps visionary entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to create companies that matter and support them through every stage of their growth. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Check size: $100K-$50M Sweetspot Check Size: $15M To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Boldstart Ventures Location: New York, NY About: Boldstart Ventures is a first check investor for technical enterprise founders. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Check size: $250K-$2.5M Sweetspot Check Size: $1.5M To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Connetic Ventures Location: Covington, KY About: Connetic is reinventing the VC industry by turning tables on intuition and biases to a more data-driven approach Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Check size: $100K-$800K Sweetspot Check Size: $100K Thesis: We use proprietary data and machine learning to create a diversified portfolio of high-potential startups To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Forum Ventures Location: San Francisco, CA About: Forum Ventures is the leading early-stage fund, program and community for B2B SaaS startups based in New York, San Francisco, and Toronto. With over 400 portfolio companies globally, Forum founders have gone on to raise $600M+ in follow-on funding from funds like Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Ventures, Serena Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, CRV, 8VC, Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, Bowery Capital, FirstRound Capital Salesforce Ventures, SV Angel, and many more. Investment stages: Early stage To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Frontier Ventures Location: Cupertino, CA About: Frontier Ventures invests in early-stage internet companies with network effects and connects them with global markets. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B Check size: $5M Thesis: We invest in technology businesses with network effects. We believe that network effects create the strongest barriers to entry for technology businesses. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Growth Street Partners Location: San Francisco, CA About: Growth Street Partners is an investment firm that provides SaaS and technology-enabled services to grow your sales & marketing. Investment stages: Series A, Growth Check size: $3M-$5M To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Harlem Capital Location: New York, NY About: Harlem Capital is an early-stage venture firm that invests in post-revenue tech-enabled startups, focused on minority and women founders. Investment stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Check size: $500K-$1M Thesis: Women or POC founders (no deep tech, bio, crypto, hardware) To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. High Alpha Location: Indianapolis, IN About: High Alpha creates and funds companies through a new model for entrepreneurship that unites company building and venture capital. Investment stages: Seed, Series A, Startup Studio Check size: $1M-$3M Thesis: Scalable Enterprise Cloud Businesses To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Kickstart Fund Location: Cottonwood Heights, UT About: Kickstart is an early-stage VC fund based in Utah. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Check size: $200K-$2M Sweetspot Check Size: $1M To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Related Resource: The Rise of Venture Capital in Utah: A Look at Utah’s Top 10 VC Firms M25 Location: Chicago, IL About: Early-stage VC investing in startups headquartered in the Midwest across a wide variety of industries. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Check size: $250K-$500K Sweetspot Check Size: $350K Thesis: Midwest HQ, tech-enabled, and any industry except therapeutics/pharma or vices To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Matrix Partners Location: San Francisco, CA About: Matrix Partners works with visionary founders of early-stage startups to amplify their potential. Their general partners blend deep experience with personal commitment to support founders from start to success. Investment stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Check size: $5M-$20M Sweetspot Check Size: $12M Thesis: Matrix Partners works with visionary founders of early-stage startups to amplify their potential. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Moai Capital Location: San Mateo, CA About: Moai Capital is a Silicon Valley seed capital firm, founded and managed by Brian Jacobs. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series Check size: $25K-$100K Thesis: Seed Capital for Impassioned Entrepreneurs To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Mucker Capital Location: Santa Monica, CA About: MuckerLab is a venture capital firm specializing in incubation, pre-seed, seed, start-up, early-stage, and Series A investments. Investment stages: Accelerator, Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Check size: $100K-$4M Thesis: We partner with exceptional entrepreneurs to provide their earliest institutional funding and work with them side-by-side to help launch and scale their new ventures. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Newark Venture Partners Location: Newark, NJ About: Newark Venture Partners is an early-stage venture fund based in Newark, NJ. Investment stages: Seed, Series A Check size: $250K-$2M Sweetspot Check Size: $1M To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. NXTP Ventures Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina About: NXTP Ventures backs early-stage technology companies led by extraordinary entrepreneurs throughout Latin America. Investment stages: Seed, Series A, Series B Thesis: We partner with high-impact, visionary founders early on in their journey as one of the first sources of institutional funding to help build their companies into future market leaders with long-term competitive advantages. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Point Nine Capital Location: Berlin, Germany About: We invest globally with a focus on early-stage B2B businesses, particularly in SaaS, marketplaces, and crypto. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A Check size: $500K-$5M Sweetspot check size: $1.25M Thesis: We’re looking for dedicated, passionate entrepreneurs who are committed to building large internet companies. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Precursor Ventures Location: San Francisco, CA About: An early-stage venture firm focused on classic seed investing. Investment stages: Seed Check size: $100K-$300K Sweetspot check size: $250K Thesis: We invest in people over products at the earliest stage of the entrepreneurial journey. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. PreSeed Ventures Location: Lyngby, Denmark About: As a notable early-stage investor PreSeed Ventures lived well over 400 journeys alongside Danish startups like Vivino, Trustpilot & Lunar. Investment stages: Pre-Seed, Seed Thesis: We might be just another early stage VC. We’re no alchemists, but we know our craft by heart. We lived well over 400 journeys, alongside young guns, moms, dads, outliers, big egos and eccentrics – the best kind if you ask us. We worked closely with them all – long term, and we can say without a shadow of doubt that we know startups way beyond metrics and facts. Only invest in Danish companies. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Tiny Capital Location: Victoria, Canada About: Tiny Capital makes investments in both private and public companies and have a base of permanent capital from a family office. Investment stages: Seed Check size: $100K-$50M Sweetspot check size: $3M Thesis: We start, buy, and invest in wonderful internet businesses. To learn more, view their Visible Connect Profile. Related Resource: 10 Venture Capital Firms in Canada Leading the Future of Innovation How To Target the Right SaaS Investors With the average VC + founder relationship being 8-10 years, it is important you are selective about what investors you are adding to your cap table. Learn more about finding the right SaaS investors for your business below: 1. Build Your Ideal Investor Profile To Narrow the Search At Visible, we think of a VC fundraise similarly to a traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel. You are bringing investors into your top of funnel, nurturing them throughout a raise, and hopefully closing them at the bottom of the funnel. Just like any sales process starts by defining your ideal customer, the same can be said for an investment process. Location: Understand where an investor is based and if they invest globally or locally. Industry focus: Might sound obvious but make sure an investor is actively investing in your space and has experience in your sector. Investment stage focus: As you likely noticed in our list above, VC firms can range from small, early-stage checks to huge, late-stage checks. Make sure your size and stage align with the investors you are pitching. (if you’re looking for only seed-stage investors check out our list of 60+ Active Seed Stage SaaS Investors) Current portfolio: Understanding a VC