Are You Actually Ready to Raise? The Pre-Fundraise Audit
The 8 questions every investor will ask in the first meeting — and how to answer them before you walk in
Who this is for
SMEs considering raising equity or structured debt in the next 6–18 months. Founders who have never raised institutional capital before, or who have had a fundraise stall without a clear explanation of why.
What it costs you to ignore it
The diagnosis behind it
This playbook is triggered by a Red or Critical finding on:
Vital 4 — Fundraising & Investor ReadinessThe Protocol
Answer in writing: What is the exact amount you are raising, what will it be used for (line by line), and what does the business look like 36 months after the capital is deployed?
Prepare a clean 3-year P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement — audited if available, management accounts if not. Reconcile any discrepancies between your books and your tax filings.
Document your unit economics: customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, gross margin per product or service line, and payback period. If you cannot calculate these, that is the first thing to fix.
List every legal, regulatory, and compliance issue that could surface in due diligence: pending litigation, tax demands, related-party transactions, missing statutory filings. Resolve what can be resolved; disclose the rest proactively.
Define your valuation expectation and the basis for it — comparable transactions, revenue multiple, or DCF. If you cannot defend the number with data, you do not have a valuation; you have a wish.
Prepare a one-page investment summary: business description, market size, traction, financials, ask, and use of funds. This is what gets you the second meeting — not the pitch deck.
What you can do yourself vs what needs help
Steps 1–3 are entirely internal. Steps 4–6 — the diligence risk register, valuation methodology, and investment summary — benefit significantly from an advisor who has sat on both sides of the table and knows what will be asked.