Toolkit
Founder toolkit
Pitch decks, fundraise playbooks, investor outreach scripts — the tools that close rounds.
- fundraise 101
Cap table 101 — dilution math founders get wrong
The three calculations every founder needs to do before signing a term sheet — and the common mistakes that turn a "good" round into a bad one.
- demo day-prep
Demo Day prep checklist
What to ship, rehearse, and have ready in the two weeks before pitching at Inception Studio Demo Day.
- fundraise 101
Fundraising timeline + benchmarks
How long each round actually takes, what metrics matter at each stage, and the cadence Inception founders use to close in 4–6 weeks instead of 4–6 months.
- investor outreach
Investor outreach script (cold + warm)
The opening lines, subject lines, and follow-up cadence Inception founders use to land first meetings.
- pitch deck
Pitch deck template for AI seed-stage fundraises
The pitch deck structure that's closed seed rounds for Inception Studio companies. Slide-by-slide rationale + common mistakes.
- term sheet
SAFE vs priced round — the founder's decision frame
When a SAFE makes sense, when a priced round is worth the legal cost, and what the actual difference is to your cap table.
- term sheet
Term sheet read-through — what each clause actually does
A clause-by-clause walkthrough of a typical AI seed term sheet, with red flags and accept-as-standard notes.
- hiring
The first five engineering hires for an AI startup
Who you actually need (and don't need) in the first year after seed. The hiring sequence that compounds vs the one that frags you.