For up-and-coming VCs, doing real deal scouting is very difficult. Without an established investment track record, their dealflow is considered unqualified and few VCs or Limited Partners (LPs) will pay attention to their dealflow.
Venture Institute offers participants a chance to overcome that barrier through Demo Day.
What is Demo Day
Demo Day is an optional deal scouting exercise where Venture Institute participants present real, founder-consented fundraising deals to a curated group of active VC firms. It is designed to highlight Venture Institute participants’ ability to source strong opportunities and communicate them at a professional standard.
Demo Day is a live session where selected Venture Institute participants briefly present a startup and take Q&A from a panel of investing VCs.
It is an exclusive opportunity for the best and most relevant deals sourced by 8-10 participants’ in the cohort. Therefore, the focus on quality (of the deal, and of your deal memo) and relevancy (to the VC firms participating) is paramount.
Demo Day is a structured way for investors to see pre-filtered, thesis-relevant deals sourced and analyzed by emerging venture professionals. For Venture Institute participants, it is an opportunity to demonstrate real-world deal sourcing and memo-writing skills.
Where Demo Day fits in VI and how it works
All Venture Institute participants must, as part of Sprint 6, source a live fundraising deal, speak with the founder(s), and write a deal memo.
Demo Day is an optional add-on layer: participants may choose to submit that same sourced deal and memo for consideration to present.
8–10 VC firms with clearly defined investment theses have been selected to receive interesting deals sourced by Venture Institute participants. Only deals addressing those theses will be selected.
The strongest, best-aligned deals are invited to present at Demo Day, where Venture Institute participants introduce the startups and facilitate connections between founders and investors. If a participant’s deal is not selected for Demo Day, or if they choose not to participate, this will not negatively impact their selection for a residency.
Timeline
Feb 12: Introduction to Demo Day. Start Sourcing Now.
Mar 10: Venture Deals Session – instruction on how to write a deal memo; this is the format for Demo Day submissions.
Mar 16, 11:59 pm PST: Demo Day Submission Deadline. Submit your deal memo (via Sprint 6) if you want your deal considered.
Mar 17: Selected deals will be contacted for participation.
Mar 18: Run-through preparation session.
Mar 19: Live presentations and Q&A; post-event, investors may request introductions to selected startups.
What firms are open to receiving deals?
The following firms have specifically opted in to looking at deals from Venture Institute participants.
This is in addition to firms you can send deals to locally, so if you don’t see firms here within your speciality, go find some.
FAQs
Do I have to participate in Demo Day?
No. Demo Day is optional. You are required to source a deal and write a deal memo for Venture Institute (Sprint 6), but you may choose not to submit that deal for Demo Day consideration.
If I opt out, will it hurt my evaluation?
No. Not submitting to Demo Day, or not being selected to present, will not negatively impact your assessment within Venture Institute or your residency prospects. That said, it will be regarded positively if you do participate and are chosen to present at Demo Day.
How do I submit a deal for Demo Day?
In the Sprint 6 directions, there will be a link to a form to submit your deal for consideration for Demo Day.
How do I learn to write a deal memo?
Deal memo structure, content, and examples will be covered in the Venture Deals session on March 10. You should attend that session before finalizing your Demo Day submission.
Who sees my deal and memo?
Your deal and memo are reviewed by the Venture Institute team and the Decile deals team. If selected for Demo Day, they will also be shared with the opted-in VC firms (up to around 15 investors) ahead of the live session.
Do I need to be in contact with the founder?
Yes. Deals where you are not directly in touch with the founder will not be accepted for Demo Day and will receive a lower score for the Sprint 6 assignment. The core requirement is to identify a startup that is actively fundraising, engage with the team, and then write your memo based on that conversation and your research.
Do I need the founder’s consent to share their deal?
Yes. You must communicate the purpose of Demo Day to the founder(s) and receive their consent to share their materials and deal details with Venture Institute, Decile, and participating VC firms. Formal written consent is not required, but you must attest that you obtained their approval.
What do I have to share if I submit?
You need to share your deal memo and the startup’s current fundraising deck (with the founder’s consent).
What if the startup doesn’t have a fundraising deck?
You can still complete and submit your memo for Sprint 6, and it will be graded normally for the program. However, a lack of a deck makes it less likely that the deal will be selected for Demo Day.
What happens after Demo Day?
If investors find a deal compelling, they will request introductions. You will be asked to make those introductions within 24 hours of a request. From there, any follow-on conversation or diligence happens directly between founders and investors.
Will I know if an investor ends up investing?
Decile and Venture Institute do not systematically track eventual investment outcomes from Demo Day, and investments often take weeks of diligence and may close months later. Your relationship with the founders is where you’ll discover information on what happened.
Can I get paid for this work?
No. If you have any economic interest in the deal (e.g., referral fees, advisory equity, success fees) or in making the introduction to investors, you cannot submit that deal for Demo Day. You must attest that you have no commercial interest in the connection. You should view Demo Day an opportunity for you to start working towards a strong thesis, the effects of which can compund in the long run.
Isn’t this just free labor?
No. Sourcing truly strong, venture-quality deals is extremely hard. Only a small fraction of submitted deals will be VC-quality. Reviewing, filtering, and putting those deals in front of paying customers is time-intensive and carries reputational risk for Decile, with no direct economic upside (we don’t make any money on this either).
The primary goal is to create an exercise where actually presenting deals to investors at the end is a potential outcome. This gives Venture Institute participants actual value to offer startups in return for their time discussing their deal. It also creates a proving ground where Venture Institute participants demonstrate their ability to source deals and produce quality deal memos – that clearly articulate the potential value of the deal.
This is also Every deal you touch builds your legitimacy in your sector.
How should I source and approach founders?
Start now: Activate your network with specific, focused asks for founders who are actively fundraising in areas that map to institutional VC theses.
Lead with value: Explain that you’re in an emerging VC program and offer to create a free deal memo that summarizes their round from a VC perspective, and that, if there’s a fit, you may be able to put it in front of relevant funds.
Keep expectations realistic: Make it clear you cannot promise capital, only thoughtful analysis and a potential introduction if the deal aligns with the opted-in firms’ theses.
Learn how VCs do it: Check out the six deals articles posted on Decile Group’s website on the different stages of the dealflow process, especially on sourcing.
Where to start: If you’re brand new to deal sourcing, start with PEOPLE. Get out of the office. Speak to every startup incubator or accelerator in your local ecosystem. Attend pitching events. Contact founders online. Don’t rely on startup aggregators like Crunchbase or Dealroom. Speak to human beings.
My network / professional focus doesn’t line up with any funds’ theses that were provided.
Some Venture Institute participants’ networks will not line up with any selected funds. That’s why this is an optional assignment, and you are not penalized in any way if your deal is not submitted or selected for Demo Day.
If this applies to you, you can take two actions. First, try anyway: pick the most relevant fund and try to find a deal that applies. Second: focus on finding a great deal that IS in your area of focus, and write a great deal memo. Instead of submitting the deal for consideration in this Demo Day, connect the company to VC firms in that stage/geography/industry, generating value for the founders outside of Venture Institute and generating network legitimacy for yourself. (And feel free to tell us about your efforts in this area during your Sprint 6 answers.)
The Decile Group develops industry-leading offerings to transform venture capital into an ethical force for good in the world, including VC Lab, Decile Hub, Decile Partners and Decile Capital.
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