Investor Readiness: the 10 slides diligence teams actually use

Investor Readiness: the 10 slides diligence teams actually use

Fundraising moves fastest when your story and your evidence line up. The best decks do not impress with volume. They make the investment case obvious, then let a clean data room answer every follow up. Use this as a checklist you can run today.

1) The investment case in one minute

State the problem in plain words, the user you serve, and the measurable outcome you deliver. Anchor the claim to one hard proof:

• Paying customers who will take a call
• Usage that compounds
• A regulatory or partner approval that removes a known risk
  In one minute a partner should see why this could return the fund—without jargon.

2) Customer insight that explains the problem

Show how you know the pain is real. Use interviews, buyer journeys, win/loss reasons, and resolved support tickets. Quantify in the buyer’s language:

• Minutes saved per workflow
• Errors avoided
• Revenue preserved
• Risk removed
  Private markets have been selective and slower, so clarity wins time.

3) Product that ships and gets used

Explain the job your product does and walk the core workflow in two or three steps. Bring one metric that signals habit or depth:

• Weekly active use as a share of seats
• Workloads processed per account
• Time to value from first login
  If you’re software, mention gross margin health (investors often expect 70–80%, with 75% common; early scale can be lower).

4) A market that can support venture returns

Define the market you can serve in the next 2–3 years. Use a bottoms-up view with named segments, realistic deal sizes, and defendable win rates. If the near market is small, name the next wedges and when you’ll add them. Keep the narrative consistent with your pipeline and resourcing plan.

5) Go to market that lands the next ten logos

Describe the ICP you’ll prioritize and the channels that already convert. Show the actual motion you run:

• Self-serve with assist
• Inside sales
• Partner-led
• Or a blend
  Add two references who will pick up. A short, real pipeline snapshot with stage integrity beats a long list that falls apart under questions.

6) Business model and unit economics that compound

Show how cash comes back and what stays as gross profit. For recurring revenue:

• CAC payback near/under 12 months reads as efficient at early scale
• Tie today’s unit economics to a credible Rule of 40 path (only about ⅓ of software firms hit Rule of 40—explain your path)

7) Competitive position and why you keep it

Map real alternatives buyers choose, including “do nothing.” Show where you win now and what could make you lose in the next year. Be specific about edges that hold:

• Distribution rights
• Network effects
• Switching costs
• Proprietary data
• Owned workflow
  Name experiments in flight to strengthen the moat.

8) Team, governance, and the next two hires

Make it clear why your team is right for this market, which advisors you trust, and how you’ll close the next two critical roles. If you plan to scale discipline toward public readiness, say so and outline your cadence—borrow IPO readiness principles without extra bureaucracy.

9) Financials, scenarios, and use of funds

Lay out trailing 12 months and three scenarios—downside, base, upside. Tie spend to milestones, not time. For software, include:

• ARR and growth
• Gross margin
• CAC payback
• Net revenue retention
• Rule of 40 trajectory and tradeoffs

10) Risks, mitigations, and the data room key

Name the top three risks serious investors will worry about and the mitigations in motion. Close with:

• A short data-room link
• A one-page index
  Diligence programs aim to gather relevant info quickly—mirror that approach.

What goes in the data room (and why)

Corporate and cap table

• Charter docs, board consents, option plan, fully diluted cap table, SAFEs/notes, equity summary (keep current weekly)

Financials and revenue policy

• Monthly financials, ARR bridge, cohort/retention views, short revenue recognition memo (include ASC 606 choices and judgments)

Unit economics workbook

• CAC payback, contribution margin by segment, pipeline coverage (exportable)
• Top customers with permissioned references
• Churn and downgrade reasons

Product and security

• Architecture notes, uptime history, incident log, third-party dependencies
• SOC 2 or timeline, data processing addenda, and privacy notes

Go to market

• ICP definition, pipeline snapshot with stage hygiene, win/loss reasons, partner list, and reference calls

Governance and controls

• Board materials and cadence
• Audit reports and control mappings (if regulated)
• Jurisdiction note if operating in fintech or digital assets