funds current portfolio can help you (1) see what type of companies they are investing in (2) make sure they have not invested in any competitors and (3) can use it as a source to see if you know any current founders for a reference check and introductions. Fund age: While it might be less obvious knowing a fund age will help you determine where you fit into their lifecycle. If they are nearing the end of their fund/capital, chances are they might not be able to offer the support as an earlier investment. Deal velocity: VC funds oftentimes have differing strategies. Some might invest in deals at a rapid rate while others might be extra diligent and invest in a handful a year. If you’re in need of capital asap, make sure you are paying attention to their deal velocity. Related Resource: Building Your Ideal Investor Persona 2. Get a Meeting With Your Top Candidates Generally, there are 2 umbrella strategies to get an introduction to a potential investor: Cold Outreach Warm introductions Most investors will tell you they prefer a warm introduction. As a founder, it is your job to make this happen. Turn to your immediate network and see if you can find your way in via warm introduction. Look to other founders, current investors, mentors, and peers. Sometimes a warm introduction is not possible and that is 100% okay! Cold outreach can work well when crafted and leveraged correctly. For cold outreach, check out our blog post, 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. 3. Come Prepared With a Powerful Pitch Deck and Questions Once you have built your list of investors and defined your strategy for reaching out. You will likely need resources to share and build interest — the most common is the pitch deck. Different investors will have different opinions but chances are an investor will likely want to see a pitch deck or some data before a meeting. If you are lucky enough to land a meeting check out our post, “First Meeting with a Potential Investor? Ask These 5 Questions.” Related Resource: How to Nail Your First Investor Pitch with Lolita Taub & Eric Bahn Use Visible to find investors, track your raise, share your pitch deck, and understand how investors are engaging with your raise. Give it a free try for 14 days here. Related Resource: 11 Top Venture Capital Firms in Boston Start Your Next Round with Visible We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VCs and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like you. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. After learning more about them with the profile information and resources given you can reach out to them with a tailored email. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.

Raise capital, update investors and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days. Building a startup is a journey. Over the course of your journey, chances are the thought of liquidity events will creep into your mind. Understanding liquidity events and having a game plan when your startup is close to an event can help speed up the process. Related Resource: A Quick Overview on VC Fund Structure To learn more about liquidity events and how to prepare your startup for one, check out our post below: What is a liquidity event? As put by the team at Corporate Finance Institute, “A liquidity event is a process by which an investor liquidates their investment position in a private company and exchanges it for cash. The main purpose of a liquidity event is the transfer of an illiquid asset (an investment in a private company) into the most liquid asset – cash.” Depending on the type of event and makeup of your business will dictate the small details of your liquidity event. Learn more about specific types of liquidity events below: Types of liquidity events Liquidity events can come in different shapes and sizes. Understanding the different outcomes will help you game plan and prepare your business for the proper event. Going public An initial public offering (IPO) or going public is the typically startup ending in Hollywood. As put by the SEC, “Going public typically refers to when a company undertakes its initial public offering, or IPO, by selling shares of stock to the public, usually to raise additional capital. Going public is a significant step for any company and you should consider the reasons companies decide to go public. After its IPO, the company will be subject to public reporting requirements.” Getting acquired Getting acquired is also a potential liquidity event for startups. For many founders, this is typically the most thought-through process. As put by the team at Investopedia, “An acquisition is when one company purchases most or all of another company’s shares to gain control of that company. Purchasing more than 50% of a target firm’s stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company’s other shareholders.” As an acquisition is ultimately selling your business, you need to understand the motivators for companies making acquisitions. For example, companies might be motivated by a few of the following reasons: Enter New Markets — Companies making acquisitions might be interesting in operating in a new geographic or vertical market. Growth — Companies making acquisitions might want to use your product or service as a growth strategy for their current business. New Technology — Companies making acquisitions might want to lean into your technology instead of building it in-house. Remove Competition — Companies making acquisitions might want to reduce their competition. Secondary market transactions As put by Investopedia, “The secondary market is where investors buy and sell securities they already own. It is what most people typically think of as the “stock market,” though stocks are also sold on the primary market when they are first issued.” Over the past few years, secondary markets specific to startups and private help companies have begun to find their way into the marketplace. Realistic timeline for liquidity events Putting a timeline on a liquidity event is difficult and will greatly vary from business to business. Depending on your business, the type of liquidity event, and current market conditions will impact the timeline. Related Resource: Calculating Your Quick Ratio First things first, you need to have a product or service that is attractive to the public markets, a company, or a secondary market. The next steps will greatly vary depending on the market and the liquidity event type. For example, going public can take years with the legal requirements and work. On the flip side, an acquisition can move quickly if the company is motivated and dedicated to moving quickly. Learn more about preparing for a liquidity event below: Tips for startups close to a liquidity event If a liquidity event is on the horizon, check out a few of our tips to prepare below: 1. Look at the liquidation preferences As put by the team at Investopedia, “A liquidation preference is a clause in a contract that dictates the payout order in case of a corporate liquidation. Typically, the company’s investors or preferred stockholders get their money back first, ahead of other kinds of stockholders or debtholders, in the event that the company must be liquidated.” Related Resource: Current Ratio and Liquidity Ratio Checking out the contract to understand the liquidation preferences is a must to make sure you can properly communicate this with your board members and stakeholders. 2. Understand and look for a clawback clause As put by the team at Paycor, “A clawback clause is a provision within a business or employment contract that allows—under a prescribed set of circumstances—an organization to reclaim incentive or bonus funds previously paid to an employee.” This is particularly important when looking at different bonus and payout structures. For example, if you had a goal to grow 10% over the next year and initially reported 13%, you’d get your payout. However, after an audit you found the actual growth rate to be 9%, you may have to pay back your bonus. 3. Consider tax implications Each liquidity event will come with its own set of tax implications and legal requirements. As always, we recommend consulting with a lawyer and financial team when evaluating your different tax implications. Related Resource: A User-Friendly Guide to Startup Accounting 4. Know the pros and cons of each liquidity event Of course, each liquidity event comes with its own set of pros and cons. Check out a few examples below: Going public Pros: Raising capital Exposure from the public listing Allow individuals to exit Cons: Added disclosure for public investors Increased rules and regulations Getting acquired Pros: Access to capital Additional resources Allows individuals to exit Cons: Operational confusion Impact on current team members Connect with investors today with Visible Building relationships with your current and potential investors will allow you to move quickly when it comes time for a liquidity event. Keeping your investors in the loop will allow them to lend a hand when it comes to strategy, introductions, and more. Raise capital, update investors, and engage your team from a single platform. Try Visible free for 14 days.

