Welcome

Welcome to the first Sprint of Decile Close. We recommend that you use an online document, such as Google Docs, to complete the Sprint activities. We also recommend that you use a task manager to schedule and plan the activities for each Sprint that may require the assistance of other Team Members.

Activities v1

1. Time Allocation

Ensure that you have the proper time to complete the Next Close. 

First, speak with any Team members and let them know that you will be pursuing a close, asking if they can pick up any day-to-day activities for you. 

Next, review your calendar and remove any unnecessary meetings or vacations, blocking out roughly 20 hours per week for closing activities over the next 5 or 6 weeks and subsequently 40 hours per week for 2 or 3 weeks. 

Lastly, update your Calendly or other meeting booking system to high availability and three types of meeting durations: (1) 15 minutes with a 15 minute break afterwards for extensions, (2) 30 minutes with a 30 minute break afterwards for extension, (3) 60 minutes. 

2. Update your Thesis

If you believe that your Thesis is in excellent shape, skip this exercise. 

Otherwise, first, write a bulleted list of the feedback and questions that you received when pitching your fund, as well as anything that has changed since initially pitching, such as the performance of your track record. 

Next, draft three versions of your Thesis to reflect the changes in a positive light. 

Then, share the three versions of your Thesis with five Team members and Confidants, and secure a rating of 1 to 5 with no 3’s. 

Lastly, take the most popular Thesis and use it as your updated Thesis for the Next Close. 

3. Set a Close Date

Set a target date to send the LPA for signatures.

First, look at your personal calendar, as well as local and international holidays, and choose a Closing Date in roughly two months for your Next Close. 

Next, check your Closing Date with the Team, with VC Lab and with any key stakeholders, and make any necessary adjustments to the date. 

Lastly, update your Email Templates, Fund Presentation and other materials below with an approximation of the Closing Date, such as “closing at the end of November, 2022. ” 

NOTE: There are periods throughout the year that are challenging to close on, such as December 15th to February 1st or the month of August. 

4. Secure Closing News

Identify positive updates to share with Limited Partners.

First, work to create or identify at least 5 pieces of Good News in the following categories, which are rank ordered by importance: (1) Existing Portfolio Markups; (2) New Portfolio Deals; (3) Upcoming Portfolio Deals; (4) New Team Members; (5) Existing Portfolio Progress Reports; (6) Prominent Speaking Engagements; (7) Positive Market Insights. 

Next, if you do not have any Existing Portfolio Markups, work to investigate how you can help at least one Existing Portfolio Company to secure a markup in the next 6 weeks, and write a bulleted list of the steps that you will take to help, if possible. 

Then, organize the Good News into a calendar over the next eight weeks and identify the best channel to release the news, which may be a phone conversation, in a template email or in closing messaging, saving at least 2 pieces of Good News for the Closing in roughly 6 weeks. 

Lastly, for each piece of Good News, write a short blurb of one or two sentences to describe the Good News to Limited Partners. 

5. Update your Fund Presentation

If you believe that your Fund Presentation is in excellent shape, skip this exercise. 

NOTE: Your Existing Portfolio Companies are normally included in the Fund Presentation, normally one highlighted or top performing Portfolio Company per page. 

Otherwise, first, review the Fund Presentation document sharing information that displays how long someone looked at a slide on average, which is available on Decile Hub, and reflect on why people looked at some slides more than others. 

Next, review your Fund Presentation slide by slide, and write a bulleted list of ideas under each slide name on how to improve the flow based on the time spent per slide and the feedback or questions received when pitching. 

Then, quickly make the adjustments to the Fund Presentation without consideration for formatting, and review the changes by quickly running through the deck in under a minute to see that everything flows smoothly. 

Lastly, one your rough changes are finalized and the Fund Presentation flows nicely, go back through and improve the formatting to be professional. NOTE: Plan to make changes to the Fund Presentation right after each Limited Partner pitch for the next couple of weeks to ensure that all good feedback is incorporated. 

6. Clean your Pipeline

Prepare your CRM to start a new closing process.

First, ask VC Lab to set up a new investor pipeline in Decile Hub for your Next Close, called “Second Close” or “Third Close” as needed. 

