Raising Your First VC Round? 7+ Tips for Managing Your VCs Afterwards

So you raised your first real VC round?  Congrats!  Mostly.  It’s all Feel Goods right after a round closes.  It can seem like nothing has changed but the bank account.  But in reality, a lot has changed.  Expectations have changed.

So a few thoughts if you haven’t raised venture capital before:

0.  First, this may sound small, but thank your VCs when the money hits your account.

Founders don’t tend to realize that yes, VCs are trying to make money from their investments.  But they are also betting on your.  In some cases, a big bet.  The bigger the check, the bigger the bet ;).  But once the deal is closed, it’s a simple great practice to just say Thank You for Believing is Us.  Thank you for being on the journey with us.

Almost none does this.  It goes so far.

1. Remember you have to prove yourself, still.  (Fair or not).

Yes, you got the $$$, and they really can’t get it back, and probably they can’t fire you if they don’t control the board. But remember your VCs barely know you, and they just wrote a big check (for them) most likely. You still have to prove yourself as (x) a great visionary, (y) someone able to recruit and retain a great team, and (z) a careful custodian of the investors’ funds. It will probably take you 6 months or so to truly prove yourself, longer if there are bumps along the way.  So continue to build trust.  (They have to as well, of course.)

2. Remember the Board meetings are as much or more about your team as they are about you.

If your Board just wanted to hear your thoughts, they could just meet with you 1-on-1. Make sure each VP/functional head presents at the board meeting, give them time, and don’t talk over them. And help them prep. Your VCs will learn a lot about the company, and about you as a leader, listening to them, not you.  And also, have board meetings.  Don’t skip them.  And even if you don’t have a board, do them instead as “investor meetings”.  They build trust, create accountability for your team, and deepen relationships.

3. Be extremely transparent and data-driven.

And get them detailed Board packs and metrics at least 3 days before each Board meeting. Initially, your VCs won’t really know how transparent you are — or if you are hiding things. Share everything. At least, share all metrics and data. And provide very clear zero-cash data projections (see Knowing — and Sharing — Your Zero Cash Date).

4. But don’t share all your fears.  Maybe 80% is enough.

Highlight risks for your VCs, but even with them, don’t let them see you sweat. If they see you sweat too much, they’ll get scared/nervous too, and it will spiral downward.  Share the risks, and most of your concerns — but come with a plan.

5. Take all the VCs’ feedback, but be careful what you implement.

Listen respectfully, and don’t openly disagree. But if you don’t think their advice is worth acting on, let them know later 1-on-1 why. Don’t blindly implement a VC suggestion that takes a lot of work that you don’t believe in.

6.  Whatever you do, don’t slow down the monthly and other updates.

Get them out like clockwork. So many founders stop sending out prompt monthly investor updates when things get tougher or slower.  And related to that, the #1 recommendation:

7.  Whatever you do, don’t hide bad news.  In fact, run toward it.

It’s natural for many founders to try to hide bad news.  But realize that VCs are wired to get regular bad news.  They don’t want it, but it comes with the job.  What spooks them is when it’s hidden.  In fact, go even further.  Run toward Bad News.  Good founders give you an early heads up it’s coming. Great founders?  They do that — and already have an action plan.