u/SaladGlittering9131

I find it very cool that investing in startups is the process isn't like investing in public stocks.

Since you cannot depend on 5-10 years of profits in a startup, how do you weigh founder quality vs. Market size, vs. Traction, vs.

Retention, unit economics

The possibility of a huge exit?

I'm also curious to know how ratio of strong founder + average early product of startup investor considers the right one compared to awesome product + green founder.

My question for investing in startups is:

what are the first 3-5 things you look for that make a startup worth considering further?

One workflow or point I've noticed that makes real difference is to prioritize leads before outreach. Instead of treating every property in same way.

A few data points that help us are:

• Estimated property value
• Equity
• Years owned
• Owner occupancy
• Property type

These things do not mean that you will find a seller who is motivated for sure. It can help you spend your time on the leads that are most likely to convert easily. This is better, than going through a list of leads without any planning.

For those handling large lead lists, what data point has been the most useful for deciding who to contact first?

One error I often witnessed mostly considering LP reporting was to be "that it is a thing to tackle after first close."

Prior to accepting any capital through investors, it is required to determine the reporting rhythm and style. It becomes lot simpler to build relationships based on established expectations and have set process rather than attempting to correct them later once investors know that you're available.

For the GP and the LPs: What's the ideal reporting schedule or deadline- monthly, quarterly, or only when there's meaningful news?

I've heard quite a few "what to regret investing in stories", but I am just as curious about "what to regret not investing in". Have you ever passed on a startup that has gone on to do well since?

What caused you to say no at the time?

Valuations, founders, market size, traction, something else?

Do you think you made the wrong decision then, or was it right given what you knew? I believe there is a wealth of learning in "good decisions, bad outcomes", and "bad decisions, good outcomes". Would love to see how others view these situations.

Daily?

When it seems to move a lot?

Weekly?

Do you check up every quarter or once a year whenever you feel the desire to stick your head back into the game, or is there a rhythm? I’ve set reminders on my phone, and if the plan says “quarterly,” then I look at it quarterly because I figure that it is much better to stick to my plan to remove the emotion.

It should work in the long term, though, right?

Just asking.

Compliance can feel abstract..
Until suddenly you miss a key deadline.

The most basic systems usually serve you the best:
Shared Calendar over Single Employee’s Mind Dedicated point person for your routine filings Regular catchups over a Year End Crunch Decluttering/organizing key documents to the point you know where everything is For founders, fund managers, or fund ops folks here, what have you found actually works to keep the train on the tracks with compliance without making life too complex?

Each person I know spends countless hours thinking about fundraising, deals, and legal documentation prior to first close. Not many discuss what will come after LPs came onboard.

The operational aspects seem to take one by surprise:

Investor reporting takes more time than assumed, especially as the number of LPs increase. Capital calls become a whole project once everything else is taken in account. Individual LP requests don't add to anything significant when it happens in isolation, but they tend to add up fast. Timing for K-1 preparation becomes most frequent causes of investor frustration. All these tasks aren't difficult per se; they can be simply easy to underestimate until they are on you.

If you have experienced a fund raise, which operational task took you by surprise after your first close?

Everyone normally focus on making legal documents correct, but then operational side gets overshadowed.

In your experience, what's the most necessary part of running a proper capital call? Communication? Timing? Investor follow-up? Something else?

Having known about debate regarding first time fund closing, I saw that certain common capital calls errors that people tend to make. None of those are serious, but together they may turn a normally smooth process into quite a hassle.

• Capital call notices sent with very little notice.
• Failure to verify wire instructions via another channel.
• The underestimation of the number of LPs that will need a last-minute clarification.
• Lack of a buffer time for investors who send wire instructions late.

Mostly, these are not financial issues, but rather processing ones.