Learn what VCs actually want, from a founder who’s raised $1B
- ID
- 16292
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 21 Aug 2026, 7:32 AM
- Fetched
- 21 Aug 2026, 8:10 AM
- Provider
- TechCrunch
- Category
- technology
- Original URL
- https://techcrunch.com/video/learn-what-vcs-actually-want-from-a-founder-whos-raised-1b/
- Source URL
- https://techcrunch.com/feed/
Summary
- Score
- 5.5
- Created
- 21 Aug 2026, 8:10 AM
- Tags
- Audience
- saas_foundersai_ml_learners
What happened
Sasha Orloff, founder and CEO of Puzzle (a Startup Battlefield alum), shares fundraising lessons from raising over $1B across multiple companies, emphasizing that VCs want founders who deeply understand their own financials—not perfection. He recounts nearly losing a term sheet because his data room wasn't ready, and breaks down which metrics (revenue quality, runway, margins, sales efficiency, profitability) matter at each stage from pre-seed through Series B+.
Why it matters
If you're raising soon, get your data room and core financial metrics (runway, margins, sales efficiency, revenue quality) organized before you start pitching—Orloff's near-miss shows waiting until diligence is underway can cost you a term sheet. Don't wait until you're almost out of cash; leverage drops sharply when runway is short.
Discussion angle
What's the minimum financial dashboard a pre-seed or seed-stage founder in Malaysia should have ready before opening a data room—and which of Orloff's listed metrics actually matter at this stage versus Series A+?