Sourcing Deal Flow for the Fund

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In running a VC fund, you’ll need to set up deal flow sources and run screening processes.

First, set up three to five quality deal flow sources that provide a consistent flow of startups to review.

Maintain those relationships and provide feedback to the deal flow source about what you are seeing and what you are looking for.

It takes more than telling people what you look for, it takes reminding too.

There are a large number of deals seeking funding.

You’ll need to set up a process for selecting deals to review in depth.

Start with basic deal flow criteria around revenue, sector, and stage.

Spend a minute or two on each deal to determine if it fits your criteria.

If it does, then spend a few more minutes reviewing the deal for showstoppers.

For deals that pass the initial screen, set up a call to discuss.

Design an efficient process for meeting startups -- conference calls, local coffeeshop, your office, etc.

If the meeting goes well, ask for a standard set of documents such as a pitch deck and recent financial statements.

Meet with the team to discuss the deal and invite for a pitch to the rest of the team.

Allocate 15 hours a week to deal-flow sourcing, including screening, calling, and meeting new deals.

As soon as you reach a ‘no’ decision, tell the startup so they are not kept waiting.

Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.
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On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall welcomes Wen Zhang, Fundraising and Startup Advisor, Pitch Expert, Professional Speaker, Founder and CEO of INNW Institute, and Host of “If Not Now, Wen, Podcast.” 

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the INNW Institute helps individuals, from first-time founders to seasoned executives, polish their pitch, develop the strategy and execute a vision.

Making a perfect pitch is like making a peanut butter jelly sandwich. It requires the perfect amount of peanut butter on one slide, which is all the business fundamentals, such as your business model, pricing strategy; on the other hand, you need the right amount of strawberry jelly, which is your passion, your why, the way how you tell the story. We need the right amount of both on the bread to make a perfect bite.​

Dreaming of venturing into the world while growing up in an isolated mountain town in rural China, Wen completely transformed her life by teaching herself English using a cassette machine. Despite countless challenges, she pushed forward to become the only person who ever left her hometown and achieves her dream of seeing the world four years later.

Wen succeeded (and failed) in both the startup and corporate world and has experience in software, hardware, and service-based business models. She also has experience in launching a new business, expanding the market internationally, and scaling and managing global enterprise business. In a Fortune 500 company, she is leading a $320M yearly product portfolio while managing 400 sales teams across the North American region. She is passionate about supporting founders to grow and scale their ventures, working through their business model as well as the pitching process to connect and resonate with investors and customers via pitch deck.

On her podcast, you will meet different entrepreneurs who have accomplished unimaginable feats to share their dreams, the ups, the downs, and everything in between, while giving you a peek behind the curtains of how they make it possible!

Wen holds a Master's Degree in Marketing and Advertising from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Duke University.

Visit the INNW Institute at www.ifnotnowwen.com, and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/innw-institute.

Listen to the If Not Now, Wen, Podcast at www.ifnotnowwen.com/podcast. 

Reach out to Wen at wen@ifnotnowwen.com, and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/wenzhangdukemba/.

_______________________________________________________

For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org  

Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ 
For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ 
For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ 
For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ 
For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/  

For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group   

Please follow, share, and leave a review.

Music courtesy of Bensound.