Phase 01
Thesis Building
Define sector, stage, ticket size, and risk appetite.
- The "Why" Factor: Define clear investment focus: stage, sector, geography, and unique edge.
- The Edge: Identify market trends, opportunities, and theses that drive outsized returns.
- Set criteria to guide sourcing, screening, and decision-making consistently.
Phase 02
Deal Sourcing
Access quality founders before the crowd.
- Build proactive channels: networks, events, accelerators, referrals, platforms.
- The Network Effect: Cultivate co-investors who send you the deals that aren't public yet.
- Prioritize quality flow over volume; track sources for highest ROI.
Phase 03
Due Diligence
Validate fundamentals beyond pitch decks.
- Founder Assessment: Evaluate founders’ resilience and determination beyond pitch materials—can they endure long, difficult periods?
- Critical Reasoning: Validate market size, product fit, traction, unit economics, and competitive edge.
- Risk Assessment: Evaluate risks realistically; focus on which early flaws the team can overcome.
Phase 04
Deal Structuring
Protect downside, align incentives.
- Set realistic valuation and balanced terms (preferences, anti-dilution, board, vesting).
- Choose right instrument (equity, SAFE, convertible) for stage and market.
- Use clean, standard docs; avoid complexity that hurts future rounds.
Phase 05
Portfolio Support
Capital alone is not enough.
- Offer targeted strategic help, intros, and resources without over-managing.
- Provide access to talent, customers, partners, and follow-on capital.
- Monitor progress; intervene early on key issues while respecting founder control.
Phase 06
Exit Strategy
Create liquidity events strategically.
- Identify plausible exits (M&A, IPO, secondaries) and revisit as company evolves.
- Build exit-readiness: clean cap table, governance, economics.
- Support process, advisors, negotiation to maximize value and manage risks.