Strategic alliances that improve your talent pool, provide channels of distribution, or increase your visibility will demonstrate that respected companies are willing to work with you, reducing the amount of due diligence a VC has to undertake. Nothing impresses funders as much as signed contracts. These demonstrate to investors that clients support your product and company. Have a list of these references available for potential investors to contact. Snowball your funding opportunities The hottest VC deals are often those that appear to be the most urgent.
Few things appear more urgent to VCs than funding offers that are on their way from other investors.
The momentum these opportunities present can help you sway fence-sitters and give you greater leverage to get the best deal possible. Be careful, however. This tactic is only effective if genuine term sheets are in the works, and you can be sure a VC will call around to confirm your claims. As a result, you can expect them to make vestment requests that require you and your key managers to stay with the business for a set amount of time before your shares take effect. Basically, the VC is hedging its bet.