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Most Pioneer Fund companies send monthly updates (some quarterly), and we read every update across the portfolio of 500+ companies. I actually still personally read every update. Most startups send updates with these sections, and it works well: - High level metrics (revenue, maybe another key metric or two like GMV or MAU, growth since last month, cash in bank, burn rate, runway). Many of the most consistently-growing or fastest-growing companies also include a revenue graph. - Highlights - Lowlights - Investor asks - Maybe a couple investor shoutouts from last month - Some short commentary on what the current priorities are, what's coming next, etc. Some founders like to include a special section or two. A few of my favorites: - Photos or videos of technical progress for hardware companies - One of our founders sends a self rating on a scale of 0-10 for the month, along with detailed explanation. Pretty impressive. - A zoomed out view of how the mission/vision/strategy is specifically evolving - Some have very detailed additional sections that are specific to their business. E.g. manufacturing updates, distribution updates, regulatory updates, etc. Each investor update may only take a few minutes to read, but they are the summary of the hard work of an entire team for an entire month, often fighting uphill or sprinting downhill or exploring the idea maze. We're always grateful reading them.

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While some VCs may scoff at this strategy, it's actually an interesting one for emerging Southeast Asia where most of VC investing has been likened to "small- to mid-cap PE investing" (s/o to Dmitry Levit). Big opportunity for VCs that bring operator and PE chops. https://lnkd.in/g7N9tYfT

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How I build Seasonality forecasts 👇 ~~~ 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥: grab the template here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKDEu5Rt ~~~ 1. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 In the "Historical Revenue" section I pull together several years of history (if available) and stack them together by month. At the bottom I calculate "Total of All Years" which gives me a grand total by month over the last [6] years. 2. 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 I take the respective monthly totals and divide them by the grand total Revenue over that time period. This gives me my "Seasonality Curve, As Calculated," which serves as a reference point for the forecast (a weighted-average of the history). Then, right below that, I have "Seasonality Curve, for Model," which allows the user to make any changes to the expected seasonality curve for this year. (Default is just to leave the curve alone) 3. 𝗣&𝗟 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 Now that I have my curve, I simply punch in the expected Revenue and Gross Margin (the two light-yellow input cells), and extrapolate those figures for each month based on the seasonality curve. The Revenue and Margin forecasts come from the Management Team. My job as the FP&A Professional is challenge their assumptions: - Will our seasonality be different this year? - Why $2.7mm? - Why 20% Margin? 4. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 The Revenue and COGS get linked back to my Three Statement Model. If I need to make changes, I come back to my seasonality tab, make the change, and trust that my Three Statement Model will update accordingly. (meaning my Working Capital will also change correctly) 5. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 Lastly, I will always have double-checks confirming: - My seasonality curve equals 100% - The Revenue and COGS in the Schedule match the Three Statement Model - The Gross Profit in the Schedule matches the Three Statement Model All of these double-checks will feed into a Control Panel I have as the first page in my model. 6. 𝗗𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 For a new product line I just type "Alt + e + m," create a copy of the tab, and rename for a new product line. I'll build as many small, simple schedules as I need to create a comprehensive model that is easy to follow. (I just find it easier this way than stacking multiple seasonality curves on a single tab, but you can do that too if you'd prefer) ~~~ 👋 Hey, I'm Chris Reilly, and I teach Financial Modeling based on real Private Equity and FP&A experience. 𝘱.𝘴. don't forget to grab the template (link at top of post 👆)

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How I build Seasonality forecasts 👇 ~~~ 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥: grab the template here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKDEu5Rt ~~~ 1. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 In the "Historical Revenue" section I pull together several years of history (if available) and stack them together by month. At the bottom I calculate "Total of All Years" which gives me a grand total by month over the last [6] years. 2. 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 I take the respective monthly totals and divide them by the grand total Revenue over that time period. This gives me my "Seasonality Curve, As Calculated," which serves as a reference point for the forecast (a weighted-average of the history). Then, right below that, I have "Seasonality Curve, for Model," which allows the user to make any changes to the expected seasonality curve for this year. (Default is just to leave the curve alone) 3. 𝗣&𝗟 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 Now that I have my curve, I simply punch in the expected Revenue and Gross Margin (the two light-yellow input cells), and extrapolate those figures for each month based on the seasonality curve. The Revenue and Margin forecasts come from the Management Team. My job as the FP&A Professional is challenge their assumptions: - Will our seasonality be different this year? - Why $2.7mm? - Why 20% Margin? 4. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 The Revenue and COGS get linked back to my Three Statement Model. If I need to make changes, I come back to my seasonality tab, make the change, and trust that my Three Statement Model will update accordingly. (meaning my Working Capital will also change correctly) 5. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 Lastly, I will always have double-checks confirming: - My seasonality curve equals 100% - The Revenue and COGS in the Schedule match the Three Statement Model - The Gross Profit in the Schedule matches the Three Statement Model All of these double-checks will feed into a Control Panel I have as the first page in my model. 6. 𝗗𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 For a new product line I just type "Alt + e + m," create a copy of the tab, and rename for a new product line. I'll build as many small, simple schedules as I need to create a comprehensive model that is easy to follow. (I just find it easier this way than stacking multiple seasonality curves on a single tab, but you can do that too if you'd prefer) ~~~ 👋 Hey, I'm Chris Reilly, and I can help you become the go-to Financial Modeler in just 8 hours. ⚡ p.s., Biggest sale of the year 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6B7y9yk

