Growth arms of banks and pension managers underwrite differently from venture funds: slower diligence, financial-model scrutiny, and reporting expectations that persist. Float's $62M Series C record shows the profile. Prepare audited-grade numbers before you start.
Key takeaways
- Institutional growth arms underwrite on financial models, not narrative — expect cohort-level scrutiny.
- Diligence runs longer; start the process a quarter earlier than a venture round.
- Reporting obligations continue after close and should be staffed for, not improvised.
By Series C, the investors in the room are often not venture funds at all. They are growth arms of banks, pension managers and asset managers, and they underwrite on different evidence.
The documented case here is Griffin Keglevich, founder of Float Financial (Toronto, Canada).
| | | |---|---| | Founder | Griffin Keglevich | | Company | Float Financial (Toronto, Canada) | | Total raised | $62M | | Latest round | Series C — $62M | | Round date | June 2026 | | Named participants on record | Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, OMERS Ventures, FJ Labs, Garage Capital |
A pension-backed investor and a bank''s growth arm alongside early-stage venture names. That mix is the interesting part.
Venture diligence tests whether the story could be true. Growth diligence tests whether the model is true.
Gross margin decomposed by cost line, including payment and infrastructure costs.
Working capital movements, especially in anything touching financial services.
Reporting does not stop at the wire transfer. Institutional investors have their own reporting cycles and will want monthly or quarterly packs in a consistent format. Founders routinely underestimate this and end up producing it manually at midnight.
Decide before signing who owns the reporting pack and what system produces it.
Seed-stage funds and angels remaining on the cap table at Series C is a signal in itself: they had the information rights and the option to sell, and stayed. Institutional investors read that.
1. Build the cohort and margin analysis before opening the round. 2. Have twelve months of clean monthly management accounts ready. 3. Assume a ten-week process and start accordingly. 4. Name the internal owner of post-close reporting. 5. Keep existing early investors informed early — their participation is read as evidence.
Amounts, stages, dates and named participants are documented. Valuation, terms and board composition are not.
Frequently asked questions
- How is growth equity diligence different from a venture round?
- It centres on the financial model: cohort retention, gross margin composition, payback and working capital. Expect data-room requests closer to an audit than to a pitch.
- Should I take pension or bank capital at Series C?
- It is generally patient and large, which suits capital-efficient scaling. The cost is a longer process and continuing reporting obligations.
- Where do these figures come from?
- Structured founder funding records: total raised, round stage, round amount, round date and named participants.
