# Checking an investor before you pitch

Investors do due diligence on you. These are the questions that do it the other way round — whether a firm writes cheques your size, how it behaves after the first one, who decides, and who you would actually be signing with.

_Version 1.0 · last reviewed 22 September 2026 · /funding/pitch/checking-an-investor_

A founder's time is the scarcest thing in a fundraise, and most of it is lost to meetings with investors who were never going to write the cheque. When we read the websites of 5,360 funders in our catalogue, we found a stated cheque size for only about one in fifteen, and more than one figure in seven on those pages was not a cheque at all. So most of this list is questions to ask directly, early, and in writing. The first section decides whether a meeting is worth having; the second and third decide whether the money is worth having; the last two establish who you are dealing with and what they usually ask for.

## Whether they write cheques your size

Stage words — pre-seed, seed, Series A — mean very different amounts to different firms. Settle the amount before the stage.

- [ ] **What does the firm say it puts into a company in the first cheque, in its own words?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: Firms that tie a figure to pre-seed on their own pages range from $50,000 to up to $10 million. The label tells you almost nothing; the figure tells you whether your round is the right size for them.
      - Have ready: The sentence from the firm's own site or a partner's written reply, with a date, giving the first or initial cheque as a range or a typical amount.
      - What weakens it: No figure anywhere, and no answer when asked; Only the stage is given; Different figures from different partners
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Is the number you found a first cheque, a typical cheque, a ceiling, a lifetime total, a round size or a fund size?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: They are easily confused and they differ by orders of magnitude. A fund size is not a cheque, 'up to £10m' is a ceiling rather than what the firm normally writes, and a lifetime figure includes money you would only see in later rounds.
      - Have ready: The figure labelled correctly, and where it is a ceiling or a lifetime total, the typical first cheque asked for separately.
      - What weakens it: A fund size quoted as if it were a cheque; Only an 'up to' figure; A lifetime figure presented as the first round
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Do they lead rounds, co-lead, or only follow once someone else has set the terms?** _(Expected)_
      - Why: A follower cannot close your round. If you need a lead, time spent with investors who never lead is time the round is not moving.
      - Have ready: The firm's stated role, and two or three recent rounds it led, from its own announcements or the companies'.
      - What weakens it: 'Flexible' with no example of leading; Interest conditional on finding a lead first; Asks you to find the lead for them
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Is the figure for your market, and in which currency?** _(Expected)_
      - Why: A pre-seed cheque in one city can be ten times one in another, and a dollar sign on a site outside the US may not be a US dollar. Compare your round with the firm's own figure for the market it actually invests in.
      - Have ready: The currency stated, the geographies the firm invests in, and whether your company's location is inside them.
      - What weakens it: A figure with no currency on a non-US site; Your country is not among those it has invested in; A 'global' mandate with no examples outside one country
      - Answer:

## How they behave after the first cheque

The first cheque is the smallest part of the relationship. What matters more is what the firm does when the next round is easy, and when it is hard.

- [ ] **Does the firm keep reserves for follow-on rounds, and how does it decide who gets them?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: A firm that says 'initial' and 'reserve' in the same sentence is telling you how it plans to behave in your next round. One that does not reserve may be unable to support you when an insider round is the only option.
      - Have ready: The stated follow-on policy and, for a firm with a record, examples of companies it followed on in.
      - What weakens it: No reserves and no plan for the next round; Follow-on decided 'case by case' with no example; The fund is fully invested
      - Answer:

- [ ] **What did the firm do the last time a portfolio company's next round was difficult?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: Every firm is supportive when the round is oversubscribed. The difference shows when it is not: a bridge, an extension, introductions, or silence.
      - Have ready: A founder from the portfolio, found by you rather than offered by the firm, describing a difficult round.
      - What weakens it: Only references the firm chose; No founder of a company that failed will talk to you; 'That has not happened to us'
      - Answer:

- [ ] **What rights will they ask for — a board seat, information rights, vetoes — at this size of cheque?** _(Expected)_
      - Why: Governance asked for at seed often stays for the life of the company. A board seat for a small cheque, or broad consent rights, shapes every later decision.
      - Have ready: The rights the firm usually asks for at your stage, in writing, before a term sheet.
      - What weakens it: A board seat for a minority seed cheque; Consent rights over hiring or budgets; Rights described only after exclusivity
      - Answer:

## How they decide, and who decides

The person in the meeting is often not the person who decides. Find out how many steps there are before you are asked for anything.

