Due diligence is part of any investment decision making process, where you will most likely be asked for key documentation on the round that supports elements from your pitch deck.
Preparing an organised data room where all documents are easily accessible through one link will not only help investors, but also help in your own internal organisation when looking to raise capital.
In addition, providing a level of transparency and clarity in a nicely presented manner builds trust and confidence into the business as well as your ability to run a company as a founder.
Fundraising is all about building long-term relationships. From first impressions made through the pitch deck, to creating connections during the pitch meeting, to establishing a long-term partnership; trust is gradually built with every interaction and information shared.
Depending on your stage and level of development as a company, the documents contained in your data room as well as the amount of information produced will vary.
Here are some documents expected to be included in a pre-seed/seed data room:
There is no strict rule on the documents required in a data room. On the other hand, every document should have its purpose similar to how every slide in the pitch deck is essential to the narrative.
These documents should compliment what is presented in the pitch and provide additional insight and clarity to support your claims. For example, if you state that you have access to 1 million users through a ābig nameā strategic partner, investors would want to be able to verify this.
For any content associated to your brand, the way in which information is presented directly corresponds to building an impression. Therefore, when setting-up your data room, it is important to think about the overall user experience including small details such as ease of access and means of navigation.