Strategy & Portfolio
Go-to-Market Strategy
The plan for how a company will reach and acquire customers, including pricing, channels, and sales approach.
A go-to-market (GTM) strategy defines how a company will sell its product to customers. Key components include target customer identification (ICP), pricing model, sales motion (self-serve, inside sales, field sales, or hybrid), marketing channels, distribution strategy, and expansion playbook. VCs evaluate GTM strategy as a critical element of investment diligence, especially at Series A and beyond when scaling go-to-market becomes the primary challenge.
In Practice
A B2B SaaS company's GTM: target mid-market companies (100-1000 employees), $30K ACV, inside sales team with SDR/AE model, content marketing for inbound leads, 45-day average sales cycle, land-and-expand within accounts.
Why It Matters
Great products with poor GTM strategies fail. VCs increasingly recognize that GTM execution — not just product quality — determines which companies scale successfully.
Related Concepts
Further Reading
What Angel Investors Look for Before Writing a Check
The real decision framework experienced angels use — founder conviction, market size, unfair advantage, capital efficiency, and path to next round. Plus the most common reasons angels pass.
How to Evaluate a VC Firm Before Taking Their Money
Not all VC money is equal. The wrong investor can slow you down, block future rounds, or make your life miserable for a decade. Here's how to do due diligence on your investors.
What Does a VC Analyst Actually Do?
The real day-to-day of a VC analyst: deal sourcing, due diligence memos, partner meetings, portfolio support, and what the compensation actually looks like.
What a Series A Process Actually Looks Like
The Series A is where fundraising gets real — partner meetings, deep diligence, and term sheet negotiations. Here's a realistic week-by-week breakdown of what to expect.
Lead Investor vs Follow-On Investor: What Founders Need to Know
Your lead investor sets the terms, anchors the round, and signals to the market. Getting this wrong can stall your fundraise for months. Here's how lead and follow-on dynamics actually work.
Why Most Venture Capital Funds Lose Money
The median VC fund barely returns invested capital. Here's why the power law makes venture so brutal, what separates winners from losers, and what the data actually shows.
Related Guides
The Complete Guide to Startup Fundraising
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.
How Venture Capital Works: The Complete Guide
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.
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