Topic
Practical frameworks for navigating the venture ecosystem.
55 pieces of content
49 articles
Startup valuation is more art than science — especially pre-revenue. Here are the 5 methods real investors use to put a number on your company, and when each one works.
The complete PE software stack — from CRM and deal flow to portfolio monitoring, fund administration, and LP reporting. Pricing, best-fit guidance, and how to build your tech stack on a budget.
12 portfolio management books organized by level — from beginner classics like A Random Walk Down Wall Street to VC-specific picks like The Power Law. Honest reviews, key takeaways, and who should read each one.
PE fund administration covers NAV calculations, waterfall distributions, K-1 prep, and regulatory filings. Here's what PE fund admins do, how they differ from VC fund admin, and the top providers to consider.
Going public takes 18-24 months of preparation. Here's the complete IPO readiness checklist: financial, governance, legal, and operational requirements, plus a step-by-step process flow chart from S-1 filing to first trade.
Affinity is the CRM most institutional VCs use, and it does not publish prices: plans start around $1,500 to $1,800 a user a year and Enterprise runs $3,000+. 4Degrees, its closest competitor, starts around $1,200 a user a year, roughly half of Affinity Professional, with faster onboarding and a simpler interface.
You can't just "become" a VC. But there are 5 real paths in — from scout programs to micro-funds. Here's what actually works and what's a waste of time.
The NVCA publishes free legal templates that can save you $10-30K in lawyer fees. Here's every document explained in plain English, plus what to watch for.
Pre-money valuation doesn't have to be a mystery. Here are the exact formulas, three worked examples at different stages, and the methods VCs actually use to price early-stage startups.
The investment memo is the core deliverable in VC. Most are mediocre. Here's the section-by-section template top funds actually use, with examples of what good vs. bad looks like.
The power law rules VC. Seed funds do 25-40 deals, Series A funds do 15-25. Here's the math behind check sizes, reserves, ownership targets, and concentration risk.
Management fees, carried interest, GP commit, J-curve, waterfalls. The actual math behind running a venture fund, explained with real numbers on a $100M fund.
How VC fund profits are distributed between GPs and LPs. The 4-tier waterfall, American vs European models, and clawback provisions.
What actually happens after a VC says "we're interested." The complete due diligence process: market, product, team, financial, and legal. Plus red flags and timelines.
30 real VC interview questions organized by category: technical, market thesis, deal evaluation, and behavioral. With frameworks for answering each one.
A brutally honest roundup of the best ways to learn VC in 2025. Free courses, books, podcasts, tools, and the paid programs that are actually worth your money.
The real paths into VC, what firms actually look for, salary ranges at every level, and how to build a track record before anyone gives you a shot. No MBA required.
Launching Fund I? Here's everything you need to know about entity structure, management fees, carry, GP commit, and why fund formation lawyers charge $100K+.
The IPO process takes 12–18 months and involves SEC registration, investment banks, a roadshow, and pricing. Here's the complete step-by-step guide to how IPOs work.
The Sequoia Capital pitch deck template is the gold standard framework for startup pitches. Here's the full structure, slide-by-slide analysis, and why it works.
How to value private company shares: the five main methodologies (comps, DCF, VC method, Berkus, OPM), what drives equity value, and the calculators that make the math accessible.
Guy Kawasaki's 10-20-30 pitch deck rule turns 20 years old. What was it designed to fix, how the landscape has changed, and what to take—and leave—from it in 2026.
VC recruiting is relationship-driven and timeline-variable. This guide breaks down every stage — from analyst to partner track — and what separates hired candidates from everyone else.
Teardowns of real pitch decks from Airbnb, Dropbox, Mixpanel, Slack, and more—what each deck got right, what you can steal, and the patterns that separate fundable decks from noise.
Remote VC jobs exist — but not in every role or at every firm. Here's where to find them, which roles are actually remote-friendly, and how to get hired without being local.
The best Figma templates, plugins, and design tips for building a startup pitch deck—plus when Figma is the right tool and when it's overkill.
