Blog > Venture capital


How to negotiate with VCs

How to negotiate with VCs

Here are some not-so-obvious insights about VCs, their incentives, their goals that will help you get better deals with the investors you choose to work with.

Posted by Steph Mui | February 6, 2025
Evaluating competition as a VC

Evaluating competition as a VC

Venture capital is in the business of disruption. Naturally, the job of an investor necessarily includes evaluating how new startups will compete with existing incumbents. Learn how VCs think about competition in an uncertain environment.

Posted by Shaun Gold | January 29, 2025
The best startup pitch deck ever built

The best startup pitch deck ever built

What does the perfect pitch deck look like? Well, we built it. We took the absolute best slides, we put the together, and we created a deck that no investor could pass - ever.

Posted by Stéphane Nasser | January 29, 2025
The Stages of Startup Funding: From Pre-Seed to IPO

The Stages of Startup Funding: From Pre-Seed to IPO

As a founder who is going to be raising capital, it is essential to know what stage your company is in. This post covers all funding stages from boostrapping and pre-seed to seed, Series A series B, and late-stage.

Posted by Shaun Gold | January 6, 2025
13 cold email examples sent to VCs

13 cold email examples sent to VCs

They are all 100% real, they've all been sent via OpenVC in 2022. These examples are amongst the best we've seen. This is an excellent material to find inspiration when writing your own cold email to investors.

Posted by Stéphane Nasser | November 28, 2024
Dan Nguyen-Huu: Backed Databricks & Sumo Logic ($45bn), now GP at Decibel VC

Dan Nguyen-Huu: Backed Databricks & Sumo Logic ($45bn), now GP at Decibel VC

This is episode 13 of the OpenVC Podcast. In this episode, Dan Nguyen-Huu, General Partner at Decibel VC, shares his journey from UBS and Battery Ventures to backing major investments like Databricks and Sumo Logic. He dives into venture capital, market shifts, AI, and his vision for Decibel's future.

Posted by Harrison FaullDan Nguyen-Huu | November 26, 2024
How to Model a Venture Capital Fund

How to Model a Venture Capital Fund

My goal from this post is for you to come away with a solid idea of what it means to create a financial model for a venture capital fund, complete with templates and examples that you can use for modeling your fund.

Posted by Taylor Davidson | October 26, 2024
How to pick the right fundraising advisor

How to pick the right fundraising advisor

Should you use an external advisor to help raise funds for your startup? In this post, I want to give you the playbook on working with a fundraising advisor: is it a good idea for you, how to pick the right one, and what you should expect?

Posted by Jonathan Hollis | October 18, 2024
Russ Shaw CBE - From Harvard to O2, Skype and nurturing London's Tech Scene

Russ Shaw CBE - From Harvard to O2, Skype and nurturing London's Tech Scene

This is episode 10 of The OpenVC Podcast. In this episode, Russ Shaw shares his journey from launching Skype’s mobile division to leading O2 as CMO, where he famously pulled Arsenal’s sponsorship. Now the founder of Tech London Advocates (10,000+ members), he discusses tech leadership, branding, and ecosystem growth.

Posted by Harrison FaullRuss Shaw | October 15, 2024