“Less is more” when it comes to an investor presentation. There are only a few key things most VCs look at to understand and get excited about a deal: the problem you are solving, the size of the opportunity, the strength of the team, the level of competition or competitive advantage that you have, your plan of attack, and current status. Summary f

Some VCs will ask you who else you are talking to. If your goal is to create a competitive process, never answer this question.

If the VC is pushing for a larger option pool to come out of the pre-money valuation but the entrepreneur feels that there is enough in the pool to meet the company’s needs over the time frame of this financing, the entrepreneur should say, “Look, I strongly believe we have enough options to cover our needs. Let’s go with it at my proposed level an

Never forget the simple idea that if you want money, ask for advice. Try to develop a relationship that evolves over time, instead of viewing fundraising as a single, transactional experience.

How do you actually close the deal? Separate it into two activities: the first is the signing of the term sheet and the second is signing the definitive documents and receiving the cash.

We believe the demo or a prototype (often called an alpha) is far more important than a business plan or financial model for a very early stage company.

In all cases, the entrepreneur should bound the no-shop agreement by a time period, which is usually 45 to 60 days, although you can occasionally get a VC to agree to a 30-day no-shop agreement.

If you want to create a competitive process, allow at least three to six months to raise money.

While in many cases issuing convertible debt is easier to deal with than issuing equity, the one situation where this often becomes complex is an acquisition while the debt is outstanding. Our strong advice is to address in the documents how the debt will be handled in an acquisition.