Your Investors Can Make Or Break Your Startup. Here’s Who Founders Actually Need On Their Cap Table

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Investors receive ownership in the company in exchange for the money they put in. For startup founders, the goal shouldn’t be assembling a cap table filled with whoever was willing to invest, but rather intentionally constructed around investors who bring different forms of value.

Guest author Antonia Dean, a partner at Black Operator Ventures, shares three things founders should look for in their investors. And it’s no secret that fundraising can be grueling, especially after dozens of pitches, follow-ups and rejections.

It can almost feel as though a term sheet is the validation and that the hardest part is finally over. But founders also have to pay attention to far more than the size of the check or the valuation attached to it.