When founders think about raising, almost all the attention goes into the deck, or nailing the 3-minute pitch. That's what gets the door open. But it's nowhere near enough for a VC to actually wire you money. Today I want to go deep on due diligence, and specifically on legal DD. For that, I got on a call with a law firm that has done close to 200 investment due diligences, and knows this process by heart. TL;DR → A signed term sheet means you're 90%+ likely to close. Legal DD is what still...
22 days ago • 7 min read
VC is a relationship business. If you want to fundraise successfully, you have to know the people behind the funds. And for most founders I know, this is the single most frustrating part of the whole process. So naturally, most default to applying directly though the VCs websites, or sending cold emails. And sadly they won’t even get a response in this way. So today, I want to go deep on approaching investors in the right way. First, the HOW. We’ll look at three ways to get in front of an...
2 months ago • 5 min read
When I was in venture capital, it wasn’t uncommon to ask founders “What’s your runway?”. And way too often I’d get back “1 month”. Which meant the company will be out of money in 1 month’s time. That’s waaaay too little time to close your round, and it sends a very wrong signal to investors: you are raising out of desperation. To avoid this, I drafted today’s newsletter: my guide to structuring your fundraising process, step by step. And because fundraising is a huge topic that you can look...
3 months ago • 8 min read
Ever heard the term “venture-scale” company? Beyond anything else, this refers to how large a company can become (fast). And you might wonder what large means… well, large: it should be valued in the billions. To put in perspective: At a 10x revenue multiple at exit, this means annual revenues in the hundreds of millions (like $100M+ per year). If your company doesn’t have this potential from the outset, chances are you’ve been rejected by VCs, or you’ll hear you’re “not venture-scale” at one...
4 months ago • 4 min read
I often feel like 95% of the fundraising discussion revolves around the pitch deck. The exact slides to cover, the exact design, which template to use. And I see founders obsess over it for weeks, or even months… But while important, your deck’s job is actually quite limited: to get you to a meeting. That’s it. If your deck sparks enough curiosity that an investor wants to hop on a call with you, it did its job. If instead it’s confusing, too detailed, or misses key points entirely, it...
5 months ago • 8 min read
Many founders think raising money is about having a great pitch. Send your deck, wow them in 30 minutes, get a check. I wish. After sitting through dozens of investment decisions as a VC, I can tell you the investment process is way more structured, way more layered, and way more competitive than most people realize. So let me walk you through exactly what happens behind the scenes, from the moment a VC sees your name to the moment money hits your account. It starts with dealflow Dealflow is...
6 months ago • 4 min read
So often I feel like the entire pitching discussion revolves around one thing: how to pitch your startup in 3 minutes, on stage. In reality, most deals (almost all of them actually) don’t happen this way. They happen behind closed doors, in a 1-on-1 meeting. You and the VC you’re speaking with. That’s it. So when I hear the word “pitching,” I don’t think of those 3-minute stage pitches. I think of the entire long-form meeting. An actual conversation, with questions and answers, where you...
6 months ago • 4 min read
It’s one of the most common questions I get: “How do I know how much I should raise?” And while there is some (simple) math involved, calculating your funding needs is easier than you think. On the flipside, one of the worst answers you can give? “We are flexible, we’ll accept as much as the VC is willing to give” If you don’t know how much you need and why, how can investors trust you to spend their money wisely? Here’s what you need to do, step-by-step: Step 1: Start with Your Goals (Not...
7 months ago • 4 min read
If I have to sum up 2025 in a few words, it would be AI, deeptech, megarounds. As we entered into 2026, many of the leading organizations researching VC & startups issued their 2025 reports. So, I went through a few and summarised my findings below. Overview Funding came back in 2025, but has still not reached its peak in 2021. In the US, total private investment reached $327.8B in 2025, up 66% year over year. The recovery was fast and heavily driven by late-stage AI rounds. Europe recovered...
7 months ago • 4 min read