How do you make your startup investor-ready?

Investor ready means: an investor can comfortably decide to invest in your startup within a few hours of due diligence. This requires a pitch deck, a clean legal structure (cap table, IP, employment agreements), financial projections, a data room, and a clear valuation rationale. Above all: traction — proof that you are building something customers want. Below: the building blocks, pitfalls, and the preparation needed 6 months before a round. Saskia (cleantech) has half of it in order — she is tackling the rest step by step.

The short answer

• Pitch deck: 10-15 slides, problem-solution-market-traction-team-ask.
• Cap table: clean share ratios, no small no-name shareholders.
• IP: all IP held by the BV (no “founder keeps it private”).
• Financial: P&L, cash flow, 3-year projection.
• Data room: all documents ready for due diligence.

The pitch deck

Standard structure (Sequoia template, similar formats):

1. Cover: company name, one-liner, contact.
2. Problem: what pain are you solving?
3. Solution: what is the solution?
4. Market: how big is the market (TAM/SAM/SOM)?
5. Product: how it works — screenshots, demo.
6. Business model: how do you make money?
7. Traction: customers, revenue, MoM growth, MRR/ARR.
8. Competition: positioning vs. competitors.
9. Team: who is building this and why is it credible?
10. Financials: 3-year revenue/growth projection.
11. Use of funds: where does the money go?
12. The question: how much are you looking for at what valuation?

Keep it to 15 slides — investors skim in 5 minutes.

Clean up cap table

A cap table with 8 shareholders at 2% each is a red flag — investors want a round structure. Pre-round cleanup:

• Buying out small shareholders or consolidating them.
• Convert family and friends into a convertible loan or stock options.
• No “forgotten” shareholders (former colleague who lent €1,000 for 5%).
• Founder vesting in order (typical 4 years with 1 year cliff).
• Stock option pool for future hires (10-15%).

For BVs with a holding structure: investor often in the operating company; personal holdings of founders remain.

IP position

All intellectual property must reside with the BV:

• Code: developed by employees/founders → BV. For freelancers: IP transfer in contract.
• Patents: in the name of the BV, not in the name of the founder.
• Trademarks: registered with Benelux/EUIPO in the name of BV.
• Designs and know-how: documented and property of the BV.

Investors demand full IP transfer. Founder retains IP → deal-breaker.

Legal basis

• Articles of Association: up-to-date, with a flexible shareholder structure (different classes).
• Shareholders' agreement: tag/drag-along, leaver clauses, exit mechanisms.
• Employment agreements: all key people signed, incl. IP clauses and non-compete.
• Client contracts: documented, no handshake deals.
• Compliance: GDPR, industry-specific (financial, medical).

Financial readiness

For due diligence:

• Monthly P&L, cash flow, balance sheet for the last 12-24 months.
• 3-year projection with scenarios (base/bull/bear case).
• Unit economics: CAC, LTV, payback period, gross margin.
• Runway: how long does the current greenhouse last?
• Burn rate: monthly net cash outflow.

Data room

A structured shared drive with all DD documents:

• Articles of association and register of shareholders.
• Cap table with current status.
• Financial figures and projections.
• Customer contracts and partner agreements.
• IP documentation (patents, code repositories).
• Employment agreements and terms of employment.
• Compliance documents (GDPR, industry).
• Pitch deck and potential financial model.

Investor receives temporary access during DD. Smartly organized data room demonstrates professionalism.

Valuation rationale

How do you arrive at your requested valuation? Workable arguments:

• Similar deals: other startups in your stage/industry.
• Revenue multiples: 5-20x ARR for SaaS, different for B2C.
• DCF: with projection to exit (in 5-7 years).
• Pre-money/post-money: knows the difference and states explicitly.

Valuation too high = no deal. Too low = surrender to the investor. Test with multiple investors for a benchmark.

Traction to

The most important thing: prove that you are building something that works:

• MRR/ARR (recurring revenue) — gold standard SaaS.
• Customer growth (MoM 10-20% in seed/series A).
• Pilots with major clients (logos count).
• Letters of intent (LOI) from prospects.
• Retention figures (churn, NPS).

No traction in pre-seed? Then a team-and-idea pitch with a strong founder-market-fit story.

Saskia's investor readiness

Saskia (cleantech, seeking €3M Series A):

• Pitchdeck: under development — invests in pitch coach.
• Cap table: 3 founders + 1 angel — clean.
• IP: patent applied for in the name of BV — good.
• Financial: P&L exists, projection is still rough.
• Data room: still empty — work for 4 weeks.
• Traction: 2 pilots with industrial companies — compelling story.

Plan: 3 months investor readiness, followed by 6 months of fundraising. Guidance by an M&A lawyer (€15,000) and CFO-as-a-service (€30,000).

Honest recommendation

Being investor-ready requires 3-6 months of preparation — not building a pitch deck in a single weekend. Invest in: a pitch coach, an M&A lawyer (cap table and shareholders' agreement), and a CFO-as-a-service (financial model). Combined, this costs €30,000-€80,000 but prevents a term sheet from being scrapped later in the due diligence phase due to avoidable details. For seed funding: less demanding; for Series A and higher: almost always necessary.

For other topics: writing a business plan, drafting a shareholders' agreement , and share purchase agreement (SPA).

Frequently Asked Questions