This guide incorporates content from Visible’s webinar on the same topic hosted with guest Sara Zulkosky from Recast Capital. You can watch the full recording here. Raising a venture fund is hard. General Partners (GPs) first have to find and then nurture relationships with potential investors, also known as Limited Partners (LPs). Then they have to build a persuasive enough case as to why the LP should entrust them as stewards of the LP’s capital for about 10 years — that’s the timeline if things go according to plan. When looking at it from this perspective, it makes sense why the VC fundraising process can take a year or in some cases even a few years. Now throw in the challenge of not having prior experience raising a fund and the pursuit of becoming a GP sounds even more daunting. However, with the help of programs like Recast Capital and VC Labs, emerging managers have access to more support than ever to close on their first, second, or third fund. Plus, according to a report from Cambridge Associates emerging managers are outperforming established funds which bodes well for GPs trying to make their case to LPs. This article breaks down the fundamentals of raising a venture fund for emerging managers. Understanding Different Types of LPs Just like when starting a company, it is critical for GPs to find product market fit for their fund. The customers of the fund are LPs who are not only looking for a return but oftentimes are also interested in market insights, access to deal flow, and even impact. To set yourself up for success in finding the right LPs, it’s crucial to invest in getting to know your customers and their pain points. Diana Murakhovskaya (The Artemis Fund) recommends… “…ask questions like a startup would do if they were doing customer discovery. You need to learn about them (LPs) first. What drives them? What are they interested in besides returns? Treat LPs as individuals and not just a check.” (Source: How to Source and Connect with LPs). There are four major types of LPs that exist: High Net Worth Inviduals, Family Offices, Institutional LPs (including pensions and endowments), and Sovereign Wealth Funds. The chart below outlines the Pros and Cons of the different LP types from the perspective of an emerging manager. To summarize, high-net-worth individuals and family offices are typically the best fit for emerging managers. They’re more nimble and able to write smaller check sizes which is good because the typical fund size for emerging managers according to Recast Capital is $10 – $30 M. (Source: Webinar Recording Fundraising Best Practices for Emerging Managers) Alternative LP types that shouldn’t be ruled out and that are becoming more common include corporations, banks, and fund of funds. Sara Zulkosky from Recast Capital encourages emerging managers to widen their lens a bit and consider exploring these alternative types of LPs. How to Find LPs Tap into Your Immediate Network A great place to start fostering relationships with potential investors is by tapping into your current network. Communicate your goals and why you’re passionate about them with people already in your network but be sure to avoid violating General Solicitation laws. Don’t approach these conversations with a check in mind but rather to seek feedback on your thesis and approach. Even if no one in your immediate network may be able or interested in investing in your fund, there may be people willing to make an introduction to someone who is. Foster Your Peer Network Building out your peer network is important not only for fundraising but also for knowledge exchange, support, and emotional well-being — as stated before — fundraising is challenging and it’s helpful to have others in your corner who understand what you’re going through. While GPs targeting the exact same sector, stage, and thesis might be considered competition, any GP with an adjacent approach can be a great source of support and even introductions. Consider joining different communities of emerging managers such as Recast Capital, VC Lab, Women in VC, All Raise, or starting your own round table if you don’t already have a peer group in place. The maxim holds true that rising tides raise all ships. Use LinkedIn LinkedIn is a powerful tool to find new contacts and leverage your existing network. While Family Offices are traditionally opaque, an easy search for ‘Family Office’ or ‘Private Family Office’ in people’s job titles results in people supporting different functions of this type of investor. From there, it’s always best to see who your second-degree connections are to understand if someone can make a warm introduction on your behalf or as Sara Zulkosky stated it’s also ok to “shoot your shot” and send a cold message. Tips for Cold Emails: Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Always take the time to personalize it when you can. Flattery works. We’re all human and we all like it when people take the time to get to know what interests us. Use Databases While not free, if you can get access to PitchBook or Prequin these can be good sources to better understand the investment activity of LPs. You’ll be able to get an understanding of which LPs invested in certain funds (if it was disclosed) and for how much. Drawing LPs to you Some LPs seek out GPs so it’s a great idea to create thought leadership content that demonstrates your expertise. These can be articles that communicate your conviction around your thesis and the sectors in which you’re investing. It’s also a great idea to share this content with LPs via email after you meet with them to stand out from other GPs. While some GPs have created a robust social following by investing in content for twitter and LinkedIn, Sara Zulkosky stated this isn’t necessary and you should choose activities that are aligned with your personal brand and your fund’s brand. Keeping Track of LPs We’ve covered how to find LPs in general and which types of LPs at a high level might make sense for your fund. These potential investors should be considered your ‘top of funnel’ LPs and you should keep track of them in the first stage of your fundraising pipeline. Learn how to build a fundraising pipeline in Visible here. Visible recommends tracking LPs in 6-8 pipeline stages to stay organized. In this article Roseanne Wincek at Renegade Partners shared she used the following pipeline