Fundraising pipeline tracker
A raise is a sales process, and the founder is running it against time. Momentum
is everything: a tight, parallel process creates urgency; a slow, serial one
leaks energy and signals weakness. This skill sets up and maintains a simple
file-based CRM so nothing falls through and the founder always knows the next
action.
Read shared/references/outreach-ethics.md — follow-up discipline here must stay
on the right side of persistent-vs-pestering.
Set it up (first run)
Create a tracker file in the user's project (default:
fundraising-pipeline.csv, or Markdown table if they prefer). Use the template
in references/pipeline-template.md. Columns:
| Field |
What it holds |
| Investor |
Firm or angel name |
| Partner |
The specific person you're working |
| Tier |
A / B / C (from investor-targeting) |
| Stage |
Pipeline stage (see below) |
| Source |
How you got in (warm intro via X / cold / inbound) |
| Last contact |
Date of last touch |
| Next action |
The single next thing you owe |
| Next action date |
When to do it |
| Check / interest |
Indicated check size or interest level |
| Notes |
Anything said — objections, who they cc'd, asks |
Pipeline stages
Keep it simple and linear; every investor sits in exactly one:
- Researched — qualified as a fit, not yet contacted.
- Contacted — first outreach sent (cold or intro requested).
- Engaged — they replied / a call is booked.
- Met — first meeting done.
- Diligence — follow-up meetings, data room, partner meeting.
- Term sheet / Committed — verbal or written commitment.
- Passed — they said no (record why — it's signal).
- Dormant — no response after the follow-up sequence ended.
Running it (ongoing)
When the founder gives an update ("had a call with X", "Y passed", "Z asked for
the deck"), you:
- Update the row — move the stage, set Last contact, write the Notes.
- Set the next action + date — every active investor must have a next
action owned by the founder. No row in stages 2–6 should have an empty next
action.
- Surface what's due — list who needs a follow-up today/this week, and draft
it via the
cold-email or warm-intro skill if asked.
- Watch the funnel — report simple counts (e.g., 24 researched, 11
contacted, 4 met, 1 in diligence) so the founder sees conversion and knows
whether to add more top-of-funnel.
Momentum coaching (the point of tracking)
- Run in parallel, not serial. Batch outreach so meetings cluster — multiple
interested investors at once creates real (not fake) urgency and better terms.
- Mind the follow-up cadence. Persistent = two value-adding follow-ups, then
stop (per the
cold-email sequence). Pestering = more. The tracker enforces
the gap, not just the nudge.
- Log every pass and why. Five passes for the same reason = a pitch or
targeting problem to fix, not just bad luck.
- Keep top-of-funnel full until you have committed term sheets. A thin
pipeline tempts founders to over-chase one lukewarm investor.
Output
- On setup: the tracker file, created and explained.
- On update: confirm what changed, then a short "due now / due this week"
action list and the current funnel counts.
- Never invent investor names or activity to fill the tracker — it holds only
what the founder reports or what was researched (with sources) in
investor-targeting / investor-research.
1---2name: pipeline-tracker3description: Run a fundraise like a sales pipeline — track every investor conversation, its stage, the next action, and follow-up timing in a simple file-based CRM. Use when a founder says "track my fundraising", "set up an investor CRM", "who do I need to follow up with", "update my pipeline", or wants to manage investor outreach and momentum. Produces and maintains a plain-text/CSV tracker, no SaaS required.4---56# Fundraising pipeline tracker78A raise is a sales process, and the founder is running it against time. Momentum9is everything: a tight, parallel process creates urgency; a slow, serial one10leaks energy and signals weakness. This skill sets up and maintains a **simple11file-based CRM** so nothing falls through and the founder always knows the next12action.1314Read `shared/references/outreach-ethics.md` — follow-up discipline here must stay15on the right side of persistent-vs-pestering.1617## Set it up (first run)1819Create a tracker file in the user's project (default:20`fundraising-pipeline.csv`, or Markdown table if they prefer). Use the template21in `references/pipeline-template.md`. Columns:2223| Field | What it holds |24|---|---|25| Investor | Firm or angel name |26| Partner | The specific person you're working |27| Tier | A / B / C (from `investor-targeting`) |28| Stage | Pipeline stage (see below) |29| Source | How you got in (warm intro via X / cold / inbound) |30| Last contact | Date of last touch |31| Next action | The single next thing *you* owe |32| Next action date | When to do it |33| Check / interest | Indicated check size or interest level |34| Notes | Anything said — objections, who they cc'd, asks |3536## Pipeline stages3738Keep it simple and linear; every investor sits in exactly one:39401. **Researched** — qualified as a fit, not yet contacted.412. **Contacted** — first outreach sent (cold or intro requested).423. **Engaged** — they replied / a call is booked.434. **Met** — first meeting done.445. **Diligence** — follow-up meetings, data room, partner meeting.456. **Term sheet / Committed** — verbal or written commitment.467. **Passed** — they said no (record *why* — it's signal).478. **Dormant** — no response after the follow-up sequence ended.4849## Running it (ongoing)5051When the founder gives an update ("had a call with X", "Y passed", "Z asked for52the deck"), you:53541. **Update the row** — move the stage, set Last contact, write the Notes.552. **Set the next action + date** — every *active* investor must have a next56 action owned by the founder. No row in stages 2–6 should have an empty next57 action.583. **Surface what's due** — list who needs a follow-up today/this week, and draft59 it via the `cold-email` or `warm-intro` skill if asked.604. **Watch the funnel** — report simple counts (e.g., 24 researched, 1161 contacted, 4 met, 1 in diligence) so the founder sees conversion and knows62 whether to add more top-of-funnel.6364## Momentum coaching (the point of tracking)6566- **Run in parallel, not serial.** Batch outreach so meetings cluster — multiple67 interested investors at once creates real (not fake) urgency and better terms.68- **Mind the follow-up cadence.** Persistent = two value-adding follow-ups, then69 stop (per the `cold-email` sequence). Pestering = more. The tracker enforces70 the gap, not just the nudge.71- **Log every pass and why.** Five passes for the same reason = a pitch or72 targeting problem to fix, not just bad luck.73- **Keep top-of-funnel full** until you have committed term sheets. A thin74 pipeline tempts founders to over-chase one lukewarm investor.7576## Output7778- On setup: the tracker file, created and explained.79- On update: confirm what changed, then a short **"due now / due this week"**80 action list and the current **funnel counts**.81- Never invent investor names or activity to fill the tracker — it holds only82 what the founder reports or what was researched (with sources) in83 `investor-targeting` / `investor-research`.
oncesylvia