I also recently became a Referral Partner for Serent Capital (VC firm out of San Francisco). They gave me some great information on the process for these VC and PE companies.
1 – They look at roughly 2,000 proposals per year. This does not include the number that blindly get sent to them.
2 – Of the 2,000 reviewed, they will set up Management meetings (whether in person, or remote) with roughly 100 of those companies.
3 – Of the 100 Management meetings they attend, about 45-50 of these companies will get a Letter of Intent to close.
4 – They will close and provide funding on roughly 15-20 of the LOI’s.
So 2,000 proposals become 15-20 that close annually. And Matt is correct, many times you need an introduction if you want to get anywhere with some of these companies.
Thanks,
Max