stages for her fundraising process: Cold Lead Warm Lead Scheduling First Meeting Data Room Second Meeting(s) References Docs Learn about how to keep track of LP’s in your fundraising pipeline in Visible by booking some time with our team. How to Qualify LPs Next, it’s important to qualify LPs based on certain criteria to make sure you’re running an efficient fundraising process. Appropriately qualifying LPs will save both you and LPs a lot of time in the long run. Here are some example criteria you can use to qualify LPs: Check Size — Make sure the LP is able to write check sizes that will work for the size of the fund you’re raising Thesis of Firm — Understand whether the LPs have a vested interest in your space Room for Emerging Managers — Newer LPs often have more open slots for emerging managers as a part of their investment strategy Vision Alignment — Does the LP understand and align with your vision What does an ‘Ideal’ LP look like While the points above are mandatory to appropriately qualify an LP, here are some other traits to look for in an ideal LP. They’re someone you’d want to engage with regularly for at least 10 years. They’re able to be patient with returns. They can offer valuable support in a way that will benefit you or your fund. What to Ask During a First Meeting with an LP The first meeting is not just for the LP to get to know you — it’s also a great time for you to show you’ve done your homework by asking thoughtful questions to the LP. Sara from Recast Capital’s advice to GP’s.. “You should always feel comfortable asking LPs questions to start the conversation and LPs should always be willing to answer them…Don’t feel shy. Definitely ask these questions because you’ll get a very good sense a few minutes in whether this is worth your time.” Here is a list of example questions GPs should feel comfortable asking LPs in a first meeting: Could you tell me more about your investment strategy? Where do you want to be spending your time as it relates to your investment strategy? What’s the size of your private portfolio? Are you currently making new commitments? What’s your typical check size? What does your process look like to invest in an emerging manager? Have you ever invested in an emerging manager? What’s the smallest fund you’ve invested in? The LP Diligence Process The length of the diligence process depends on the LP organization and how much red tape there is internally. If an organization is small, nimble, and enthusiastic about your fund, it could take just a month but this is rare. The diligence process from Institutional LPs usually takes about 6 months. It can take even longer if advisors and consultants are involved. Do your part to keep the diligence process streamlined by having your LP Data Room set up in advance. Related resource: What to Include in your LP Data Room. Visible supports Data Rooms for Emerging Managers — learn more. Nurturing Relationships with LPs It’s important to remember that LP’s have a lot of inbound interest to manage. For this reason, it’s a great idea to go the extra mile to stand out to LPs by following the tips below. Demonstrate you’re an excellent communicator It’s a great idea to get into the habit of sending monthly fundraising updates to potential LPs that you’d like to build deeper relationships with. Check our Visible’s LP Fundraising Monthly Progress Update for inspiration. Here’s what Elizabeth “Beezer” Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners and institutional LP had to say about best practices for reaching out, building, and maintaining relationships with institutional LPs… “Clear and consistent communication is imperative in helping create a strong GP/LP relationship. LPs want to know you’re in touch with your portfolio and you have a full assessment of its health: cash runway, pacing information, ownership, who was in the round, why you did the deal, how you found it, and how the company is doing. Some folks do routine newsletters, Zooms, or recordings – whatever works for you. Once a quarter is sufficient, and it’s always good to offer to stop by and visit when in town.” (Source: “Ask an LP” with Beezer from Sapphire Partners) Prove your sector expertise by sharing thought leadership content Sara Zulkosky from Recast Capital recommends taking the time to write your own thought leadership pieces that focus on the sectors that you want to invest or your thesis. Include these articles in your monthly updates or send a one-off email to an LP after a meeting to further demonstrate your expertise. You can also use the content you’ve written as a reason to follow up with an LP who may have ghosted you after a first meeting. “I wanted to follow up with a recent article I wrote that was a continuation of the conversation we had last month…”. Do what you say you’re going to do LPs are only human after all and every single one of us respects the people in our lives who are true to their word. If you said you were going to do something or follow up with a resource, do it. This is both a powerful and easy way to build rapport. Use Visible’s fundraising CRM to stay on top of when it’s time to follow up with a contact. Learn more here. Know your metrics like the back of your hand — and how to communicate them Even if this is the first time you’re raising a fund you will be expected to understand the core VC Fund Metrics and why they matter to LPs. Take the time to make sure you understand your fund model in and out and how the variables affect return possibilities. Related Resource: VC Fund Performance Metrics 101 (and why they matter to LPs) Add bottom-of-the-funnel LPs to current LP Updates And finally, a suggestion from Sara at Recast is to add the LPs with a serious interest, your ‘bottom of funnel’ LPs, to your current committed LP communication list. It’s a great way to make them feel special (because they are) and bring them into the folds of how you communicate and what you share with current LPs. Concluding Thoughts Raising a venture fund, especially for first-time managers, can seem like a daunting challenge. However, over time emerging managers are being recognized by both Limited Partners and startup founders as the best way to bring about positive change in the venture industry. Visible provides professional fundraising tools for ambitious fund managers with its Emerging Manager Fundraising Toolkit.

