Matt Kloos’ Post

🧵Early Money Comes With Strings Attached* Raising funds too early might feel like the startup dream—but here’s the catch: it can seriously cost you 💸! At the earliest stages, taking money can mean: 👉 Giving away too much equity for too little funding. 👉 Locking yourself into expectations before your vision is fully validated. 👉 Bringing on investors who don’t fully “get” what you’re building yet (because, let’s be real, neither do you sometimes). Most startups (and honestly, every game-changing company at this phase) should focus on building the foundation first: 1. Talent: A strong team is your real early capital. 2. Vision: Nail it down before anyone tells you to pivot. 3. Product: Prove it works, then scale like wildfire. Because when you get these right? That’s when investors chase you—not the other way around. Sure, early money can help, but it often comes with strings that tug on your long-term potential. Play the long game. 🎯 As they say in venture capital: “Dilution is forever; patience pays.” Would love to hear your thoughts—have you raised early, waited it out, or wish you'd done things differently? 👇

When I am meeting repeat and serial founders I asked them about the startups they failed to scale or failed to raise money for. The reality is that most founders shy away and start sugar coating their experience. If that happens I open up and tell them about my failed startups, and then they open up. I have heard a trend in the European VC ecosystem that VCs would look only to invest in repeat exited founders. That limits quite significantly the pool of founder you could invest. It also makes the ecosystem a place where people would not take a risk to fail. What Hadley Harris describes as the uniqueness of the US ecosystem is the ingredient to build resilience. If there is something we need to do in Europe is fund founders who have bruises, and scars from failed startups and provide them capital, community and support to grow from their mistakes and teach us. #VentureCapital #Funding #Failure #Investment #Founders

UPDATE: For anybody who hasn't received the link: https://bit.ly/4crReEw Are you a VC, or do you want to be? Raising millions of dollars from LPs is no easy feat. Here are 20 VC Fund Pitch Decks that raised $500M+ from LPs 👇 An LP pitch deck has no standard format. However, most pitch decks cover several of the same key topics. ✅ Key partners ✅ The fund’s leaders ✅ The fund’s differentiators ✅ The fund’s thesis Carta recommends including the following: ☑ Anticipated fund size ☑ Geographic focus ☑ Investment stage ☑ Industry focus ☑ Differentiators Other details to include are: ➡ Your LPs ➡ Check size ➡ Fees and carry ➡ Portfolio structure ➡ Follow-on strategy It’s hard to create an effective LP deck from scratch. So I’m sharing 20 successful pitch decks to help you convince other investors to commit their capital to your fund. It includes pitch decks that raised: 💰 World Fund - $365M 💰 Susa Ventures IV - $200M 💰 Contrarian Ventures - £101M 💰 Seedcamp Fund 5 - £78M Use these pitch decks as a foundation for yours. Examine the areas you can improve or add to your existing deck. Drop a comment below and I’ll send it ASAP. 👇 If we aren't connected, send a connection request so I can send the resource. PS 🔔 Follow me for strategies and resources for startups and VCs! Looking to raise capital? 💸https://fundingstack.com/ for VCs and investors 💸https://foundersuite.com/ for startups At only $250/month: Fundingstack gets you access to 267K+ global investors, including 17k Family Offices, Trusts, Foundations, and other LPs. Contact me for a demo. #venturecapital #founders #startups #fundraising

It’s clear that venture debt can be a tough fit for early-stage startups, which often struggle with creditworthiness and financial stability. Saddling a young company with debt can add unnecessary strain, especially when the risks are already high. The frustration with inexperienced VCs giving poor advice is also understandable; with so many new investors entering the field, not all of them provide the seasoned guidance that startups need. It’s crucial for founders to do their own homework and seek out knowledgeable mentors to navigate these financial decisions wisely. Ultimately, while venture debt has its place, it’s generally more suited for later-stage companies where it can support value-enhancing initiatives rather than adding risk to fragile early-stage ventures. #VentureDebt #StartupFunding #EarlyStageChallenges #InvestorAdvice #FoundersJourney #VCExperience #FinancialWisdom #VC #Business #Entrepreneurship

Having sat on both sides of the founder-VC table, here are the things I wish I had known about VC when pitching as a founder 👇🏼 👉🏼 VC funds have investing cycles; freshly raised funds operate differently from funds coming towards the end of their deployment window. 👉🏼 Fund size can be an indicator of target performance. Do the math on how large your startup needs to become to 'return the fund' and you'll have a good proxy for the growth rate the VC will expect from you. 👉🏼 Data (qualitative and quantitative) to demonstrate your ability to execute is worth far more than your idea. No VCs sign NDAs for this reason. 👉🏼 The network is tight and has become increasingly collaborative over recent years despite a greater number of funds overall. Don't exaggerate the progression of your conversations or sentiment from other investors. VC funding isn't right for every founder or startup. Understand the type of business you want to build and what success looks like for you as a founder before you invest time in the fundraising process. #founders #startup #VC #business

After 11 years good growth bootstrapping, even without bank funding, my business startup in Oil and Gas (WKI Wireline Logging and Perforation ), I realize that I start need funding, and I have been trying to talk to few partners , banks, Private equities, VCs, IPO related Securities Firms.. I realize that I am not that organized in presenting the business. Below is the excellent summary of links from Guillermo Flor that might help people like me..

Top 10 fundraising resources for startup founders: 1. The essentials of a killer pitch deck by Hustle Fund: https://lnkd.in/drHRWqm8 3. How to run your first meeting with a VC: https://lnkd.in/dXwpPR94 4. How to pitch to investors by Product Market Fit: https://lnkd.in/d5NpN8yC 5. 7 Rejections by Brian Chesky: https://lnkd.in/dRmJbMbM 6. Pitch the way VCs think by Khosla Ventures: https://lnkd.in/d8BN8yXT 7. Creandum's seed Deck Template: https://lnkd.in/d2MM7txc 8. Linkedin's Series B Pitch Deck: https://lnkd.in/d_3iX2xs 9. Who makes the decision at a VC firm and how the decision gets made by Mark Suster: https://lnkd.in/dGRrV2r6 10. 20 Startup investors lists: https://lnkd.in/dUfTRwiv 11. Extra: How to get invested by Index Ventures: https://lnkd.in/dPcn3Mir

Top 10 fundraising resources for startup founders: 1. The essentials of a killer pitch deck by Hustle Fund: https://lnkd.in/drHRWqm8 3. How to run your first meeting with a VC: https://lnkd.in/dXwpPR94 4. How to pitch to investors by Product Market Fit: https://lnkd.in/d5NpN8yC 5. 7 Rejections by Brian Chesky: https://lnkd.in/dRmJbMbM 6. Pitch the way VCs think by Khosla Ventures: https://lnkd.in/d8BN8yXT 7. Creandum's seed Deck Template: https://lnkd.in/d2MM7txc 8. Linkedin's Series B Pitch Deck: https://lnkd.in/d_3iX2xs 9. Who makes the decision at a VC firm and how the decision gets made by Mark Suster: https://lnkd.in/dGRrV2r6 10. 20 Startup investors lists: https://lnkd.in/dUfTRwiv 11. Extra: How to get invested by Index Ventures: https://lnkd.in/dPcn3Mir

Quick Observations: 🔍 Investors More Cautious Investors are taking more time to deploy capital. 💰 Dry Powder Still in Play Despite the slower pace, there’s a significant amount of dry powder in investment vehicles, waiting for the right opportunities. 🚀 Rising Competition With more businesses vying for capital, the competition has never been fiercer. 📈 Silver Lining Opportunity to sharpen your metrics and strengthen your value proposition—better positioning your business when the time comes.