If you’re in the midst of raising Series A funding or are trying to conclude a merger, acquisition or investment deal, the data room for investors is an essential tool to conduct due diligence. It simplifies the collection of documents into one repository, and allows third parties to access the information in real-time without having to repeatedly email you or request copies of the latest version.

While it’s tempting to fill up your investor data room with all the information you’ve got at hand but be mindful not to overwhelm potential investors. A lot of documents can make due diligence a long and difficult process for both parties. A well-organized and organized dataroom is vital to ensure that investors can quickly and efficiently review the financial health of your business as well as operational strategies and legal standings.

Investors will be interested in your startup’s future and historical financial statements. They’ll also want to know the source of any assumptions or models and the rationale behind the assumptions or models. It is also possible to include a list of previous financing agreements, capitalization tables as well as other information. Founders with a strong enough pitch to attract VC interest will often upload a copy of the pitch deck to their data room, too.

Most importantly, your investor data room must have clearly defined headlines for each slide. It can be difficult for investors to navigate through a lengthy technical slideshow if titles are unclear or misleading. Avoid using non-standard analytical methods instead of standard ones (e.g. showing a portion of the Profit and Loss statement as opposed to. an entire overview).

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