Sometimes you need more than one investor. Maybe your round size is too much for an investor’s appetite, or maybe you want to have different investors on board for complementary added value (and balancing powers?). How do these co-investor dynamics work?

This question was posed by moderator Maaike Terwindt (Google Cloud) in the investor panel at Startup Festival in Groningen yesterday that I was happy to participate in. I remember Herman Kienhuis (Curiosity VC) stressed the importance of finding your lead investor first, and have a focused approached for that.

Golden Egg Check Capital is a co-investment fund, so we always deal with different (lead) investors in a round. A lot can be said about the co-investor dynamics behind the scenes, but my main take was, if I remember correctly 😅, that most VCs have very nice websites where they explain how ‘hands-on’ and ‘entrepreneurial’ they are. The proof is in the pudding though.

And how does that pudding actually taste when their portfolio companies are struggling?

We hear many stories from founders and other investors. Some investors are there for you during the good ánd the hard times. Some are only there when the sun shines. And some investors give you shit regardless of the weather 😬.

I told the audience that we gladly work together with great, specialised VCs, but also have some kind of ‘blacklist’ of investors that drain more than they bring. We help our founders to avoid these investors 🚩.

Ideally there is one lead investor that sets the terms, leads the due diligence, and is there for the founders when they need them. But as a founder, you should also expect something from the other co-investors. Spend enough time to understand who your potential investors are, how these investors can work together and ask around how supportive they are in real life.

Read more insights in Startup Funding book, the book about investor readiness, fundraising and deal terms that I wrote together with venture capital lawyer Sjoerd Mol to help founders to nail their fundraising process. Order it via bol.com, Amazon or your local bookstore.