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Pitching to investors? Here’s what your deck should cover : Introduction- Bold statement/your personal story The Problem Your solution Your product The Market The Team Your Ask Key is to keep every slide simple, with key information. No information overload. Glad I attended the workshop on how to build your pitchdeck by Peter Thomsen The guy’s a legend. Did I miss anything?

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Startup decks vs Business plans. It's accepted that a startup needs a deck. Dax Dasilva of Lightspeed Commerce made an important point on 20VC. Writing a business plan - including financial projections - is an important step. It requires discipline. It provides a rigorous framework for thinking deeply about the problem you're trying to solve. Harry Stebbings countered that he doesn't even want to see a deck since it's all dreams. We spent a lot of time and energy on our business plan with the expectation that we would show it to no one ever. The business plan was part of our roadmap for the company. We researched customers - including having 50+ conversations. We wanted to understand them: their background, their interests, their presence on social media. We also wanted to understand how they were evaluated by leadership and how integrated they were with the business of the company they were protecting. We researched pricing both with potential customers and other products in our industry to find out if OpEx or CapEx was a better fit. How did they buy today? How would they like to buy? We did market research to understand the verticals and map the right entry point - we were wrong but that doesn't reduce the value of the research. We looked at competitors in depth to understand what they were seeing that we weren't. Dax is right. This is an invaluable document that should be updated every year - the company is changing, the market is changing, there's more feedback about price and ICP. It's not for sharing with the outside world. It's a map for driving forward. Decks won't get you investment - VCs invest in people. We make decks but we know they don't tell our story. The deck is a calling card. Dax and Harry are both right. https://lnkd.in/e25M82xY

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Running a startup is lonely. As the co-founder and managing partner at Bonfire Ventures and Double M ($1B AUM), I’ve invested in over 100 companies, with notable seed investments in Trade Desk (IPO, $40B market cap), Scopely (sold for $5B), Figment (valued at $1.5B), and many others.  I'm getting lots of DMs from talented founders and aspiring VCs seeking guidance on fundraising and product market fit. So, I've opened up 5 exclusive 1:1 mentorship slots on @Intro. 50% of the proceeds will go to charity. What can we cover together? ✔️ Fundraising from VCs ✔️ Feedback on your pitch ✔️ Advice on selling your company ✔️ How to start and manage a VC fund Disclaimer - only book time if you are interested in no BS advice Honored to be alongside world-class Experts like @Andrew Chen (partner at a16z), @Eric Futoran (founder of Scopely) & @Katelin Holloway (founding partner at 776 Ventures). Comment “interested” and secure your spot now: intro.co/markmullen

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100x multiples on AI businesses gives you an idea of where the VC money is flowing and that the slot machines appear to be back in full operation, but only for AI. 100XEV means on a pre-revenue basis a company with a somewhat coherent AI story can take their 409a and multiply it out by 100X. The only thing taking money at that valuation will ensure is you go flying through the windshield in 24 months. Run as fast and as hard as you can from it. Theoretically this means a company with $1m EV showing it is doubling can raise at $100M.

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Founders, if you are having trouble selling your product, you don't need to immediately pivot your product. Instead, I recommend pivoting your goto market first. Check out the video below to find out how.

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How my VC background has helped me build Aquaria in 3 powerful ways: 1) Manage capital better — Raising capital is just the start, then we have to execute in the right direction. I understand which parts of our business we need to de-risk at each stage, and what milestones we are working towards. 2) Manage human capital — getting other people excited to work with us is a long-term strategy for Aquaria. Fast and nimble teams that are 120% dedicated moves mountains. 3) Prioritize — it's clear to me what order I need to prioritize things like marketing, sales, R&D, etc. My own ability to create massive output in the beginning is crucial to success. Most would say my background is unique. And they’d be right. Aquaria’s mission is unique. And appropriate leadership is needed to make it a reality. — If you’re a DeepTech investor looking to support a company working on one of the most overlooked climate issues (water), send me a DM on LinkedIn. Happy to have a chat.

