If so, ensuring your cap table and data room are pristine could be the difference between a smooth, swift raise and a drawn-out, costly process.
At TechCrunch Early Stage 2024, join Fidelity Private Shares’ session, “Preparing to Raise: Cap Table Best Practices to Help You Close Fast” to gain invaluable insights from industry experts.
Whether you’re a first-time founder or a seasoned entrepreneur, mastering cap table management is essential for a successful fundraising journey.
Meet the speakersKristen Craft, vice president and business partner manager at Fidelity Private Shares, brings a wealth of experience from both sides of the startup equation.
At Fidelity, she spearheads initiatives to support founders and investors with equity management tools, fundraising strategy, and go-to-market best practices.
Was the fundraising process any more or less difficult this time given the market?
If you really rewind the clock, back in 2018 when we raised our sixteenth fund, it was a “normal” environment.
There’s obviously a valuation reset going on for every company seemingly that’s not a large language model company, which is a lot of companies.
I’d guess that gives you easier access to top companies, but also hurts some of your existing portfolio companies.
I don’t think anyone has ever reached a great venture outcome feeling like, ‘Man, I got a steal on that deal.’ You always feel slightly uncomfortable.
DCVC wanted to raise $500M for its first climate fund, but the market had other plansDCVC’s target for its first climate-focused fund, DCVC Climate Select, has been all over the place and highlights the roller coaster venture fundraising conditions of the last few years, and how LPs aren’t as quick to back new strategies from established managers.
The Silicon Valley VC firm launched the fund in December 2022 with a $500 million target, according to a SEC filing.
This climate fund is targeting climate startups at the mid-stages where the firm thinks the climate startup ecosystem is currently underfunded, according to materials from a recent New Mexico State Investment Council meeting where the GP presented.
Tiger Global’s latest fund raised $2.2 billion of its $6 billion target.
In the first half of 2023, firms including Founders Fund, Insight Partners and TCV all slashed their fund targets.
But it’s unlikely that startups’ fundraising slog will become much easier soon, mostly because of venture capitalists’ own capital-gathering challenges.
In Q1, U.S. VC funds raised only $9.3 billion, according to PitchBook data.
At this pace, VC fundraising will end 2024 at just above $37 billion, the lowest capital raised since 2013 and a 54% decline from last year.
PitchBook estimates that dry powder, the amount of capital VCs still have to invest from previous funds, remains high.
“One low fundraising quarter is not going to make or break the future of VC,” said Kyle Stanford, lead venture capital analyst at PitchBook.
Raising capital sounds simple: You hand over shares, investors hand over cash, and everyone then gets back to work.
She’s coming to TechCrunch’s Early Stage event next month on April 25 to not only present on early-stage fundraising topics, but also to answer your questions.
Early Stage is one of our most popular events, so don’t delay — I’ll see you in April, pen in hand, listening to Whiting.
Early Stage 2024 prices go up March 31.
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at TechCrunch Early Stage 2024?
As Techstars retools, some former staffers say it lost focus on what made it successfulWell-known accelerator group Techstars announced a slew of changes to its operations this week, including the shuttering of some of its city-based programs.
And one former Techstars managing director (MD) told TechCrunch that the move away from local fundraising for city-based accelerator programs was an error.
One former managing director (MD) said that having local limited partner investors in Techstars meant that more people in those cities had a stake in its local programs.
The shift away from local capital and more focus on corporate dollars meant that city-based boosters and founders were less central to Techstars’ focus, the MD said.
Still, Techstars faces competition, not just from Y Combinator domestically, but from other accelerator programs in the US and elsewhere around the world.
Here’s what to know to raise a Series A right nowThere is good news and just “OK” news.
The good news is that the venture capital market is showing signs of stabilizing.
Today, Jesse Randall, the founder of the platform Sweater Ventures, said founders should start looking to raise a Series A when they have about 12 to 15 months of cash runway left.
“Don’t wait any longer than that,” he told TechCrunch+.
“In this market, you have to prep for an A way in advance,” Feinzaig told TechCrunch+, adding that it could be fruitful to do so right after closing a seed round.
Here’s what to know to raise a Series A right nowThere is good news and just “OK” news.
The good news is that the venture capital market is showing signs of stabilizing.
Today, Jesse Randall, the founder of the platform Sweater Ventures, said founders should start looking to raise a Series A when they have about 12 to 15 months of cash runway left.
“Don’t wait any longer than that,” he told TechCrunch+.
“In this market, you have to prep for an A way in advance,” Feinzaig told TechCrunch+, adding that it could be fruitful to do so right after closing a seed round.
Here’s what to know to raise a Series A right nowThere is good news and just “OK” news.
The good news is that the venture capital market is showing signs of stabilizing.
Today, Jesse Randall, the founder of the platform Sweater Ventures, said founders should start looking to raise a Series A when they have about 12 to 15 months of cash runway left.
“Don’t wait any longer than that,” he told TechCrunch+.
“In this market, you have to prep for an A way in advance,” Feinzaig told TechCrunch+, adding that it could be fruitful to do so right after closing a seed round.
More and more startups are leveraging CRM systems to streamline their investor relations.
So, how do you set up a CRM system for tracking and following up with investors?
Choose a CRM systemNot all CRM systems are created equal.
Some popular CRM systems for startups include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM.
Create your “stages”Once you have your CRM system in place, the first step is to segment your investors.
