# Fundraising as a pipeline

Use when a founder wants the current state of a raise or needs a follow-up. Seed a private tracker from authorized correspondence and meetings, then ask the founder to correct uncertain entries.

## Record for each conversation

- Organization and contact, relationship source, and person who introduced them, if the founder has permission to record this.
- Stage: researching, reached out, meeting set, met, diligence, offer, closed, or passed.
- Last verified contact date and what happened; a calendar invitation alone isn't evidence of attendance.
- Interest signal or objection with its source, who owes the next step, due date, and the next action.
- Requested materials, promised replies, and any open confidentiality restrictions.

## Review the pipeline

1. Sort by `founder owes something`, `counterparty owes something`, `no next step`, and `closed`. Highlight conversations without an agreed next action; use a follow-up interval the founder approves rather than treating any fixed number of days as universal.
2. Draft short, specific next-step messages. Refer to the last real conversation and ask for a concrete date or deliverable. Avoid generic reminders or manufactured urgency.
3. Compare the deck, email narrative, and investor update for contradictions in reported metrics or priorities. Stop and resolve inconsistencies before sending.
4. Group repeated pass reasons into hypotheses to test. Don't label a trend from an anecdote.
5. Return a short view with stage, verified last touch, next owner, and one recommended action per live relationship.

Keep the tracker and any notes private. All outbound drafts require the founder's review and approval.