Today we’re celebrating National Women’s Day in the U.S. and so it seems fitting to share some research that highlights the power of women working in Venture Capital. A recent study in Harvard Business Review demonstrates that VC firms that increased the number of female partners by 10% experienced a 1.5% increase in fund returns each year and had 9.7% more profitable exits. This is a significant improvement considering only ~29% of VC investments have a profitable exit. Given this data, it’s shocking that women make up just 8% of the VC industry to date. Thankfully, groups like Women in VC, Allraise, and Recast Capital are working to change this. Keep reading for tips to measure and improve gender equity across your portfolio. 1) Use Formulas to calculate % Female Employees Most firms are already collecting the metric ‘Total Headcount’ from their portfolio companies. Consider collecting ‘Number of Female Employees’ on a quarterly or annual basis and using formulas to calculate ‘% Female Employees’ across your portfolio. 2) Set up a Portfolio metric dashboard to benchmark gender equity across your portfolio In a few clicks, Portfolio metric dashboards tell you the total, minimum, maximum, and median values for any metric and also let you benchmark companies against portfolio quartiles. Learn more. 3) Create a ‘Female (co)founded’ segment to keep track of gender diversity across your deals You can set up any custom segment in Visible and use them to slice and filter your data. Ready to explore using Visible to measure gender equity across your portfolio? Meet with Visible More Resources on Women in VC: The Rise of Women-Led VC Firms (+ a List to Keep an Eye on) The Other Diversity Dividend How the VC Pitch Process is Failing Female Entrepreneurs The “Daughter Effect” in VC

At Visible, we like to compare a venture fundraise to a traditional B2B sales and marketing funnel. At the top of your fundraising funnel, you are trying to add qualified investors via warm and cold outreach. In the middle of your fundraising funnel, you are nurturing potential investors with meetings, pitch decks, monthly updates and more. At the bottom of your fundraising funnel, you are working through due diligence and turning potential investors into new investors. Related Resource: The 12 Best VC Funds You Should Know About Like a traditional B2B sales and marketing process, you need to find qualified “leads” (AKA investors) to fill the top of your funnel. If you’re located in Atlanta, check out our list of investors in the area below: 1. BIP Ventures Since 2007, BIP Ventures has invested in the success of B2B software and tech-enabled service businesses at all stages of maturity. In addition to capital, we support entrepreneurs with access to infrastructure, acumen, and talent that results in category-leading companies. A distinct multi-stage investment platform drives consistent top-quartile returns. Location: Atlanta, GA 2. Engage As put by their team, “Engage is a first-of-its-kind innovation platform comprised of category-leading corporations in the Southeast that have joined forces to support startups building the future of enterprise.” Focus and industry: Engage focuses on B2B enterprise companies. They have 6 strategic themes within B2B enterprise — “Customer Experience, Supply Chain & Manufacturing, Future of Work, Big Data, Analytics, & Security, Logistics & Mobility, and Climate Tech & Sustainability.” Funding stage: According to their Visible Connect Profile, Engage invests in Seed through Series B stages According to their team, “Engage is an enterprise venture platform that counts 11 of the country’s largest corporations as investors. We invest in enterprise and frontier technology informed by insights from our corporate partners.” Some of their popular investments include: Fast Radius MetaCX Paladin ThingTech Location: Atlanta, GA 3. Forté Ventures As put by their team, “Forté Ventures is an institutional venture capital firm uniquely focused on collaborating and co-investing with Corporate Venture Capital groups. We believe that the right corporate strategic investors can act as a force multiplier for startups, and we work alongside our corporate partners to ensure the realization of those benefits.” Focus and industry: As put by their team, “We pursue a generalist model, searching for great companies across diversified industries and business models.” Funding stage: The team at Forté looks for companies that have found product market fit and have yet to scale — typically series A and series B. As put by their team, “Our focus and experience allow us to help entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of corporate investment, while also enabling us to serve as trusted partners to both our portfolio companies and our syndicate partners.” Some of their popular investments include: Urgently Integrate Springbot Location: Atlanta, GA and Sunnyvale, CA 4. Fintech Ventures Fund As put by the team at Fintech Ventures Fund, “We are hyperfocused on investing in founders building disruptive early-stage fintech and insurtech companies.” Related Resource: FinTech Venture Capital Investors to Know Focus and industry: The team at Fintech Ventures Fund is focused on fintech and insurtech companies. Funding stage: The team is focused on pre-seed and seed stage investments. They typically write checks anywhere between $250k and $1M. As put by their team, “Our primary mission is to forge strategic partnerships with entrepreneurs and provide them with the resources and support they need to build successful businesses. Following our Fund’s initial investment, our portfolio company founders have secured over $1 billion in cumulative equity and debt financing from leading institutional co-investors.” Some of their most popular investments include: Groundfloor Marble Vero Technologies Location: Atlanta, GA 5. Tech Square Ventures As put by their team, “Tech Square Ventures is an Atlanta-based early-stage venture capital firm. We partner with visionary entrepreneurs and help them with what they need most – access to markets and customers.” Focus and industry: The team at Tech Square Ventures is focused on B2B (enterprise), Marketplace, Tech-enabled services, and university spinouts. Funding stage: Tech Square Ventures is focused on early stage startups. As put by their team, “We believe the best part of what we do is the privilege of working with exceptional founders. We invest in the early stages of company development, partnering with entrepreneurs building transformative companies and continuing as committed partners through the journey of building a successful business.” Some of their most popular investments include: The Mom Project Paladin MetaCX Location: Atlanta, GA 6. TTV Capital As put by their team, “TTV Capital is one of the first and only early-stage venture capital firms focused exclusively on investing in companies in the financial services ecosystem. We’ve been a driving force in fintech since before the sector was defined.” Focus and industry: TTV Capital is focused on companies in the financial services ecosystem. TTV also has the following subset focus areas: Funding stage: The team at TTV Capital is focused on early-stage investments TTV has been investing for multiple decades so their portfolio spans many markets and generations of fintech companies. Check out some of their most popular investments below: Bitpay Greenlight Cardlytics Location: Atlanta, GA 7. Noro-Moseley Partners As put by their team, “At NMP, our investment philosophy is centered squarely on the entrepreneurs with whom we partner. In addition to capital, the firm’s goal is to provide energy, connections and domain expertise to strong entrepreneurs in order to help them succeed.” Focus and industry: As written by their team, “NMP is vertically-focused within the information technology and healthcare markets.” Funding