vcperks

name	vcperks
description	Research the full value a VC fund delivers beyond the check — credits, services, brand signal, strategic expertise, media amplification, policy access, and follow-on capital pathway — scored by relevance to the active startup. Usage: /vcperks <VC Fund Name>. Saves to vcperks-<fund>.md.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires Claude Code with WebSearch and WebFetch. Internet connection required.
allowed-tools	WebSearch WebFetch Read Write
metadata	{"author":"3Flux","version":"1.0","workflow-step":"5 — run after /vcmatch to evaluate value beyond capital"}

/vcperks — VC Fund Perks Researcher

Research everything a VC fund delivers beyond the check. Produces a two-part perks report: Part A — Financial Value (credits, discounts, services with dollar estimates) and Part B — Non-Financial Value (brand signal, strategic expertise, media reach, policy access, follow-on pathway). Both parts are scored by relevance to the active startup.

Use this after /vcmatch to evaluate competing term sheets on total value — not just valuation and check size.

Invocation

/vcperks <VC Fund Name>

Examples: /vcperks a16z or /vcperks "First Round Capital"

Execution Steps

Step 1 — Load Startup Context

Read STARTUP_PROFILE.md from the current working directory. Extract and hold in context:

• Stage (pre-seed / seed / Series A) — determines which perks are usable now vs. later
• Sector and product category — determines brand signal value with specific customer types
• Team size and composition — determines recruiting, HR, and legal urgency
• Business model and GTM — determines whether media amplification or direct sales network matters more
• Operational risks (Risks section) — highlights where non-financial support is highest-leverage
• Ideal investor attributes (if listed) — reveals what the founder already knows they need

If STARTUP_PROFILE.md does not exist, stop and tell the user to create it first.

Derive fund slug and output filename: lowercase the fund name, strip spaces and punctuation.

• a16z → vcperks-a16z.md
• First Round Capital → vcperks-first-round-capital.md

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Step 2A — Research Financial Perks

Use WebSearch and WebFetch across these 5 angles. Run all 5 before scoring.

1. "<Fund Name>" portfolio benefits perks program startups founders
2. "<Fund Name>" cloud credits AWS GCP Azure portfolio companies
3. "<Fund Name>" platform team portfolio support services resources
4. "<Fund Name>" legal recruiting HR office space founder resources
5. site:<fund-website> portfolio resources or site:<fund-website> platform or site:<fund-website> perks

Collect: Named programs with their specific contents, credit amounts and vendor partners (AWS Activate, Google for Startups, Stripe, Twilio, etc.), service partners for legal/accounting/recruiting/HR, formal programs with structure and eligibility.

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Step 2B — Research Non-Financial Value

Use WebSearch and WebFetch across these 4 additional angles.

6. "<Fund Name>" brand signal reputation enterprise customers portfolio company
7. "<Fund Name>" GP partner expertise background sector operating experience
8. "<Fund Name>" follow-on pro rata reserve capital bridge portfolio
9. "<Fund Name>" content publishing blog newsletter media founders amplification
10. "<Fund Name>" policy regulatory government relations team

Collect:

• Evidence of the fund's brand opening doors with enterprise customers or future investors (founder quotes, case studies, press coverage patterns)
• GP and operating partner backgrounds relevant to the startup's sector — named individuals, prior operating roles, comparable investments they've led
• Follow-on fund structure: does the fund have dedicated follow-on reserves? What is their pro rata track record? Do they lead Series A or just participate?
• Content distribution reach: blog subscribers, newsletter size, podcast listeners, social following — and whether portfolio companies get publishing access
• Policy and regulatory team: named staff, government relationships, compliance programs

Source labeling: Mark each item as [Confirmed] (fund materials or official announcements) or [Reported] (founder accounts, secondary sources, community posts).

If fewer than 3 angles across both research steps return usable data: state this at the top of the report and add: "Ask the fund directly for their current portfolio benefits guide and platform overview — most funds maintain one but don't publish everything publicly."

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Step 3 — