Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project Pitch Deck Teardown

Introduction and Context

The Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project (HLEP) Fundraising 101 deck is a pedagogical tool rather than a traditional investment pitch. Presented by David Chang on November 11, 2016, the deck aims to demystify the fundraising process for student entrepreneurs. It balances the high-level strategy of venture capital with the granular legal realities of term sheets and dilution. The deck is heavily rooted in the Boston ecosystem, providing localized resources and data points relevant to that specific market.

Slide 1: Title Slide

The opening slide establishes the context: a 'Lunch Talk' for the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project. It identifies the speaker, David Chang, and provides his social handle (@changds). The date, Nov 11, 2016, indicates the era of the data presented, particularly regarding the Boston tech scene metrics found later in the deck.

Slides 2-3: Visual Introduction

Slide 2 features a split image of corporate architecture (Oracle) and the Empire State Building, likely contrasting the Silicon Valley and New York/East Coast tech landscapes. Slide 3 is a collage featuring Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods (Legally Blonde), Harvard Law School signage, and photos of the speaker on campus. This establishes a thematic link between the legal setting and the entrepreneurial subject matter.

Slide 4: Speaker Credentials

Slide 4, titled 'My Angel Investments,' serves as a credibility slide. It divides David Chang's portfolio into 'Direct' investments and those made 'Via Syndicate/Fund.' Direct investments include logos for Amino, Inmoji, Cuseum, Mogul, SmackHigh, Jolt, Clypd, Uncharted Play, Sonation, Manicube, CarePort, Reactor Media, Crashlytics, Dashfire, and Xpeerient. The syndicate/fund side includes Logz.io, Soofa, Tablelist, TVision, Crayon, Wellist, Avrio, Zagster, Hullabalu, Ppcues, Talklocal, Athletes of Valor, Renoviso, Ecovent, Blispay, Klymit, BedrockData, AdvisorConnect, Statisfy, LaunchAngels, Directr, Bliss, and Smart Lunches.

Slide 5: The Challenge

Slide 5 displays the question 'What Obstacles Stand in Your Way?' against a brick wall background. This serves as a transition into the core educational content, prompting the audience to consider the friction points in the fundraising journey.

Slide 6: Venture Capital Stages

Slide 6 uses a rocket launch graphic to illustrate the progression of funding. It identifies four distinct stages: Friends and Family , Angel , Early Stage , and Growth Equity . This provides a roadmap for founders to understand where they currently sit and what the next milestone looks like.

Slide 7: Amount to Raise

Slide 7 addresses the 'How Much' question. It emphasizes three pillars: How Much, For What, and To Prove. The slide offers three specific pieces of advice: build a basic financial model of cost drivers and revenue streams, forecast monthly for 18 months, and follow the 'rule of thumb' to raise 12-18 months of cash.

Slide 8: Process Overview

Slide 8, titled 'How to Raise a Round,' uses chalkboard imagery to suggest the complexity of the process. It serves as a header for the subsequent slides detailing the mechanics of investor targeting and deal closing.

Slide 9: Target List of Investors

Slide 9 outlines the filters founders should use when building an investor pipeline. The target graphic is accompanied by six criteria: Stage , Location , Industry Vertical , Business Model , Investment Thesis , and Social / Trust Filter . This encourages a targeted approach rather than 'spray and pray' outreach.

Slide 10: Closing the Deal

Slide 10 focuses on the final stages of the transaction. It contrasts 'Rolling close vs. set close' and reminds founders to 'Reference check investors.' Crucially, it lists the 'Key terms' that define the legal relationship: Board composition, Option pool, Voting rights, Founder vesting, Change of control, Redemption rights, Information rights, and Anti-dilution. The slide concludes with the warning: 'Not done until money is in the bank.'

Slide 11: Valuation & Dilution

Slide 11 provides a visual model of how ownership changes over time. It shows a bar chart for Valuation ($M) across three rounds: Seed ($1M raise), Series A ($6M raise with a $12M pre-money valuation and $6M post-money increase), and Series B ($15M raise with a $30M pre-money valuation). A pie chart with a question mark asks, 'what’s your end stake?', highlighting the cumulative effect of dilution.

Slide 12: Resources

Slide 12 is a directory of external links. Under 'Pitch,' it lists Pitchenvy, Bestpitchdecks, Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 rule, NextView Ventures, and resources from MJ Skok and Soulmix. Under 'Legal,' it cites Foley & Lardner, Goodwin Proctor (Founders Workbench), Techstars, and Seriesseed.com. 'General' resources include jddavids.com and robkornblum.com.

