CFO & Strategy
What VCs Actually Look At in Your Financial Model (And What They Don't)
Collated by Harry Prabandham
Curated by Rubric Financial
1 / 6
What VCs Actually Care About
- Three numbers, in order of importance: (1) the next 12 months of revenue + the conviction behind it, (2) your unit economics at scale (CAC payback, gross margin, LTV:CAC), (3) how much you need to raise to hit the next milestone.
- Everything else (5-year projections, market sizing, terminal-year IRR) is either (a) inputs to validate those three numbers, or (b) box-ticking that doesn't affect the decision.
- Top-tier VCs make their first-pass decision in <10 minutes with your model. The model isn't there to convince them you're right; it's there to convince them you've thought clearly about the unit economics and the next 12 months.
Related Resources
CFO & Strategy
Startup KPIs Every Founder Should Track
A comprehensive guide to the financial and operational KPIs that investors expect founders to know and track from day one.
CFO & StrategyVC Capital Isn't Fuel, It's a Timer
Why taking venture capital commits you to a growth-at-all-costs trajectory, and how bootstrapped founders often build more personal wealth with less stress.
CFO & StrategyIncentive Alignment in Startups
How to align incentives across founders, employees, and investors so everyone is pulling in the same direction, through equity structure, compensation design, and governance.
About the author
Harry PrabandhamFounder & CEO
Founder and CEO of StartupCFO. MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science, and decades of experience building and advising venture-backed startups.
More articles by Harry →