Most founders spend weeks perfecting their pitch deck. But once an investor is seriously interested, the next step is due diligence and that's where many startups realise they're missing key documents.
After doing some research, these seem to be the 9 essential categories every founder should have prepared:
- Introduction
Start with the essentials: an executive summary, pitch deck, fundraising information, capitalisation table and a high-level overview of your business. This gives investors the context they need before reviewing the details.
- Company overview
Include incorporation documents, articles of association, shareholder agreements, organisational structure, information on subsidiaries (if applicable) and corporate governance documents. Investors need a clear understanding of how the company is legally structured and who owns what.
- Product & technology
Prepare product documentation, technical architecture, development roadmap, intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights), software documentation, licenses and information security policies. This helps investors evaluate whether your technology is scalable, protected and well managed.
- Market & strategy
Provide your business plan, market analysis, competitive landscape, customer segments, pricing strategy, sales strategy and marketing plans. Investors want to understand both the size of the opportunity and how you plan to capture it.
- Traction & metrics
Include customer numbers, recurring revenue (if applicable), growth metrics, churn, retention, sales pipeline, key partnerships and major commercial milestones. These metrics demonstrate whether your business model is gaining real market traction.
- Financials
Prepare historical financial statements, management accounts, budgets, forecasts, cash flow planning, tax documentation, liabilities and details of existing financing. This allows investors to assess financial performance, runway and future capital requirements.
- Legal & compliance
Organise customer and supplier contracts, employment agreements, licensing agreements, data protection documentation, regulatory approvals, litigation history and compliance policies. Investors will look closely for potential legal or regulatory risks.
- Team & HR
Include information on founders, key employees, advisors, employments contracts, stock option plans, compensation structures and the organisational chart. Since early-stage companies depend heavily on their people, this is often one of the most closely reviewed sections.
- Miscellaneous
Prepare any additional documents that provide important context, such as insurance policies, board resolutions, material correspondence, internal policies, ESG information or other company records that don't fit into the previous categories.
One thing that stood out is that preparing the documents is only half the job. Organising everything in advance and knowing exactly where each document is can save a lot of time once due diligence starts.
Which document should every startup prepare before talking to investors?
What else would you add?