Should you hire a fundraising advisor to raise your seed or Series A? A clear breakdown of what they do, what they cost, when they're worth it, and the red flags to avoid.
Carta 409A valuations: what they cost, how the process works, and whether Carta is the right provider for your startup at seed, Series A, and beyond.
Honest reviews of the top AI pitch deck generators in 2026 — Gamma, Beautiful.ai, Pitch, Slidebean, Tome, and Canva — covering what they actually do well and where they fall short.
Step-by-step seed fundraising guide with real numbers. Median seed is $3.5M at $15-20M post. 40-60 meetings in 6-8 weeks. Here's the full playbook.
From analyst to GP, here's what venture capitalists actually earn in 2026 — base salaries, bonuses, and the carry math that changes everything.
A complete guide to the Y Combinator SAFE agreement — where to find official templates, how key terms like valuation caps and discounts work, and when to use a priced round instead.
Venture capital spans multiple stages, sectors, and structures — each with distinct risk profiles and return dynamics. Here's how to tell them apart and why it matters.
Affinity now publishes seat pricing, Attio meters AI on credits, Folk dropped its free plan. The 2026 CRM picks for running an investor pipeline.
From Fortune Term Sheet to Transacted, discover the best VC newsletters for investors, fund managers, and founders — curated by focus area with honest assessments of what each delivers.
Discover the best startup fundraising platforms to find investors online — from AngelList and Fundable to Republic and Carta. A practical guide for founders ready to raise.
A comprehensive 2026 guide to VC analyst and associate salaries, covering base pay, bonuses, carry benchmarks, and how fund size and geography impact your offer.
The best books, courses, and free PDF guides for learning venture capital in 2026 — curated for emerging managers, analysts, and institutional LPs who want signal over noise.
Download free cap table Excel templates and learn how to set them up correctly — from founder shares and option pools to SAFEs and round modeling.
A real-world cap table walkthrough tracing a startup from founding through Series B, with example tables, dilution math, and software recommendations for founders and investors.
Download free startup financial model templates and learn step-by-step how to build an investor-ready financial model in Excel or Google Sheets.
Learn how to calculate founder and employee equity in a startup, from basic ownership formulas to multi-round dilution modeling and cap table best practices.
VC partner and principal salaries range widely by fund size, stage, and carry structure. Here's what senior venture capitalists actually earn in base pay, bonuses, and carried interest.
VC fellowship programs are one of the best ways to break into venture capital. Learn how programs like Pegasus Venture Fellow and Alumni Ventures work — and how to apply.
A practical guide to building an ASC 820-compliant valuation policy for venture funds — covering governance, methodologies by stage, LP reporting, and common mistakes emerging managers make.
Your LP report is your most important marketing document. Here's how to build a reporting framework that builds trust, reduces questions, and makes re-ups easier.
SEC scrutiny of private funds is at an all-time high. Here's a practical compliance guide for emerging managers covering registration, policies, and common pitfalls.
The complete guide to venture capital careers: roles from analyst to partner, salary ranges at every level, interview prep, and proven strategies to break in — even without a finance background.
Management fees, carried interest, GP commit, clawbacks — the economics of a venture fund are more nuanced than most emerging managers realize. Here's the definitive breakdown.
6 guides
A 409A valuation isn't optional — it's a legal requirement that protects your employees and your company. Here's the full process, what it costs, and how to choose a provider.
The 5 methods investors use to value startups — comparable companies, precedent transactions, DCF, scorecard, and VC method — with worked examples at each stage.
How equity actually works, what dilution really means, and what founders take home in different exit scenarios. Real math, worked examples, no hand-waving.
A step-by-step guide to raising capital for your startup — from deciding when to raise, to closing your round and everything between. Written for founders, by people who've seen both sides.
Everything you need to understand about venture capital — how funds raise money, how deals get done, and how returns flow back to investors. The definitive primer.
Firm reputation matters less than the partner sitting across from you. A practical framework for evaluating investors before you take their money.