The Fundraising Playbook
7 Chapters
Chapter 1 - Internal alignment and budget set‑up
Chapter 2 – Fully lit pitch deck & teaser
Chapter 3 – Full investor‑grade financial model
Chapter 4 – Investor‑grade data room
Chapter 5 – Curated investor pipeline of 50–100 qualified contacts
Chapter 6 – Term sheet received and competitive process
Chapter 7 – Post‑raise governance & investor updates
“99% of founders are not capital ready”
– Every investor who receives 250 pitch decks per month
Chapter 1
Within 4 weeks, secure alignment with co‑founders/board on a 12‑18 month cash‑use plan that maps 80% of the budget to no more than 3 concrete product or revenue milestones.
What you need to get there
Agree on a single “why” for the round – e.g., “expand to two new markets” or “double engineering headcount to ship v3”.
Build a milestone‑based budget that shows how every €100k will be spent.
Calculate a preliminary valuation range (use 2–3 comparable rounds).
Define the exact amount you will raise (target + 25% buffer) and the resulting ownership dilution (max 20%).
Chapter 2
A 12‑slide pitch deck and a 1‑page teaser that, when tested with 5 neutral advisors, results in an average “interest to learn more” score of ≥8/10.
What you need to get there
Problem + solution slides: clear, quantifiable evidence of pain point.
Market slide: TAM, SAM, SOM with credible sources.
Traction slide: 3–6 months of revenue, user, or partnership metrics.
Team slide: showcase relevant prior exits or domain experience.
Use of proceeds: directly linked to the budget from Milestone 1.
Chapter 3
An Excel/Google Sheets model that ties 3‑year monthly P&L to unit economics, shows LTV:CAC >3x, and projects 12‑18 months of runway after the round – all within 5 working days of a data‑room request.
What you need to get there
Historical P&L, balance sheet, cash flow (last 12 months).
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) per channel.
Lifetime value (LTV) and LTV:CAC ratio.
Three scenarios: base, upside (best case), downside (worst case).
Full monthly cash forecast for 36 months after the close.
Chapter 4
A virtual data room (Dropbox, DealRoom, etc.) that contains 12 mandatory folders (financials, legal, customer contracts, IP, etc.) and can be accessed by a prospective lead within 1 hour of request.
What you need to get there
Folder 1 – Corporate documents
Folder 2 – Historical & audited financials (last 3 years).
Folder 3 – Cap table modelled in Carta/Pulley.
Folder 4 – Customer contracts
Folder 5 – Vendor agreements
Folder 6 – IP and assignments.
Folder 7 - Quality of Earnings
Chapter 5
A CRM (Visible, Notion, etc.) containing at least 50 qualified investors (angels, family offices, VCs) whose stage, cheque size, and sector match your company, with the top 15 already contacted.
What you need to get there
Segment investors by type: micro‑VC (€1‑10M fund), family office (€10‑100M), seed funds (€100‑500M), etc.
Use Crunchbase, PitchBook, or Dealroom to collect email/LinkedIn profiles.
Prioritise by “warm‑ness” (warm introductions from advisors / existing investors).
Build a 3‑touch outreach sequence (LinkedIn → email → follow‑up)
Chapter 6
Within 6‑12 weeks after first outreach, obtain at least 2 competitive term sheets, with the lead term sheet delivering a pre‑money valuation ≥80% of your original target.
What you need to get there
Lead investor due diligence: financial, legal, commercial, product, team.
Term sheet negotiation (valuation, liquidation preference, board seat, anti‑dilution).
Reference calls with the lead investor’s existing portfolio founders.
Legal drafting of SHA, SPA, investor rights agreement.
Chapter 7
Within 30 days after close, implement a monthly investor update that is sent on the 5th of each month and has a median open rate of >70% for the first 6 months.
What you need to get there
Board pack template – KPI dashboard, narrative (wins/risks), rolling forecast, action items.
Cap table updated with the new round and option pool.
Monthly 15‑min “cash‑call” with leadership.
Rolling 12‑month forecast with scenario analysis.
Risk register reviewed quarterly by the board.