Slides 13-15: The Pitch and Audience

Slide 13 uses the 'Pitch Perfect' movie poster as a play on words. Slide 14, 'Adjust for Your Audience,' uses a split image of a castle and binary code viewed through a magnifying glass, suggesting that the narrative must shift between high-level vision and technical detail depending on the listener. Slide 15 shows a candid photo of a team meeting, grounding the process in everyday collaboration.

Slide 16: The Human Element

Slide 16 presents the thesis 'People Bonds > Company Bonds.' The background is a wall of business cards belonging to David Chang from various companies (PayPal, TripAdvisor, VeriSign, Mobicious, etc.). This slide argues that the network of people is the founder's most valuable long-term asset, outlasting any single startup entity.

Slides 17-19: The Boston Ecosystem

Slide 17, 'Amplify Your Network,' shows a complex node-and-spoke graph. Slide 18 provides a map of the Boston/Cambridge area titled 'Techscene @ Boston,' claiming 74,020 jobs created, $38.55 billion in funding raised, and 1,610 startups. Slide 19 lists 'Industry Clusters of Expertise' in the region: Marketing Tech, e-commerce, Cybersecurity, Cloud, Travel, Mobile, Ed Tech, Robotics, Life Sciences, Health IT, and Energy.

Slides 20-22: Local Resources and Events

Slide 20 lists 'University Resources' with logos for Harvard, MIT, Babson, Northeastern, Olin College, Boston College, UMass Boston, and Berklee. It also highlights student-focused funds like Rough Draft VC and Dorm Room Fund. Slide 21 shows a calendar from Greenhorn Connect, listing various Boston tech events. Slide 22 features 'Brandathon,' a 60-second pitch competition for $100,000 in branding services, and an image of a 'Project 20/20' on-site optometry bus.

What Works in This Deck

The HLEP deck succeeds as an educational framework because it prioritizes actionable advice over abstract theory. The inclusion of Slide 10 (Key Terms) is particularly valuable for a law-focused audience, as it bridges the gap between the 'hype' of fundraising and the 'reality' of the legal contract. By listing specific terms like 'Founder vesting' and 'Redemption rights,' the deck prepares founders for the actual negotiation phase, which is often overlooked in more promotional pitch decks.

Furthermore, the 'Rule of Thumb' on Slide 7 (12-18 months of cash) provides a concrete metric for founders to aim for. This specificity is echoed in the Boston ecosystem slides (18-20), which transform a general talk into a localized toolkit. The use of the speaker's own career trajectory (Slide 16) to illustrate the value of 'People Bonds' adds a layer of personal authenticity that reinforces the importance of networking in the venture world.

What is Missing

As this is an educational deck, it naturally lacks the specific company metrics one would find in a startup pitch. There is no 'Problem' slide, 'Solution' slide, or 'Unit Economics' for a specific product. However, even as a guide, the deck omits a deep dive into the 'Series Seed' vs. 'Convertible Note' vs. 'SAFE' distinction, which was highly relevant in 2016. While it mentions Seriesseed.com in the resources, a slide explaining the mechanics of these different instruments would have added significant value to a 'Fundraising 101' talk.

Additionally, while the deck mentions 'Industry Clusters,' it does not provide guidance on how to value a company within those specific clusters. Valuation is treated as a generic bar chart on Slide 11, but the methodologies (multiples, DCF, Berkus method) are not discussed. For a law project, more detail on the 'Board composition' mechanics—such as the typical split between founders, investors, and independents—would also have been a pertinent addition.

Founder Takeaways

Founders should emulate the structured approach to investor targeting shown on Slide 9. Rather than reaching out to every VC, the deck advocates for a disciplined filtering process based on stage, location, and thesis. This saves time and increases the likelihood of a successful match. The '18-month monthly forecast' mentioned on Slide 7 is another best practice that founders should adopt; it demonstrates to investors that the team has a granular understanding of their burn rate and milestones.

Finally, the emphasis on 'Reference checking investors' (Slide 10) is a critical takeaway. Fundraising is a long-term marriage, and the deck rightly points out that the due diligence process should be bilateral. Founders should not just be happy to receive a term sheet; they should actively investigate the investor's reputation and behavior during downturns, ensuring that the 'People Bonds' they are forming are with the right partners.

Final Summary

The Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project's Fundraising 101 deck is a robust primer that excels at connecting the dots between financial planning, legal negotiation, and ecosystem networking. While it is a snapshot of the 2016 Boston startup scene, its core principles—runway management, targeted investor outreach, and the prioritization of human relationships—remain evergreen for any founder embarking on the capital-raising journey.