Deck to Check: An Investor's Playbook for Founders

TL;DR: Deck to Check with Doug Griffin

This month’s session featured Doug Griffin(4x founder, 3 exits, now fund manager at Spatial Capital) in conversation with Angel Gambino, delivering a no-fluff masterclass on early-stage fundraising.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Team is the thesis: At pre-seed/seed, investors back founders, not metrics. Diverse, complementary teams win.

• Venture-backable or not? Be honest: VCs look for $50M+ revenue potential in 3–5 years.

• Keep it simple: Use SAFEs over priced rounds; angels’ first checks are votes of confidence.

• Storytelling sells: Your deck should spark curiosity, not explain everything.

  
  

Deck to Check creates a trusted space for founders to get candid investor feedback, actionable insights, and authentic connections.

👉 Register for the next Deck to Check here.

👉Get help with fundraising and investor outreach here.

👉Learn more about Angel Club Membership here.

👉Pitch to our syndicate here.

👉Get an expedited account and a dedicated human support team for all your banking needs at Mercury here.

The room was virtual, but the insights were as real as it gets. The latest "Deck to Check" session brought founders and investors together for an unfiltered conversation on what it takes to get from a pitch deck to a closed check. This month, we featured Doug Griffin, a four-time founder with three exits and now a fund manager at Spatial Capital, who delivered a masterclass in fundraising realism.

Led by our own Angel Gambino, the session cut through the usual platitudes. Drawing from his unique experience on both sides of the table—from building and selling companies to Apple and Roblox to now evaluating thousands of startups a year—Doug provided the insider’s playbook every founder is searching for. It was a candid tour through the mind of an early-stage investor, revealing the core principles that separate a "pass" from a "let's talk."

From Founder to Funder: A Unique Perspective

Doug’s journey as a "scientist turned engineer turned fund manager" gives him a rare lens on the startup ecosystem. He got his start building an animated film studio that grew to 500 people before selling to Disney. That experience, combined with three more startups and two more exits, taught him invaluable lessons about "what works and what doesn't."

Now at Spatial Capital, he sees about 1,000 relevant companies a year and makes maybe five investments. That's a .5% acceptance rate. This stark reality set the stage for a conversation grounded in what it actually takes to succeed. "Our job is to go out and source possible investments," Doug explained, highlighting the immense funnel that founders must navigate. For startups at the pre-seed and seed stage, often with no revenue, the evaluation is less about metrics and more about the people behind the idea.

The Team is the Thesis

When there's no revenue to analyze, investors bet on the founders. Doug emphasized this point repeatedly. "At an early stage, they're not going to have revenue, they're not going to have metrics, they're not going to have traction... So we have to judge it by the team," he stated. "And if it's an area that we're interested in investing in, it better be the team to back."

He looks for diverse teams with complementary skills—someone who understands the tech stack, a CEO with deep market knowledge, and experts in product and business development. A solo founder, in his view, can be a red flag. It’s not just about sharing the workload; it’s about demonstrating the ability to attract talent. "If you want to go far, you go far with others," Doug advised. As a founder, your first and most important sale is convincing others to join your mission.

Angel Gambino echoed this, noting that even when founders don't come from the industry they're disrupting, success often comes from a "marriage" of someone who knows the problem intimately and a team with "excellent technical, excellent product, excellent growth" experience from other startups.

The Venture-Backable Question

Before you even build a deck, you must ask a fundamental question: is this a venture-backable business? Doug was blunt about the expectations. Venture capital isn't for lifestyle businesses; it’s for companies with the potential for massive scale. "When you start thinking about raising venture capital, you're on the track of selling your company at some point," he reminded the audience.

The metrics are demanding. For his fund, the rule of thumb is whether a company can "achieve $50 million in sales over the next 3 to 5 years." For later-stage VCs, the bar is even higher. This path requires a commitment to hyperscale growth and an eventual exit. Founders must be honest with themselves about whether their vision and market opportunity align with the core economics of the venture capital model.

Smart Fundraising: From SAFE Notes to Storytelling

When it comes to the mechanics of raising capital, Doug’s advice was clear: keep it simple in the early days. He strongly cautions against complex priced rounds for pre-seed and seed stages. "I don't recommend doing priced rounds at all," he said. "They're really difficult to put together. You give away a board seat and control early."

His preferred instrument is the SAFE note. "The SAFE as an instrument is the easiest thing to get investors to sign," he noted. It keeps fundraising quick, reduces legal costs, and allows founders to stay agile. That early capital often comes from angels, and Doug shared his own experience of turning to former colleagues for his first checks. "That was a really good indicator that they believed in me personally," he recalled. An angel check is more than money; it's a vote of confidence that de-risks the opportunity for institutional investors.

Ultimately, all fundraising hinges on one skill: storytelling. "You have to be a great storyteller," Doug emphasized. "People have to believe in you. That's required to hire people, it's required to sell, it's required to raise capital." This narrative must be woven through your pitch deck, which should be designed to spark curiosity, not answer every question. "The point of a deck is to get the investor to lean in and want to learn more."

Why Deck to Check Works

These sessions are built to be a trusted space where founders get direct, actionable feedback from investors who've been in the trenches. It's not about stage-perfect pitches; it's about honest conversations that build relationships and reveal what truly matters.

• Candid Feedback: Get real answers, not just polite encouragement.

• Intimate Connections: The format fosters genuine dialogue and relationship-building.

• Actionable Frameworks: Leave with concrete next steps to apply to your business immediately.
  

You can register for an upcoming Deck to Check here.

Closing Thoughts

This month's Deck to Check was a powerful reminder that fundraising is a game of strategy, not just hustle. By understanding the investor mindset and focusing on fundamental business principles, founders can navigate the process with more confidence and clarity. As Doug reminded us, "The world is made on innovation, and it's people like the ones in the audience today who are building to make the world a better place."

We hope to see you at the next session. Come ready with your toughest questions and your boldest ambitions.

👉Get help with fundraising and investor outreach here.

👉Learn more about Angel Club Membership here.

👉Pitch to our syndicate here.

👉Get an expedited account and a dedicated human support team for all your banking needs at Mercury here.