Investment Criteria

We invest in companies:

• Based in the Southeastern United States
• Led by a management team that is talented, trustworthy, determined and resourceful
• Seeking ~$250,000 to $2,000,000 for a 15%-30% preferred equity stake in the company
  • We don’t invest in common equity or debt, and rarely in convertible debt or SAFEs
• Generating initial revenue or entering the market with proven customer demand
• Deploying a business model that can scale with speed and capital efficiency
• That could generate a 50% annualized rate of return on our investment over five years

Securing investment is difficult. VentureSouth reviews many introductions each month, but invests in ~2% of the companies that start the process. Competition is high and you’ll need to demonstrate a compelling reason. 

Quick tips: be prepared, do your homework on how angels invest (check out Venture Carolina resources), develop a one-page executive summary and a compelling 10-12 page investor deck, and be organized and professional – you’ll already be ahead of the pack.

Initial Conversation

Try to track us down through a warm introduction. If you can’t, just send us an email to get introduced. 

Include a brief business overview and attach an executive summary or a pitch deck. If we’re impressed, we'll schedule time to learn more. We do not sign NDAs.

Quick tip: don’t send a lengthy business plan or rambling story

Screening Meeting

If we’re still intrigued after the introductory call, we’ll invite you to a (virtual) screening meeting. Screening meetings are held monthly to hear formal 15 minute pitches and follow-up Q&A – and the sessions are recorded for our members to review and provide feedback.

Quick tip: take some time to research how to give a good angel pitch. Try here or here, or come to one of our “how to pitch” seminars.

Due Diligence

If there is sufficient interest from our members to move into due diligence, a group of VentureSouth staff and investors will conduct a deeper evaluation. We’ll review documents, meet with the management team, ask a bunch of questions, analyze your financials, and make reference calls.

Quick tip: the more organized you are, the more efficient this process is. We suggest building a dataroom in advance for quick access to key documents.

Roadshow

If things go well in diligence, you will be invited to make formal presentations to VentureSouth members during our monthly meetings. These sessions are virtual (again generally 15-minute pitches and follow-up Q&A) and in person in our markets as schedules allow.

Quick tip: answer with honest and concise answers – other types of responses will undermine your credibility and diminish your chances of funding.

Investment

After diligence process and road show pitches, our diligence teams present their findings to our members. If our investors are excited to invest, we will make a capital call, collect checks, finalize transaction documents, and invest.

At this point, you get two new shareholders (one for our network entity and one for our sidecar fund) – and you can put that capital to work building a great business.