Managing Portfolio Company Support
Structures portfolio company engagement with board preparation, hiring support, business development, and follow-on strategy.
When To Use
- Preparing for or following up on a board meeting with a portfolio company
- Coordinating hiring support, executive introductions, or recruiting pipeline for a portco
- Structuring business development introductions between portfolio companies or with external partners
- Evaluating follow-on investment timing, pro rata rights, or bridge financing decisions
- Building a quarterly or annual portfolio review across multiple companies
- Onboarding a newly invested company into the fund's operational support framework
Inputs To Gather
- Company basics: Company name, stage (pre-seed/seed/Series A+), sector, current headcount, founding date
- Cap table snapshot: Current ownership breakdown, option pool size, last round valuation and date
- Board composition: Board seats (investor, founder, independent), observer rights, committee structure
- Financial state: Latest monthly/quarterly financials — revenue, burn rate, runway in months, cash position
- KPIs and milestones: Core operating metrics the company tracks (ARR, MRR, DAU, GMV, etc.) and board-approved milestones for the current period
- Support requests: Open asks from the founder/CEO — hiring needs, introductions, strategic guidance, follow-on capital timing
- Fund context: Fund ownership percentage, pro rata rights, reserve allocation remaining, any co-investor dynamics
Workflow
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Assess current company health
- Review latest financials against plan: revenue trajectory, burn rate, and months of runway
- Compare KPI performance to prior quarter and board-approved targets
- Classify company status: on-track, watch-list, or needs intervention
- Flag any covenant triggers, down-round risk, or runway below 6 months
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Prepare board materials
- Draft or review board deck structure: financials summary, KPI dashboard, product/engineering update, hiring plan, strategic priorities, open asks
- Prepare investor-side notes: questions to raise, governance items, compensation or option pool matters
- Compile a pre-read package with updated cap table, prior meeting minutes, and any consent items requiring board approval
- Identify topics requiring formal board vote vs. advisory discussion
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Coordinate hiring and talent support
- Map open roles against company priorities — distinguish between critical-path hires and nice-to-haves
- Identify candidates from the fund's network or talent platform for top 1–2 roles
- Track recruiting pipeline status: sourced → intro made → interviewing → offer stage
- Flag executive-level searches (VP+) that may need retained search firm engagement
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Execute business development introductions
- Match portco needs (customer intros, channel partners, strategic alliances) against the fund's network and other portfolio companies
- Structure warm introductions with context for both sides — avoid "double opt-in" without substance
- Track intro outcomes: meeting held → opportunity qualified → deal in progress → closed/lost
- Avoid conflicts of interest between portfolio companies competing in the same market [VERIFY: fund conflict-of-interest policy]
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Evaluate follow-on investment strategy
- Check pro rata rights and any pay-to-play provisions from prior round documents [VERIFY: specific terms in side letter or investor rights agreement]
- Assess whether the company meets follow-on criteria: milestone achievement, capital efficiency, market opportunity validation
- Model reserve allocation: remaining fund reserves, number of portfolio companies likely to raise, target ownership maintenance
- Determine recommendation: full pro rata, partial participation, lead/co-lead next round, or pass
- If bridge financing is needed, evaluate convertible note vs. SAFE terms and whether other investors will participate
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Compile portfolio-level reporting
- Aggregate company-level data into fund portfolio summary: MOIC, IRR (where calculable), and qualitative status
- Highlight material changes since last report: new funding rounds, pivots, key hires/departures, customer wins/losses
- Prepare LP-facing narrative for quarterly letter if applicable
Output
- Board preparation package: Pre-read materials, agenda, investor notes, and action items from prior meeting
- Company health summary: One-page status with financials, KPIs vs. plan, runway, and risk flags
- Support tracker: Table of open support requests with owner, status, and next step for each
- Follow-on recommendation memo: Investment thesis update, milestone assessment, reserve analysis, and participation recommendation
- Portfolio dashboard row: Updated entry for the company in the fund's portfolio tracking system
Quality Checks
- Financial figures reconcile to company-provided reports — do not extrapolate without marking [VERIFY]
- Runway calculation uses actual monthly burn (not averaged) and current cash balance
- Board materials distinguish between items requiring formal approval and discussion-only topics
- Follow-on analysis accounts for all committed reserves across the portfolio, not just this company
- Introductions and BD support are checked against fund conflict-of-interest policy before execution
- Cap table percentages reflect fully diluted ownership including unexercised options and outstanding convertible instruments [VERIFY: confirm with company counsel if SAFEs/notes are included in dilution calculation]
- All recommendations clearly separate data-driven conclusions from subjective judgment