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𝗔 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 This guide provides a detailed overview of the venture capital ecosystem, helping founders navigate the complexities of securing VC funding. Key insights include: 1️⃣ Where VC Money Comes From: Learn how venture funds are backed by pension funds, endowments, and high-net-worth individuals. 2️⃣ How VCs Operate: Understand the structure of venture funds, including the roles of General Partners (GPs) and Limited Partners (LPs). 3️⃣ VC Decision-Making: Explore how VCs source deals, evaluate opportunities, and decide which startups to fund. 4️⃣ Economic Dynamics: Gain insights into VC compensation, including management fees, carried interest, and return structures. 5️⃣ Things to Consider: Assess if venture capital aligns with your startup’s growth trajectory, funding needs, and long-term goals. PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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I’m going to invest $9M into early-stage startups in the next 6 months. 15 companies. $600k per investment. 🚨 Big problem statements 🚨 Sector agnostic  🚨 Building from Singapore  🚨 Pre-launch, pre-seed, and seed funding 🚨 Open to individuals who are still ideating, as well as, companies with co-founders that are already building - - - If you’re still ideating, comment "STEALTH" below and I'll message you. If you’re already building, comment "BUILD". If you know people building the most defining technology companies, tag them below or share this with your network. - - - Antler is a global early-stage VC investing in the world’s most driven founders across 30 cities including Singapore and across Southeast Asia. By investing from day zero, we are the earliest backer for startups as well as a long-term capital partner that provides follow-on funding of up to $10M for growth-stage startups at Series A and beyond. Want to reach us sooner? In addition to the above, connect with us at antler.co/singapore

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Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem has been hurt by over-investing. I know it sounds counter-intuitive. Most understand increased capital to a region as a good thing. But to a less mature region, it can lead to unintended consequences. The vicious cycle: 1. VCs raise big funds from LPs built on promises of return 2. Strategies working elsewhere are applied to the region (unsuccessfully) 3. Performance isn’t up to the minimum hurdle. 4. External investors lose confidence and shy from investing here Might sound like an exaggeration, but part of it is exactly what's happened. Despite various tailwinds, Southeast Asia has had one of the lowest DPIs for the past years The silver lining? It’s a phase that most ecosystems and markets go through. Even Silicon Valley went through its ups and downs. In the 90s, investors went on an investing frenzy into dot-com companies. When the crash came, $1.755T of value was wiped from internet stocks. Today, Silicon Valley continues to have more VCs than anywhere in the globe. Southeast Asia is still fundamentally solid.  But it will take time for it to prove itself. We have the raw ingredients for success—talent, growing digital adoption, untapped industries. What we need now is to recalibrate from this experience. I know there are brilliant founders building for SEA and investors need to be ready to back them responsibly. Capital structures + support are a crucial starting point alongside other factors. Policymakers, VC, and founders working together THROUGH this RESET on a nuanced approach that is catered to this region will get us there much more quickly. If we heed the lessons well, there’s only one way to go and that’s up.

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Next to CAC/LTV, I would argue that the most important metric in a company might be net dollar renewal (NDR) – or net revenue retention (NRR), depending on your business model. I wrote about churn in an earlier post. Clearly, churn will be picked up on both these metrics. It probably is one of the three or four most important metrics amongst public SaaS companies that external investors use to evaluate the company in privately held, smaller companies that don't have PE money. I have found that organizations that do not have a public company or PE ownership structure tend to sometimes lack discipline on this very important metric. If this metric is not treated with reverence within your organization, you as a leader may want to think about how you can change the culture in order to pay homage to it. #metrics #SaaS #churn

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The Ultimate Cheat Sheet collection for SaaS leaders & Founders - by Vencha, Included #VC & Notion Capital Here you have 15 cheat sheets on marketing, sales, fundraising, pitch decks and more: 💵 How to price and package your software ? 🎢 The 5 prospect stages 🚀How fundable is your company? 💸 Leadership transitions at different stages of business growth 🎯 SaaS monetisation in 8 steps 🕹️ Identifying your market: TAM, SAM & SOM demystified 🛠️ How to skyrocket SaaS sales? ⚖️ The ICP Grid, goal setting and how to prioritize ? #Fintech #saas #CheatSheet #isaphr #isapone #isapsolutions #starthubagency #isapinvestments www.isap.group www.isap.one www.isap.hr www.isap.agency www.isap.investments iSAP Solutions ltd iSAP ONE iSAP.HR StartHub.Agency iSAP Group Investments ltd Tino Herold

