Storytelling for Your Fund
Photo by Rain Bennett
When fund managers are looking to fundraise in the market and pitch to investors, it is essential to create a cohesive story about your unique opportunity, timing, and fund parameters. As Foundry Group Principal Jaclyn Hester put it, “Fundraising is story-telling. Fund managers often struggle with building a compelling narrative that makes limited partners (LPs) want to dig in and learn more. Your job in the first meeting is to get a second meeting.”
Use the outlined exercise below to create your own story and narrative, allowing you to communicate clearly and succinctly with potential investors, while acting as a forcing function to streamline your internal messaging:
Exercise: Create Your Story
With the <market opportunity / gap in the market / region untapped> experience, <firm name>’s expertise in <team advantages> generates <benefit>. Investing in <type of Founder or company> by doing <competitive advantage / business model> results in <benefit to performance>. Based on our track record of <number of funds to date and past metrics such as TVPI / DPI / IRR / returns>, <firm name> solves <problem for industry, portfolio companies and/or investors>, and the success of the investments will return <portfolio company growth and goals for the investors and portfolio companies>. <Firm name> is raising <$$> and has received <$$> in commitment from <anchor limited partner>. <Additional limited partner investor(s)> have also secured endorsements and increased investment amount commitments. The target first close is <date or quarter>.
—
By Shea Tate-Di Donna and Kaego Ogbechie Rust, authors of The Venture Fund Blueprint.
To see more like this, buy The Venture Fund Blueprint book on Amazon, sign up for our newsletter, engage us to collaborate with your organization, and follow us on social media.
—
Disclaimer: The providers, companies, examples, products, and services shared represent only a subset of available options and are based solely on internal fund manager conversations. These options are intended to be a general framework, not an exhaustive catalog, and should not be viewed as legal or tax advice, endorsements, recommendations, approvals, or rankings. We encourage you to do additional research into each category to find the resources that best fit your specific needs.
