Hem Suri

To gather real perspective on business progress: - If a consumer product, then either purchase (and if possible, regularly) to see product evolution, ask friends/family and other consumers and/or research consumer reviews and ratings online - In other cases, have your other portfolio companies etc to do pilots/become consumers to garner feedback re: product, sales, account management and/or service progress Gather feedback from co-investors or potential investors that you know well regarding the company’s positioning, reputation etc. Lastly, keep an eye on the competition & their sales pitches, websites, their coverage in industry reports etc. to get another perspective on how your company is perceived to be doing via-a-vis other players.

Other key elements are: 1) Most favored nation (MFN) clause that helps you get better terms if a new convertible is offered at more investor friendly terms while your note is still outstanding, and 2) a Change of control minimum return guarantee for situations where there’s a non-trivial chance of a CoC (or even dissolution) while the note is outstanding It’s also important to remember that conversion mechanics have a definition of fully diluted capitalization which needs to be fully comprehended (can make a non-trivial difference in the conversion price). Similarly, voluntary conversion at term should be well understood/defined. Lastly, any amendments mechanisms (can they be made with majority investors?) should also be looked into.

Leverage your community / investors Empower and engage your existing investors to spread your brand and also source deals. We have 1350+ active members on six continents who have been a source of ~50% of all the deals that we have executed thus far.

Be Actually Helpful A lot of the VCs and angel investors promise a lot before they get involved but most disappear and do not really help out the founders to create value and/or manage risk. Being helpful starts with being accessible and present — 24/7. Startups and founders never sleep, and a great involved VC should accessible at all times in case there are urgent needs. Second is being empathetic — keep a holistic stakeholder approach vs just a profit maximization one. Third is carving time for helping with ideation, strategy and sometimes even execution work in the trenches. Lastly, open your network of co-investors, experts/advisors, revenue opportunities etc.

Use your community/investors If you have an engaged and empowered set of investors, then they can be a great source of deal referrals. We have 1350+ community members over six continents and we have empowered them to be a source of deal flow and other introductions (for investment value-creation). As a result, ~50% of the deals we have executed have been sourced from within our community.

Our recommended pitch deck has 10-14 slides for telling the complete story: - Problem: There’s a real problem - Market Size: The problem is large - Solution: You have a solution - Competition/Edge: Your solution stands out & has long-term defensibility - Business Model: You can make a viable business out of it (pricing, unit economics, scalability) - GTM: You have segmented the market & can penetrate it thru proper sales and marketing tool-kit - Traction/Future Milestones: Not only you have a plan, you have made real progress & have material upcoming milestones - Financial Projections: 5 yr projections - Team: You’ve a solid team to execute all of the above - Raise: $s needed to deliver above plan, deliverables promised & uses of funds