How to build a professional investor data room — the folder of documents every investor will ask for during due diligence — before you start fundraising.
Create a private Google Drive or Notion folder called '[Company Name] Data Room — [Month Year]'. Share it with view-only access via a link. Never give investors edit access.
Organise the data room into these standard sections: (1) Company Overview, (2) Legal, (3) Financials, (4) Product, (5) Team, (6) Traction & Metrics.
Company Overview folder: pitch deck (PDF), one-page executive summary, product demo video link, and a company overview memo (2-3 pages expanding on the deck).
Legal folder: certificate of incorporation, shareholder register, existing cap table, any signed SAFEs or convertible notes, co-founder agreements, key customer contracts (redacted if necessary), IP assignments, and employment contracts for key hires.
Financials folder: last 12 months of actual P&L (profit and loss), last 12 months of bank statements, a 24-month financial model with assumptions clearly labelled, and your current monthly burn rate and runway calculation.
Product folder: screenshots or a live demo link, any technical architecture documentation, and a product roadmap (next 12 months).
Team folder: CVs for all founders and key team members, LinkedIn profiles, and a team org chart.
Traction & Metrics folder: MRR/ARR growth chart, customer count over time, churn rate, NPS or customer satisfaction data, and key operational metrics relevant to your business model (e.g. GMV for a marketplace, loan book for a lender).
Keep the data room up to date. An investor who returns to find 9-month-old financials loses confidence immediately. Update the financials folder monthly.
Track who has accessed your data room. Google Drive shows view history. Knowing which investors have actually opened and spent time in your data room tells you who is genuinely interested and worth following up with.
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