Next, thoroughly go through every Limited Partner in every Stage of your Investor pipeline in Decile Hub and ensure that they are categorized correctly with the Stage, Investment Amount, Probability and the Rating. 

Then, for every Limited Partner that you think may be interested in the Next Close, even if they were previously Unresponsive or Declined, move them to the “Added” Stage in your New Pipeline. 

Lastly, review and update the Stages and the Email Templates for your New Pipeline, and, update the “Request Feedback” Stage to have emails 1a. 1 and 1a. 2 to set up a 15-minute call regarding your Next Close. 

7. Pitch initial Limited Partners

Pitch Limited Partners from your new closing process.

First, identify 5 Limited Partners in the New Pipeline “Added” Stage of Decile Hub and drag them to the “Request Feedback” Stage, sending a customized email to set up a 15-minute call. 

Next, if any Limited Partner does not set up a call after 3 days, send a customized reminder to do the call. 

Then, during the call with each Limited Partner, review the status of the Fund, review the updated Thesis for feedback and ask if they know anyone interested in investing, offering to share with them the new DRAFT Fund Presentation if they respond favorably. 

Lastly, if you do not get at least 1 interested Limited Partner to send the Fund Presentation to, spend some time to refine your Thesis, your call style and your Fund Presentation. 

8. Plan your Minimums and Maximums

Increase and categorize your Minimum and Maximum investment limits.

NOTE: A best practice is to lead with the Maximum, versus the Minimum, when speaking with Limited Partners and in your materials, such as the Fund Presentation. 

First, set your overall Fund Minimum to at least twice what your initial minimum was, such as $250,000 if your initial minimum was $100,000. 

Next, create a Special Package for a limited number of Limited Partners with a lower minimum, such as 5 spots at $100,000 for “Referral Partners” that bring in deals, offering less access with the lower minimum, such as no ability to ask questions on reports. 

Then, create different Elite Packages for higher end Limited Partners, such as corporates or large family offices, which may have a minimum of $500,000 or $ 1 MM, offering moe access with the higher minimums, such as monthly calls or the ability to co-invest in deals without using Side Letters. 

Lastly, set a Maximum investment for all Packages and a higher one for the Elite Packages, ensuring that they are not larger than 20% of the fund size. 

9. Arrange Speaking Opportunities

Increase your profile with speaking opportunities.

First, research opportunities to speak at 2 or 3 separate related industry events where there will be Limited Partners over the next 6 weeks at a pace of one every two weeks, preferably at larger in person events. 

Next, reach out to the event organizer and try to secure a keynote, if possible, or to join a panel, if keynotes are not available. 

Then, try to find any after parties or side events that may have Limited Partners attending, and secure invitations to these. 

Lastly, write a short blurb about your participation in each event to use when emailing or speaking with Limited Partners in order to invite them. 

10. Host LP Events

Encourage your Limited Partners to engage and refer friends with an Event strategy. 

First, pick and schedule dates to host 2 intimate and private Events for Limited Partners over the next 6 weeks, which may be a dinner or virtual gathering, ensuring that the dates are not affected by vacations or holidays. 

Next, pick a type of Event, such as a small Limited Partner dinner with a Portfolio Company CEO or an intimate online networking with a top speaker or a Portfolio Company CEO.

Then, create an Event Guest List strategy, where you choose which LPs to invite to each Event and how to encourage those LPs to invite other Limited Partner Prospects.

Lastly, write a short blurb about each Event, and use it to invite 5 people on the Event Guest List through email, and evaluate the reaction to refine the message. 

11. Send a Newsletter

Notify Limited Partners about your Next Close with a Newsletter.

First, pick and schedule dates to send 3 LP Newsletters over the next 8 weeks.

Then, write a bulleted list with the theme, the updates and the Good News for each of the 3 LP Newsletters, having the second LP Newsletter announcing the closing and the third LP Newsletter offering to send the Closing Materials.

Next, create a LP Mailing List with just the Limited Partners that you have had at least one engagement with relating to the fund, including those that invested. 

Lastly, write the first Newsletter with one call to action offering an update call, and send the first Newsletter to the LP Mailing List.

Good luck.
You can do this!

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