Chris Gonzales’ Post

A long time ago, a follow-on investor once forwarded me comments about one of our portfolio companies that her team had put together. I was surprised it was sent as-is but also respectful of it. What stood out though for me was how "transactional" the note was: the company has pivoted its model, they raised in the hype cycle, they are not able to raise new capital, they tried M&A, good team overall. What I would have wanted to see if someone looked at a company closely or what I would have done myself if I decided to spend any time on a company: why did the company pivot? what was their insight? how did the new iteration come about? how well is it working? what are the traction metrics within the constraints of the capital the company has? are the founders showing grit and data-driven conviction OR are simply being adamant about their view without data? A lot of great stuff gets lost when startups are reviewed with zero to no depth and merely for the purpose of updating CRMs -- the startups and investors both lose. As a founder though, you have to understand that this will continue to happen, and you can take care to proactively showcase what investors must look at as a way to remove pre-disposed views -- especially if they are taking your time :)

🚀 Understand—and Control—Your Startup's Runway! 🚀 As a former VC and now guiding startups at Kruze Consulting, I've seen firsthand how crucial it is to have a clear grasp of your cash burn and runway. That's why I helped create a simple yet effective tool to make this critical financial assessment accessible for every founder. 📈 Quickly Determine Your Cash Runway 📈 Our Startup Runway Calculator is designed to be straightforward, providing a quick snapshot of how long your startup can operate at its current funding levels. This insight is vital for timely decisions about fundraising, budget adjustments, or strategic pivots. Here’s why this tool is a must-use: -Ease of Use: Calculate your runway in just a few clicks. Immediate Insight: Understand your financial status quickly to aid prompt decision-making. -Actionable Results: Gain clarity on when to seek further investment. Knowing your financial runway is more than a number; it's about having the confidence to make informed decisions that align with your startup's goals and growth trajectory. 🔍 Why Trust This Calculator? 🔍 I designed it to be intuitive and quick, respecting the busy schedules of founders. It focuses on what you need most: understanding your financial runway clearly and quickly. Accompanied by an article full of practical tips, you can find strategies to maximize your funding and extend your runway. In the startup world, timing and precision are everything. Understanding your financial runway isn’t just a good practice—it’s essential for survival and success. Check out our article and give the calculator a try today to take control of your startup's financial future! Find the link in the first comment below. #FinancialStrategy

Pitch Decks - what do founders say, what do VCs pay attention to. Here’s the inside track. I spend lots of time on this topic with founders but Docsend crunched their seed pitch deck data last year - which even though lensed through a slightly different slice in the hype cycle, is still worth paying attention to. At the time Seed funding had dropped 27% year-over-year by Q3 2023. It’s global but appreciably US centric nonetheless. While reading it we should enjoy the correlation causation conundrum. Plus it may suggest the unanswered question of what kind of founder uses Docsend? (I’m not inferring good or bad but merely that ‘cool’ and or 'used' moves pretty bloody quickly). Key takeouts: Investors love the "why now?”.  Still holds true. If nothing else - why now, why this, why us. In weaker funding environments investors typically spend more time on: "Why now?" - VCs spending 65% more time here. Competition - VCs analysed competition sections 88% more. Concise pitch decks (shortened by 17%) were more successful. Increased scrutiny on traction (+33% time spent). Time spent on decks fell below 2 minutes - nothing new here and I'd bet will be an ongoing trend regardless of hype cycle. NB The only point of a deck is to get the next meeting. Teams of 2–3 founders had best outcomes. On balance. Gender-diverse teams performed better, raising the most funds. All-female and minority teams raised less on average. But not by as much as you’ll be thinking. AI-related startups increased by 48%. Love to see this year’s data. 90%? What do you reckon? Targeted outreach to aligned investors proved more effective than broad-based strategies. This is so important. Just. Don’t. Spray. Pray. No excuse now with all these AI connectors and toolkits. I’m not convinced much will have changed in this year’s report - hopefully out soon and will share when I get it. In the meantime this old crunched data still holds much true. An interesting read.

🚀 Understand—and Control—Your Startup's Runway! 🚀 As a former VC and now guiding startups at Kruze Consulting, I've seen firsthand how crucial it is to have a clear grasp of your cash burn and runway. That's why I helped create a simple yet effective tool to make this critical financial assessment accessible for every founder. 📈 Quickly Determine Your Cash Runway 📈 Our Startup Runway Calculator is designed to be straightforward, providing a quick snapshot of how long your startup can operate at its current funding levels. This insight is vital for timely decisions about fundraising, budget adjustments, or strategic pivots. Here’s why this tool is a must-use: -Ease of Use: Calculate your runway in just a few clicks. Immediate Insight: Understand your financial status quickly to aid prompt decision-making. -Actionable Results: Gain clarity on when to seek further investment. Knowing your financial runway is more than a number; it's about having the confidence to make informed decisions that align with your startup's goals and growth trajectory. 🔍 Why Trust This Calculator? 🔍 I designed it to be intuitive and quick, respecting the busy schedules of founders. It focuses on what you need most: understanding your financial runway clearly and quickly. Accompanied by an article full of practical tips, you can find strategies to maximize your funding and extend your runway. In the startup world, timing and precision are everything. Understanding your financial runway isn’t just a good practice—it’s essential for survival and success. Check out our article and give the calculator a try today to take control of your startup's financial future! Find the link in the first comment below. #FinancialStrategy

Pitch Decks - what do founders say, what do VCs pay attention to. Here’s the inside track. I spend lots of time on this topic with founders but Docsend crunched their seed pitch deck data last year - which even though lensed through a slightly different slice in the hype cycle, is still worth paying attention to. At the time Seed funding had dropped 27% year-over-year by Q3 2023. It’s global but appreciably US centric nonetheless. While reading it we should enjoy the correlation causation conundrum. Plus it may suggest the unanswered question of what kind of founder uses Docsend? (I’m not inferring good or bad but merely that ‘cool’ and or 'used' moves pretty bloody quickly). Key takeouts: Investors love the "why now?”.  Still holds true. If nothing else - why now, why this, why us. In weaker funding environments investors typically spend more time on: "Why now?" - VCs spending 65% more time here. Competition - VCs analysed competition sections 88% more. Concise pitch decks (shortened by 17%) were more successful. Increased scrutiny on traction (+33% time spent). Time spent on decks fell below 2 minutes - nothing new here and I'd bet will be an ongoing trend regardless of hype cycle. NB The only point of a deck is to get the next meeting. Teams of 2–3 founders had best outcomes. On balance. Gender-diverse teams performed better, raising the most funds. All-female and minority teams raised less on average. But not by as much as you’ll be thinking. AI-related startups increased by 48%. Love to see this year’s data. 90%? What do you reckon? Targeted outreach to aligned investors proved more effective than broad-based strategies. This is so important. Just. Don’t. Spray. Pray. No excuse now with all these AI connectors and toolkits. I’m not convinced much will have changed in this year’s report - hopefully out soon and will share when I get it. In the meantime this old crunched data still holds much true. An interesting read.