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Founders: Can I interest you in lunch on us? Yes, we’re back with another ecosystem initiative from Tin Men Capital Namely: TINFLUN (There is no free lunch until now) It’ll be held in a unique format: 🔸5-6 VC funds across investment stages will be in attendance. 🔸Fundraising founders get to seat with a GP/VC investing in their stage/sector. 🔸Only 6-8 founders per table. 🔸Conversations will be had, deals could be made. The best of all? Lunch is free for founders! All thanks to our amazing sponsors. For those fundraising from Seed to Growth (Series A/B) stage, It’s a nice opportunity to meet VCs in a casual setting. Especially in the current fundraising climate where interest is tougher to find. As with any of our events typically (and even more so for this), This event on the 30th of August will likely be oversubscribed very quickly. 🥲 Bring an empty stomach and your fundraising-hat. Murli Ravi , myself and our other participating VCs Hsu Ken Ooi , Arshad Chowdhury , Tanuja Rajah , Karan Mohla look very much forward to see you there. P.S. Will leave the link in the comments - more info there. Credits to John T. for the funky name.

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$1.7B: the valuation of Zuora, a profitable public SaaS company with $415M in ARR because, 4.25x multiple Also, $1.7B: a run-of-the-mill Series B valuation in Generative AI (revenue optional) because, vibes (I know, I know, low growth at Zuora, but still)

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A lot has been said about PMF—Product Market Fit, which is about having a product (or service) that the market repeatedly buys, recommends and from which you make money. However, there is a second type of PMF—Product Marketing Fit. Let's call it PMF2. PMF2 is when you devise a marketing or sales plan that at least brings your one-year LTV divided by CAC to 1. That means when your one-year sales value (including repeats from the same cohort), say it's Rs. 1000 from a cohort, your CAC for that cohort should also be Rs. 1000. Even better, if your CM1 from the sale is Rs. 400, then your CAC for that cohort is also Rs. 400 or lesser. However, most founders struggle with this; their CAC is too high to give the all-important CM1 (for the year)/CAC = 1 From what I have seen, there are three big causes: A. They are impatient and don't realise that buying is a journey. They put out offers and other ads, pushing people to buy. They set up "sales" campaigns on online platforms. While this produces some quick wins, it causes CAC to remain high: because CPA performance is low! The correct approach is to take customers on a journey known as AIDA: Awareness Interest Desire Action At the 1st stage, Awareness, you make customers aware of the problem they have: for example, your smartphone is too slow. Next, at Interest, you deepen that message: Expert opinions on what could be done with a faster smartphone. Then, at Desire, you get them to the point where they really want the product: testimonials from people who benefited from the faster smartphone. Lastly, at Action, close the deal by giving them an offer, or addressing objections they may have: Smartphone with 0% EMI (BTW, Apple got AT&T in the US to bundle the iPhone with their subscription plan and that is what made it a huge hit). B. Extensive research shows that people need to see your message 16 times before it registers! Till then your brand is invisible. Not keeping this in mind, many marketers try and close the message with just a few exposures. Even when using AIDA, less than 16 is too few. C. Many marketers stick to a single type of media. Such as Digital. Even worse, they may only use one channel, like Meta. Yes it's easy, load up some creatives and let the algorithm do the rest. Result: High CAC. What is needed is a multiple media approach: Digital, TV, Billboards, Event, Newspapers, etc. Hope this help. Good LuCAC ! Ps. The above with suitable tweaks works great for B2B as well

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Sequoia Capital the VC behind #Airbnb, #PayPal, and #YouTube, has set the gold standard for storytelling in fundraising. Their pitch deck template is more than a guide—it’s a proven framework to craft a narrative that resonates with investors. It covers: ▪️ Purpose: Why your company exists ▪️ Problem: What pain you solve ▪️ Solution: Why your product is the answer ▪️ Why Now: Timing is everything ▪️ Market: The size of your opportunity ▪️ Team: The people behind the vision This template has helped countless founders raise capital and refine their vision. Sharing the full document here—hope it’s as useful to you as it’s been to so many others! 🚀 Enjoyed the post? Follow Rubén Domínguez Ibar for more You can also join 100,000+ founders and VCs who receive these insights in my weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dtifw4mC

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