stage: NMP typically looks for companies with a $2M-20M run rate and will write checks between $10M and $20M. Some of NMP’s most popular investments include: Red Canary Revenue Analytics UpwardHealth Location: Atlanta, GA 8. Fulcrum Equity As put by their team, “Fulcrum Equity Partners manages over $600 million and makes equity investments in rapidly growing businesses that are led by strong entrepreneurs and management teams. We target companies within the healthcare, B2B SaaS, and technology-enabled services industries. We provide financing to meet a wide range of needs including internal growth initiatives, acquisitions, shareholder liquidity, buy-outs, recapitalizations, and divestitures.” Focus and industry: Fulcrum Equity is focused on companies within healthcare, B2B SaaS, and tech-enabled service industries. Funding stage: Fulcrum typically writes checks between $5M and $30M Fulcrum’s criteria slightly differ depending on the industry of the company. You can learn more about their investment criteria here. Some of their most popular investments include: Olio Avant-Garde HomeFirst Location: Atlanta, GA 9. Atlanta Ventures As put by the team at Atlanta Ventures, “We are focused on serving entrepreneurs in earlier stages (<$5M ARR). We offer a unique community in partnership with the Atlanta Tech Village. We have an exclusive focus on fast growing companies in the Southeast region. Our team has direct operating experience as successful entrepreneurs, product leaders, and deal advisors. We typically lead or fill the entire round with an investment of $250K to $5M, and we built the Studio for entrepreneurs looking to launch with us at the absolute ground floor of their business.” Focus and industry: Atlanta Ventures has a focus on SaaS and subscription businesses. Funding stage: Atlanta Ventures will invest in any stage from seed to series B. As they put it, “After achieving Product/Market fit, you may even find yourself well on your way to hitting a milestone very few companies ever reach: $1M in ARR. We love partnering with entrepreneurs at this stage of the journey. “ Some of Atlanta Ventures most popular investments include: Calendly Salesloft Terminus Location: Atlanta, GA Related Resource: 24 Top VC Investors Actively Funding SaaS Startups Network with investors today with Visible At Visible, we oftentimes compare a fundraise to a B2B sales and marketing funnel. At the top of your funnel, you are finding new investors. In the middle, you are nurturing and pitching potential investors. At the bottom of the funnel, you are working through diligence and ideally closing new investors. Related Resource: A Quick Overview on VC Fund Structure With the introduction of data rooms, you can now manage every aspect of your fundraising funnel with Visible. Find investors at the top of your funnel with our free investor database, Visible Connect Track your conversations and move them through your funnel with our Fundraising CRM Share your pitch deck and monthly updates with potential investors Organize and share your most vital fundraising documents with data rooms Manage your fundraise from start to finish with Visible. Give it a free try for 14 days here.

Webinar Recap Throughout a fundraise, founders are expected to share the data and financials that fuel their business. Jonah Midanik of Forum Ventures joined us on March 21st to discuss all things SaaS metrics and fundraising. Watch Recording A few things you can expect us to cover: The SaaS metrics every founder should know What metrics a founder should expect to share with potential investors What metrics and financials a founder should expect to have prepared for due diligence How early-stage founders should think about more “advanced” SaaS metrics About Jonah Jonah has spent the last twenty years at the intersection of marketing and technology as a serial entrepreneur in Canada. He has experienced several different lenses on the founder’s journey from bootstrapping his own startup, to launching new corporate divisions, and raising 8 figures of venture capital. At Forum, in supporting hundreds of founders’ growth, Jonah has carved out a niche in the market of teaching founders how to build and deliver pitch decks and which metrics to include to convey traction to raise capital successfully.

Women-led venture capital firms are relatively new players in the VC world, but they are rapidly gaining traction. These firms are founded and run by women, who bring a unique perspective to the table when it comes to identifying and investing in promising startups. One of the advantages of women-led VC firms is that they tend to invest in companies that are founded by women or that have a diverse leadership team. Studies have shown that diverse teams tend to perform better, so investing in such companies is not only good business but also much-needed. Women-led startups receive only a small fraction of VC funding. According to PitchBook, “In 2022, companies founded solely by women garnered just 2% of the total capital invested in venture-backed startups in the US.”. This lack of funding has a profound impact on women-led companies, making it harder for them to grow and succeed. To address these issues, it is important to promote diversity in the VC industry. This can be done by supporting women-led VC firms and encouraging more women to enter the industry. It can also be done by promoting diversity in the companies that VC firms invest in, and by challenging the biases that exist in the industry. Women-led VC firms bring a unique perspective to investing and have the potential to promote diversity in the companies they invest in. Image source: PitchBook How Women-led VC Firms Are Influencing The Broader Industry Women-led VC firms have had a significant impact on the VC industry, driving investment trends and promoting more diverse and inclusive practices. With a focus on funding companies led by women and underrepresented minorities, women-led VC firms have increased the visibility and opportunities for these groups, shifting the traditional power dynamic within the industry. This shift has led to the development of more inclusive practices, such as blind investment pitches and increased emphasis on diversity metrics. Additionally, women-led VC firms have demonstrated that investing in diverse founders is not only socially responsible, but also financially lucrative. As a result, the broader VC industry has started to recognize the benefits of diversity and inclusion, leading to an increased emphasis on funding diverse founders and promoting more diverse leadership within VC firms themselves. Related resource: The Femtech Frontier: Opportunities in Women's Health Technology + the VCs Investing Benefits of Working With Women-led VC Firms Women-led VC firms have a better understanding of the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, and they often have a broader network of resources and connections to support them. Women-led VC firms can provide mentorship, access to funding, and networking opportunities that can help women founders overcome barriers to success. Additionally, working with women-led VC firms can help promote diversity and inclusion in the industry, which is critical for building a more equitable and sustainable startup ecosystem. By investing in women-led businesses, these firms are helping to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship and promote the growth of female-led businesses. Ultimately, partnering with a women-led VC firm can lead to better outcomes for women founders and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive startup ecosystem. Breaking into the VC industry as a woman can be challenging, but it is not impossible. Here are a few tips for women looking to start their own VC firms: Build a strong network: Building relationships with successful investors and entrepreneurs is critical. Attend