Fundamentals for Startups: Venture Capital Due Diligence: A Look Inside the Investment Memo

Tim Porter, managing director at Madrona Venture Group, will discuss the key elements and thought process of VC due diligence, including a walk-through of the investment memo that Madrona (and most VCs) write before every investment. The interactive conversation will touch on how diligence typically differs by stage of company and by type of investor (for instance, angel investors versus VCs). Tim Porter is a Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, a Seattle-based venture capital firm founded in 1995 with $103 billion under management that invests in early-stage technology companies. Tim is focused on investing in business-to-business software companies in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in the areas of cloud computing, software-as-a-service, machine learning, and cybersecurity. He is a board member of numerous Madrona portfolio companies including Anomaly Insights, Echodyne, Eclypsium, Esper, Highspot, Jama Software, Outfit.ai, Spice.ai, Uplevel, Voodle, and WhyLabs. In addition to his work at Madrona, Tim is a member of the Alliance of Angels Seed Fund I and is on the board of the Technology Alliance. Tim was formerly on the boards of the Washington Industry Technology Alliance and Villa Academy. Tim also serves on the Investment Committee for Global Partnerships’ Social Venture Fund. Prior to joining Madrona in 2006, Tim was a key member of Microsoft’s Corporate Development group, where he shared responsibilities for sourcing, structuring, and negotiating Microsoft’s acquisitions, strategic investments and joint ventures. Earlier in his career, Tim worked nearly five years for broadband satellite start-up Teledesic, spending his last year there also working for Craig McCaw’s Eagle River Investments. Format Fundamentals for Startups is a weekly one-hour lecture series featuring notable experts who share startup-related information, experience, and insights with our entrepreneurial community. From raising capital to scaling to exit strategies, these seasoned guest speakers deliver valuable content designed to help startups and entrepreneurs thrive. Lectures are typically 30-40 mins, followed by open Q&A. Each lecture is filmed, live streamed and archived on CoMotion’s Startup Training Videos page. These lectures are open to the public and you do not have to be currently affiliated with the UW or a startup to join. Please register at the link below for access information. We hope you can join us online!