We get this question a lot...
🤔 How long does it take to run a deal?
We can usually move as fast as your investors do, however a recommended timeline is about 3-4 weeks.
This gives you time to write the deal note, run the founder Q&A session, leave the deal open for about 2 weeks, and then an additional week for closing actions (collecting investor documents, signatures & funds).
If the founder is raising on a flexible timeline (eg. via SAFE note), then even if the lead investor has already signed and completed the investment, it's usually not a big deal for the company to wait the extra time for the syndicate's amount.
If the company is raising a priced equity round, then they would need to coordinate with the lead & other investors to ensure you have enough to close out everything with the syndicate before they want to do the final close.
In either case, if the founder has just signed the term sheet with the lead, our best guess would be that you have enough time to run the deal (if you start now).
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Note that between a 1-2 week window for a deal being open is just about right (not too short so investors have time to act, and not too long so there is a sense of urgency + momentum), so pay particular attention to the cadence & tone of these suggestions.
There are no hard & fast rules about this, but here is a rough guideline of what we've seen work successfully.
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-3 days (to Deal Launch) - send "upcoming deal" email
✋🏻 Don't do this until your deal note is reviewed & approved!
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-1 day - send invite to founder Q&A
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🚨 Deal Launch day - send deal invite email
🔥 Include a CTA (call to action) with link to invest (tip: check out our subject line guide for best practice).
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+1 day - run founder Q&A session
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+2 days - send founder Q&A recording followup email
Include a CTA (call to action) with link to invest.
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+4 days (ie. for deal open for 1 week) - deal closing soon
🔥 Include a CTA (call to action) with link to invest (tip: check out our subject line guide for best practice).
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Note: do take into account weekly seasonality, weekends and industry events, eg. you may need to adjust your schedule around public holidays, if something falls on a Friday vs Monday, and if there are big investor conferences or events going on etc.
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Any questions or feedback?
We'd love to help and hear your suggestions on what has worked for you.
Please let us know on hello@aussieangels.com
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