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- ♞ Sharing your Ask
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Lots of founders message me asking about whether they should be sharing their ask and valuation when they reach out to investors.
My answer: YES
It would be best to always share your ask in the first deck you send to any investor. Many investors need this information to know if you are even a company they can consider investing in. If you don’t share this information, it can be disqualifying, as some investors won’t bother spending the time to figure out your needs before deciding whether to move forward. They will just pass.
That being said there are a couple tips on how to share your ask in a manner that is most beneficial to you, let’s jump into those…
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Use links you can edit. The worst thing that can happen is that you send out your deck as a PDF to various VCs, all with different valuations and asks. It’s ideal if you can determine your valuation and ask before you ever email a VC your deck, but realistically, I know that things change. You have a great month, get a better offer than expected, your runway gets cut, and all of these cause you to alter your valuation and ask. If you use a link you can edit, then you can ensure that your deck is always up to date and nobody has a copy of the old deck with the old valuation/ask.
Make sure you present it as part of your path forward, not as a starting point. Integrate the ask into your deck in a part of the story right after you explain what you’ve already done. You are asking for money to help propel you forward, not to get you off the starting block. Failing to have it as part of your narrative makes it seem like you NEED the money to get started.
Make sure your ask is in line with market norms. Check the Founder’s Institute or Carta data around recent raises to ensure you aren’t asking for an amount that will scare away investors.
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Onwards and Upwards,
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