Fundraising Readiness Checklist

Clear revenue or user growth metrics

Month-over-month growth rate that you can articulate clearly

Critical

Product-market fit signals

Strong retention, NPS > 40, or users actively recommending

High

Key metrics dashboard

Real-time tracking of MRR, CAC, LTV, churn, and other KPIs

High

Customer testimonials or case studies

3-5 customers willing to speak to investors

Normal

Unit economics documented

Clear understanding of CAC, LTV, payback period

Normal

Competitive differentiation

Clear moat or unfair advantage you can articulate

Normal

Complementary founding team

Technical + business skills, clear role division

Critical

Relevant domain expertise

Deep experience in your industry or technology

High

Full-time commitment

All founders working full-time on the startup

Normal

Advisory board in place

2-3 relevant advisors with industry connections

Normal

Key hires identified

Know who you'll hire with the funding

Normal

Company incorporated (Delaware C-Corp)

Standard for VC-backed startups in the US

Critical

Clean cap table

No messy equity arrangements, SAFE conversions understood

High

IP properly assigned

All founders and employees have signed IP assignment agreements

High

Founder vesting in place

Standard 4-year vesting with 1-year cliff

Normal

Employee option pool reserved

10-20% set aside for future hires

Normal

No outstanding legal issues

No pending lawsuits, IP disputes, or regulatory problems

Normal

Financial model built

3-year projections with clear assumptions

High

Use of funds breakdown

Clear plan for how you'll spend the money (hiring, marketing, etc.)

High

Current burn rate known

Monthly expenses tracked and understood

Normal

Runway calculation

Know exactly how long current funds last

Normal

Bookkeeping current

Clean books, ready for due diligence

Normal

Pitch deck (10-15 slides)

Clean, compelling, tells your story

Critical

30-second elevator pitch

Can explain your startup clearly and concisely

High

Product demo ready

Working demo or prototype to show investors

High

Executive summary (1-pager)

One-page overview for cold outreach

Normal

FAQ document prepared

Answers to common investor questions ready

Normal

Data room organized

All documents ready for due diligence

Normal