Some VCs and startup founders tell me, during the due diligence of their startup—meet the team, discuss the deck and look at the books. They understand the sales strategy, key accounts, and discuss terms of investment. The founder is promised a term sheet. A news article later informs the founder of that VC investing in their competitor, who then aggressively targets their clients.
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An experienced founder told me how she deals with this: There’s a teaser deck, a Level 2 deck for an initial meeting, and a detailed deck available only after the term sheet is available. When you’re desparate for funds, you don’t think you can do this, but there’s always a choice.
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