networking events, conferences, and meetups to connect with potential partners and investors. Gain experience: Consider working for a VC firm or startup to gain the necessary experience and knowledge of the industry. This can help build your credibility as a potential VC and provide valuable insights into the investment process. Develop a unique investment thesis: Create a unique investment thesis that sets you apart from other VC firms. This will help attract investors and provide a framework for identifying and evaluating potential investments. Fundraising: Fundraising is a critical component of starting a VC firm. Start by building a strong pitch and a compelling story that resonates with potential investors. It’s essential to have a diverse group of investors to ensure a well-rounded portfolio. Build a diverse team: Creating a diverse team is critical in the VC industry. Building a team with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences can help identify unique investment opportunities and promote more inclusive decision-making. Find investments: Identifying promising startups and entrepreneurs is a crucial part of the VC process. Connect with entrepreneurs, attend pitch events, and leverage your network to find investment opportunities. Resources EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women– EY provides program participants evergreen access to our vast resources, rich networks and know-how, helping to strengthen their abilities to become market leaders. At the same time, the program creates a vibrant global community of successful women entrepreneurs and inspiring peer role models who, in 2021, numbered more than 800 across 49 countries. Lolita Taub‘s Newsletter (Issue 77: Women’s History Month edition) has great resources for female founders. 37 angels– is a community of women investors dedicated to educating early-stage investors and promoting women’s participation in investing. WLOUNGE– is a mission-driven organization headquartered in Berlin that supports diversity and women in business and technology. They incubate startups and founders, connect startups, VCs, and corporates to the ecosystem, and facilitate hundreds of deals and investments. They provide innovative services, workshops, round tables, conferences, and leadership programs. WLOUNGE focuses on building partnerships for investment opportunities, founder support, and incubating. They collaborate across the world, including Germany, Europe, Israel, the U.S, China, and Asia. Ultimately, WLOUNGE was established to uplift the tech ecosystem and the women within it. Women’s Business Center-WBCs provide free, to low-cost counseling and training and focus on women who want to start, grow, and expand their small business. digitalundivided– is the leading non-profit leveraging our data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Latina and Black women entrepreneurs and innovators. Our goal is to create a greater world where all women of color own their work and worth. Our mission moves the entrepreneurial ecosystem forward, to increase funding, access, and opportunities for women of color in business and innovation. Tory Burch Foundation– the organization strives to strengthen female entrepreneurship by offering capital, education, and fellowship programs. They collaborate with Bank of America to provide affordable loans via Community Lenders as part of their capital program. Additionally, in partnership with Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses, the foundation furnishes female small-business owners with education in business and management. Furthermore, the Tory Burch Fellows Program encompasses workshops, a year of support, a $10,000 prize, and an opportunity to present a pitch for a $100,000 grant. AIm High AI Bootcamp For Female Founders: Now is last chance to apply and join this equity-free 12-week online accelerator, get business support and access to leading VC funds like Molten Ventures, Dawn Capital, Antler, Nauta Capital, Sunfish Partners and more. All Raise– All Raise started as a call to action. Today, it’s a community, a movement, and a rallying cry centered on the belief that our personal ambitions can and will include the prosperity of all women. Recast Capital– Women-owned platform supporting and investing in emerging managers. Their enablement program is a tuition free educational program 82% of which are female GPs. Women founders looking for investors: share your details in Lolita Taub‘s twitter thread here 10+ VCs & Accelerators Investing in Underrepresented Founders Women-led VCs RevUp Capital “For women investors and female founders, innovation isn’t always about activism. Often, it’s a matter of necessity,” says Melissa Withers, Managing Director of RevUp Capital. “From the beginning, women in entrepreneurship had to do things differently to create the opportunities we wanted. For all the hardships that come with that, there’s also a measure of freedom in it. Women in the industry aren’t just breaking the rules, they’re playing a new game. Good luck getting that genie back in the bottle.” About: RevUp Capital invests and supports revenue-driven B2B and B2C companies. Companies receive $350K-500K in non-dilutive cash delivered in tandem with RevUp’s growth platform, which includes strategy and execution support to accelerate market-facing growth. Thesis: We invest with a singular purpose: to give founders a better shot at success. Traction metrics requirements: Companies enter our portfolio with $500K-$3M in revenue, a strong growth rate, and plans to reach $10-30M in revenue in 3-5 years. We invest in both B2B and B2C companies. RevUp is committed to investing in women, people of color, and in founders outside of top tier geographies. We believe in you. Funding stage: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A Primetime Partners Who or what has been most supportive in your journey of leading a women-founded VC firm? “The other female GPs and investors I have met in NYC community and beyond have inspired me, taught me and humbled me.” – Abby Levy Managing Partner and Founder at Primetime Partners Thesis: Improving the quality of life for older Adults, aging and longevity. Funding stage: Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A, Series B Female Founders Fund About: Female Founders Fund is an early-stage fund investing in the next generation of transformational technology companies founded by women. Thesis: Investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent. Funding stage: Seed Supernode ​​Ventures About: We serve two groups: entrepreneurs and investors. We love connecting both groups together, not only for investing purposes, but also for problem-solving, partnerships and other activities. Thesis: At Supernode Ventures, we are investing in entrepreneurs to help transform the way people live, work and socialize. Funding stage: Pre-Seed Urban Innovation Fund About: A venture capital firm that provides seed capital and regulatory support to entrepreneurs shaping the future of cities – helping them grow into tomorrow’s most valued companies. Thesis: The Urban Innovation Fund invests in startups enhancing the livability, sustainability, and economic vitality of our cities. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Ganas Ventures About: Ganas Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed Web 2 and Web 3 community-driven startups in the US and Latin America. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Steelsky Ventures About: SteelSky Ventures is an early stage VC fund investing in Women’s Health. Funding stage: Seed, Series A Serena Ventures About: Serena Ventures focuses on early stage companies, and giving them the opportunity to be heard. Thesis: Serena Ventures invests in founders who are changing the world with their ideas and products. Funding stage: Series A Moxxie About: Moxxie Ventures is a $25M seed-stage fund that invests in founders who make life and work better. Thesis: Make life and work better. Climate positive. