An investment-readiness checklist for startups

Start with the decision you want an investor to make

Define the amount sought, the milestone it funds and the evidence that milestone will create. A request for £20,000 to £500,000 can cover very different businesses and financing needs. Build the amount from the plan and cash requirements instead of selecting a round number for the pitch.

Write a one-page summary of the customer problem, solution, traction, business model, team and funding use. If these cannot be reconciled with your longer documents, resolve the inconsistency before circulating them.

Check evidence, not just document presence

A completed deck does not by itself establish readiness. Each major claim should have a source, a date and someone responsible for explaining it. Separate achieved results from forecasts and signed commitments from informal interest.

• Customer: interview findings, paid trials, repeat use or other relevant validation.
• Market: target segment, alternatives and a credible route to customers.
• Team: responsibilities, relevant experience, gaps and recruitment assumptions.
• Economics: pricing, gross margin, acquisition costs where known, and cash needs.
• Execution: milestones, budget, dependencies and a downside response.
• Governance: ownership records and a plan to resolve material contractual or intellectual-property questions.

Use a readiness register

For each category, record “evidenced”, “partially evidenced” or “not yet evidenced”. Add the exact file or record and the action needed. These labels are a planning framework, not Fundability’s scoring algorithm.

Work first on gaps that could change the funding decision: unclear customer demand, disputed ownership, inconsistent numbers or a budget that does not reach a useful milestone. Design and wording improvements come after the underlying evidence is coherent.

Decide when to approach investors

Begin learning about suitable investors before you need money. Relationship building can take months, and an investor may want to see progress between conversations. A first conversation can be about fit and feedback without presenting it as an immediate request for a commitment.

Fundability can help create and assess the core documents and organise a data room. Review the assessment findings, then use your own judgement and relevant professional advice to decide whether, when and how to raise.