Episode notes
What this conversation opens up.
Before You Raise Funding: 10 Legal & Financial Fixes Every Startup Needs Raising startup funding isn’t just about traction or pitch decks. Investors, acquirers, and enterprise customers will look deep into your legal structure and financial records. If those documents don’t align, confidence in the business quickly disappears.
In this episode, Mike from Apollo walks through the 10 legal and financial foundations every startup should have before raising funding. These are the documents that help founders avoid disputes, pass investor due diligence, and build businesses that are truly ready to scale. This isn’t legal or accounting advice. It’s a founder’s perspective after 30 years of building startups, raising capital, and working through real transactions across the US, Europe, and Asia.
You’ll learn:
- The 5 trigger events that expose weaknesses in startups
- The 5 legal documents every founder should have
- The 5 financial foundations investors expect
- How to think about due diligence before investors arrive
- Why legal and financial documents must align with each other
- How to move your company from 0% to 100% funding readiness
The 5 Events That Trigger Startup Problems These moments force investors, partners, or acquirers to inspect your company closely: Raising venture funding A founder leaving the company Hiring early employees and issuing equity Landing large enterprise customers. If your legal and financial documents aren’t clear when these events happen, problems surface quickly.
