ActivoCEO · Funding Advisor
Raise the right funding, from investors who fit
Score your pitch deck the way investors do, find the type of funding that suits your stage, and get matched with investors whose mandate fits your company.
Raising takes longer than most founders expect: weeks on the deck, dozens of submissions, and often only around 1 in 20 investors replies. Funding Advisor tells you what to fix before you send anything, and who is worth approaching.
- Pre-seed to Series A
- Investor-readiness score
- Funding options
- VC matches
Why raising takes so long
Every stage is a filter. Your deck has to earn the next conversation, often in under two minutes.
Build the deck
Drafting and redrafting, guessing what each investor wants.
Submit one by one
Every fund has its own form, portal and mandate.
Hear back
Often only around 1 in 20 investors replies.
Deeper scrutiny
A partner reads the deck in detail and takes a first call.
Due diligence
Data room, financials, references and customer calls.
Investment committee
Your champion has to persuade the partnership.
What investors check first
of VC firms say the team matters
In a survey of 885 venture capitalists, 95% of firms rated the management team as important and 47% ranked it the most important factor.
Gompers et al., Journal of Financial Economics, 2020to make a first impression
Average investor time on seed-stage decks fell below two minutes in 2023. The first slides decide whether the rest is read.
DocSend, 2023 seed-stage analysisreturn potential
Angels typically look for companies that could return around ten times their investment.
Angel Capital AssociationBehind every slide, investors test five questions. Funding Advisor scores your deck against each one.
Opportunity
Is the problem important and the market big enough?
Advantage
Why will this company win against the alternatives?
Evidence
What proves customers want it and the model works?
Execution
Is this the right team to build and scale it?
Returns
Can it deliver an attractive outcome at acceptable risk?
How Funding Advisor works
Send your deck once. You get a scored assessment, the funding routes that fit, and a list of matched investors. Nothing goes to an investor without your approval.
Assess
Score your deck
How well your deck answers what investors ask.
- Scores on the five investor questions
- Founding team, first impression and 10× upside
- Claims and numbers checked for consistency
- Prioritised fixes to raise your score
Options
Choose the right funding
The funding routes that suit your stage, revenue and plans.
- Angel investment and venture capital
- Grants you may be eligible for
- Debt and other non-dilutive options
- How much to raise, and what for
Match
Find investors who fit
Funds screened against your stage, sector, geography and round size.
- Good fit now
- Good fit with a personalised deck
- Not worth your time, and why
Your decision
Get introduced
When your deck reaches the recommended score, choose who to approach.
- Only investors you approve
- Personalised versions for more investors
- Follow-ups tracked for you
↺ Not raising yet? Refresh your assessment every three months to stay ready
What your assessment looks like
A simplified example for a fictional seed-stage company.
Sample report
Funding Advisor assessment
Example Co. · B2B SaaS · Seed round · Raising £1.5m · 14 slides
Key investor questions
How well the deck answers what every investor asks.
Recommended funding route
Based on stage, revenue and plans.
Investor match summary
412 VC funds screened against your stage, sector, geography and round size.
Good fit now
Stage, sector, cheque size and mandate all match.
Good fit with a personalised deck
Each wants extra evidence, such as unit economics or a sector angle.
Not worth your time
Wrong stage, sector, geography or cheque size.
Top fixes to reach 75+
Prioritised by their effect on your score.
- Move the value proposition and your strongest traction metric onto slide 1.
- Add a slide showing the route from your first customer niche to the wider market.
- Link the £1.5m raise to three concrete milestones and an 18-month runway.
Illustrative example only. The company, scores and investor numbers are fictional. Your report reflects your deck, your round and current investor mandates.
You pay for outcomes
The deck assessment is free. After that, fees are linked to results: introductions to matched investors, and funding rounds that close. ActivoCEO improves your readiness and targeting; it cannot guarantee investment.
Questions founders ask
Who is Funding Advisor for?
Founders raising from angels or VCs, from pre-seed to Series A, and founders who want to stay investor-ready even when they aren’t raising.
Does a high score guarantee funding?
No. A higher score means your deck answers investors’ questions more clearly and you approach investors who fit. Investment decisions remain with the investors.
Will my deck be sent to investors automatically?
No. Nothing is shared with any investor without your approval. You choose who to approach and when.
Do I need a pitch deck to start?
Yes. The assessment reads your deck slide by slide. If you don’t have one yet, talk to us about the best place to start.
Start free
Know how investors will read your deck, before they do
Send us your deck for a free assessment: your readiness score, the fixes that matter and the investors worth approaching.