Upfront Ventures’ Post

Can I see your pitch deck? Yes, you can. Here's the SMOK Ventures pitch deck I show to startup founders who are potentially interested in taking our money. I believe every VC should have a deck showcasing the value they bring to founders. Here's ours. Let me know what's missing!

Many founders get tempted to hire a seed broker after facing the tremendous amount of work that comes with fundraising for a startup business. Before you become one of those founders, watch this video first.

Are you letting investors steer your startup off course? 🚀 Here's the hard truth new founders often miss: 1. Be cautious with capital – raising too much can sidetrack you. 💰 2. Prioritize customer acquisition over chasing checks. 🎯 3. Picking the wrong investor? That's a recipe for disaster. ⚠️ Your startup is your vision. Guard it fiercely. 🔥 What’s your biggest funding lesson learned?

Time is precious when you are pitching your startup in front of VCs at a partner meeting, so you want to make sure you are utilizing all your time correctly. One technique to try here is to practice two versions of your slides: short and long. “The former will help prepare you for a situation where you’re being interrupted non-stop, while the latter helps you in the situation where all you hear are crickets,” says First Round Partner Liz Wessel. As a former founder, Wessel remembers the significance (and the pressure) that comes from preparing for a first-time fundraise. She shares seven more strategies of how seed stage founders can nail their first VC partner meeting at the link in the comments. 👇

I met with a general partner of a leading VC fund at a conference that had corporates, startups, investors in attendance and I have been thinking on the difference of motives for each attendee. I was super focused on finding really cool startups to invest and network with other VC funds for deal-flow and co-investing. The general partners' agenda was only to build relationships with corporates and some HNI that can potentially be an LP. I asked why little focus on the startups to which he replied: "The great startups will find their way to us, got to put more energy into LP relationship" The role of GP sounds more fundraising and PR than working with startups (of-course it varies); At this point in my life, I like putting in the hours with the founders/ceo, deep diving into every aspect of the business. I wonder how the emerging fund managers feel about the shift?

Do you have a TAM / SAM / SOM slide in your pitch deck? Well, GET RID OF IT... (kind of). 😮 Dan Bowyer of Superseed Ventures has what some may think is a radical view of what seems to be a universal slide found in startup pitch decks. But it's hard to argue with his points. Check out the clip, then head over and watch the full video on "How to Create a Killer Pitch Deck." Part of the London Fundraising Summit we did in collaboration with SeedLegals and Notion.

Our new guide, Top VC Predictions for 2025, is now available for founders, leaders & investors. Comment "Top VC" and I'll send you the guide!

🚀 Exciting News: Introducing Backable Ventures! 🚀 Excited to announce the official launch of Backable Ventures - a game-changing community for underestimated founders who are ready to secure the bag! 💼💰 Why Backable Ventures? We're not your average accelerator or incubator We've cracked the code on what makes founders irresistible to investors Our founders have already raised over $5 million in funding Our mission? To help diverse, early-stage founders become so backable that investors can't help but reach for their checkbooks. If you're: ✅ A founder ready to hustle for that fundraising gold ✅ Open to a fresh, contrarian approach to fundraising & scaling your startup ✅ Eager to join a community more valuable than a black book of VC contacts Then it's time to hop on the Backable express! We want to flip the script on traditional fundraising and show the world what happens when underestimated founders become unstoppable. Hop on the Backable Express & Join the Fam: https://lnkd.in/eQNqNT99

We're so excited to announce that Griff has officially become a member of York Angels - an angel investor organisation providing seed capital and support to startups with strong connections to York. Through this partnership, York Angels have kindly invited us to join many of their start-up pitches and networking events. In return we're looking to be able to use our pitching practise, and industry specific knowledge to help early start-ups have a sounding board and some help in creating their pitches before meeting with investors. From the members of the fund, we're really looking forward to expanding our knowledge into the world of start-up funding and having the opportunity to surround ourselves with a community of ambitious start-up founders.

Starting the year with fresh capital from a recent seed round? Here are 3 ways to benchmark goals to get to the next level for your startup: 1. Talk to Series A investors - Understand their expectations - Focus on growth rates, top-line revenue, and product 2. Connect with founders who've raised Series A - Learn from their experiences - Leverage your investor network for introductions 3. Create a realistic pro forma - Be intellectually honest about your capabilities - Set stretch goals, not impossible ones Remember: Not all seed rounds are created equal. Your benchmarks should reflect your unique situation and resources.