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Overlooked Ventures About: We support founders who operate early-stage technology companies who are historically overlooked and provide them capital, resources, and connections to scale their business. We’ve been in your shoes. We’re tech founders with 10+ years of experience running companies and making deals. Now we’re authentically supporting entrepreneurs with capital and a founder-friendly focus. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Mendoza About: Mendoza Ventures is an early and growth stage Fintech, AI, and Cybersecurity venture fund that provides an actively managed approach to VC. We invest in areas where we have deep domain expertise, companies with early revenue, a clear value proposition and using a proven due diligence model. We focus on diversity as playing an important role in our investment decisions, as roughly 75% of our portfolio consists of start-ups led by immigrants, people of color, and women. Based in Boston, Mendoza Ventures is women owned and the first LatinX-owned venture fund on the East Coast. The firm is run by husband and wife Adrian and Senofer Mendoza, entrepreneurs and prior operators who are veterans of the Boston start-up ecosystem. Thesis: Started by serial entrepreneurs and investors, Adrian Mendoza and Senofer Mendoza, their investment thesis is this – Focus on helping the startups grow by leveraging the experience of advisors and investors in their respective fields. By giving experience and accountability first, learning more about the team, technology and market, only then can an informed investment be made. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Halogen Ventures About: Halogen Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund focused on consumer technologies prioritizing a female in the founding team. Thesis: Halogen Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund focused on female led consumer technology companies. Funding stage: Early Stage GingerBread Capital About: GingerBread Capital invests in the next generation of women founders and entrepreneurs leading high-growth businesses Funding stage: Series A, Series B, Seed Forerunner Ventures About: VC firm investing in transformative B2C & B2B companies defining a new generation of business, with an eye on the consumer. Funding stage: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth Kapor Capital About: Kapor Capital invests in early stage gap-closing tech enabled startups. Thesis: Kapor Capital invests in tech-driven early stage companies committed to closing gaps of access, opportunity or outcome for low income communities and/or communities of color in the United States. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B Vitalize Ventures About: VitalizeVC was founded in 2017 as a seed-stage venture fund. It was originally launched as a result of continued growth and investment appetite among the IrishAngels investor network. Initially called IrishAngels Ventures, it was rebranded VitalizeVC in 2019. Funding stage: Seed, Series A BBG About: BBG Ventures is a seed and pre-seed venture fund leading investments in female & diverse founders who are uniquely qualified to solve the toughest challenges facing new consumers, workers, and employers. Thesis: The next generation of breakout companies will solve problems for the 99% and build solutions for key emerging populations in America. With today’s consumer being intersectional, more conscious, multi-generational, and often underserved; we believe that the founders who intuitively understand her are the ones poised to fix our broken systems. These founders have a natural competitive advantage — which means we do too. We look for companies that drive systems change, build 10X better consumer solutions, or address new buying behaviors across the biggest categories of consumer spending that are ripe for reinvention, focusing on: Healthcare Transformation, the Work and Learning Revolution, Climate & Consumption, Overlooked Consumers, and Fintech. We seek out companies making large-scale behavior change possible by improving access, enhancing affordability, or reducing friction in the consumer experience. Funding stage: Seed, Pre-Seed StandUp Ventures About: StandUp Ventures is a Toronto-based, seed stage venture capital fund focused on investing in high growth ventures with at least one female founder in a key leadership role. We believe that women led companies think outside the box, recruit great talent, and serve bigger markets. We invest in seed-stage, for-profit technology companies with at least one woman in a C-level leadership position within the company and an equitable amount of ownership. Thesis: We’re dedicated to curious, confident, and fearless entrepreneurs building ground-breaking technology companies. We partner with ambitious founders across Canada to break through from Seed to Series A. Funding stage: Seed Amboy Street Ventures About: The world’s first venture capital fund focused on Sexual Health & Women’s Health Technology startups. Amboy Street Ventures is an active investor and adds value above and beyond capital. Its dedicated Value Enhancement Team supports portfolio companies with marketing & branding, sales & distribution, product development & scientific innovation and public education resources through its position within the Healthy Pleasure Group, an ecosystem dedicated to solving the problems that startups face in the Sexual Health and Women’s Health Tech market. Thesis: Amboy Street Ventures invests in the Seed and Series A rounds of Sexual Health & Women’s Health Technology startups that are progressing the industry in America and Europe. Funding stage: Seed and Series A SoGal Ventures About: As the first female-led millennial venture capital firm, SoGal Ventures represents how far our generation has come, and how deep our impact on the world can be. We believe in the power of diversity, borderless business, and human-centric design. We invest in seed stage diverse founding teams in the U.S. and Asia, and aim to be the first institutional investor for our portfolio companies. Our investments paint the future picture of how we live, work, and stay healthy. Thesis: Next generation of living, working and staying healthy, created by and for the rest of us. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Urban Innovation Fund About: A venture capital firm that provides seed capital and regulatory support to entrepreneurs shaping the future of cities – helping them grow into tomorrow’s most valued companies. Thesis: The Urban Innovation Fund invests in startups enhancing the livability, sustainability, and economic vitality of our cities. Funding stage: Seed, Pre-Seed Recast Capital About: Recast Capital is a platform supporting and investing in emerging managers in venture capital. As our name suggests, we are breaking the traditional mold and doing things a bit differently. Thesis: Our founders experienced first-hand the shift that was taking place in venture and came together with a clear view of what was needed in the industry: an institutional-grade intermediary to help investors access the opportunity presented by emerging managers, and create a way to support those managers in the process. Funding stage: Pre-Seed, Seed Start Your Next Round with Visible We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VCs and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like you. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. After learning more about them with the profile information and resources given you can reach out to them with a tailored email. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors. After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.