Deal Sourcing · What I Look For
The bar is specific. Read it before you apply.
I decline most mandates. Not because the businesses are bad, but because I only stand behind companies I can defend line by line to investors who trust me. Here is the filter.
Stage: real traction, before the growth premium
Revenue that repeats, customers that return, and a path to Series A/B — or already profitable and raising for expansion. I don't take idea-stage mandates.
Burn discipline is non-negotiable
If your growth is bought — burn multiple north of 2x, CAC that only works in a pitch deck — this is the wrong door. Investors in my network back earned growth.
Honest numbers, shared early
Cohorts, contribution margin, concentration, runway — under NDA, before I commit. Founders who negotiate transparency don't clear the vetting.
Sectors where judgment compounds
Consumer, fintech, renewable energy and adjacent operating businesses are home turf. Elsewhere, I'll say so upfront rather than fake expertise.
Founders I'd back with my own cheque
Because I often do. The mandate conversation includes whether I invest personally — the strongest signal I can give the room.
What "vetted" means here
Before I take a mandate: your raw numbers reviewed under NDA, reference calls with customers and past investors, a term-sheet reality check against current market pricing, and a written internal note on why I believe the round closes. If that note can't be written honestly, I pass — and tell you exactly why.