What your cap table tells an investor in the first 30 seconds
Before anyone reads your deck closely, the ownership spreadsheet has already answered the questions that matter. Here is what they are and how to fix the wrong answers.
Investors
How angels and venture capital firms decide, and how founders work with them.
How to build a startup board that actually helps you run the company
Most founders inherit a board one financing at a time. Here is how to shape its seats, its meetings and its paperwork so it adds judgment instead of friction.
How a venture capital fund works, and why it changes who it backs
Fees, carry, fund life and the math of returning a fund explain most investor behavior that founders find puzzling. A plain guide to the machine behind the check.
How to price an accelerator offer before you give up equity
An accelerator deal is a financing with a valuation hidden inside it. How to calculate what you are really paying and the questions to ask before you sign.
Accelerator, incubator, studio or corporate program: who wants what
Early-stage programs look alike from the outside but want very different things from founders. How each model makes money and the terms that reveal it.
The monthly investor update that gets read, and gets answered
A plain, consistent update is one of the cheapest tools a founder has. Here is a structure that builds trust and turns passive investors into useful ones.
The SaaS metrics investors check first, and how they spot inflated numbers
Recurring revenue, retention and payback periods drive how SaaS companies are valued. Here is how each is defined, where founders bend them and how diligence catches it.
What angel investing really costs a founder writing small checks
Founders get offered deals constantly. Before writing checks, understand the illiquidity, the follow-on pressure, the tax mechanics and the time it takes.
What a 10-K tells an operator that a press release never will
Public companies' annual reports hold pricing, cost and risk detail your competitors and customers are legally required to disclose. Here is where to look.
Why interest rates quietly set the price of your startup
Central bank decisions reach private company valuations through discount rates, public comparables and fund flows. How the chain works, and what to watch.
What to wear to an investor meeting, and why it matters less than you fear
Clothes will not win the round but they can distract from the pitch, so here is how to dress to keep attention on the company, in person and on video.