- [ ] **Who makes the final decision — a partner, an investment committee, a parent company?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: An associate who likes the company is not a yes. Corporate venture arms in particular may need approval from outside the fund.
      - Have ready: The name or role of whoever signs off, and the steps between this meeting and a term sheet.
      - What weakens it: Nobody can say who decides; An unspecified 'committee' with no timeline; A parent company's approval that nobody has sought before
      - Answer:

- [ ] **How long does it usually take from first meeting to money in the bank?** _(Expected)_
      - Why: A firm that takes three months to decide can cost you a round with one that takes three weeks. Knowing the timeline lets you run a process in parallel.
      - Have ready: The firm's typical time to a term sheet and to close, and what it needs from you at each step.
      - What weakens it: No typical timeline; A long list of documents before a first partner meeting; Closing dates that keep moving
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Will they ask for exclusivity, or for any payment, before a term sheet?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: Exclusivity before terms takes away your alternatives while the firm keeps all of its. And a legitimate investor does not charge a founder to pitch or to be diligenced.
      - Have ready: A clear answer, in writing, that no fee is payable by you and no exclusivity is asked before terms are agreed.
      - What weakens it: A fee to pitch, apply or be diligenced; Exclusivity before a term sheet; Pressure to decide within days
      - Answer:

## Who you would actually be signing with

The brand on the website and the entity on the documents are not always the same. Check the second one.

- [ ] **Is the firm registered where it must be, and does the register match what it tells you?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: A US investment adviser files Form ADV, which anyone can read on the SEC's adviser search. A UK firm managing investments is on the FCA register. A mismatch between the name, address or status there and what the firm says is a reason to stop.
      - Have ready: The firm's entry on the relevant public register, read yourself, with the date.
      - What weakens it: No entry where one would be required; A different name or address on the register; Reluctance to say which entity will invest
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Will the money come from the fund itself, or from a syndicate or special-purpose vehicle raised after you agree terms?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: Money that still has to be raised is not yet money. A deal that depends on assembling a vehicle after the term sheet can fail or shrink after you have stopped talking to anyone else.
      - Have ready: The entity that will sign the subscription and whether the capital is already committed to it.
      - What weakens it: The amount depends on 'how the syndicate fills'; A vehicle to be formed after signing; Your company's name used to raise money before terms are final
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Does the firm already back a company that competes with yours?** _(Expected)_
      - Why: A firm with a competitor in its portfolio will see your plans, your numbers and your pipeline. Some handle it well; you should know before you share anything.
      - Have ready: The firm's current portfolio from its own site, checked against your competitors, and its policy on conflicts.
      - What weakens it: A direct competitor in the portfolio, not mentioned; No information-barrier policy; Detailed questions about your customers at a first meeting
      - Answer:

## What they usually ask for

Standard programmes publish their terms. Everyone else has a usual deal too; ask what it is before you negotiate.

- [ ] **If it is an accelerator or programme, what exactly is the amount, the instrument and the equity?** _(Must have)_
      - Why: Programmes can state a price because they sell one product, and the good ones do: an amount, an instrument such as a post-money SAFE, and a percentage. If those three are not written down, it is not a standard deal.
      - Have ready: The published amount, instrument and equity share, and any fees charged for the programme itself.
      - What weakens it: Equity taken for services with no cash; A programme fee payable by the company; Terms that differ from the published ones
      - Answer:

- [ ] **What instrument, ownership target and preferences does the firm usually ask for at your stage?** _(Expected)_
      - Why: An ownership target tells you the valuation the firm has in mind before it says so. Preferences above one times, or participation, change who gets what in every outcome short of a very good one.
      - Have ready: The usual instrument, the ownership the firm aims for, and its standard liquidation preference, in writing.
      - What weakens it: Liquidation preference above 1x at seed; Participating preferred with no cap; An ownership target far above what your round allows
      - Answer:

- [ ] **Does the investor need the round to qualify for a tax relief scheme, and have you checked that it can?** _(Nice to have)_
      - Why: Many UK angels and some funds invest only under SEIS or EIS, which has conditions on the company and the shares. Finding out after the round is agreed can undo it.
      - Have ready: Whether the investor needs relief, which scheme, and HMRC advance assurance for your company where it applies.
      - What weakens it: Relief assumed but never checked; Share terms that would disqualify the relief; Advance assurance left until after closing
      - Answer:

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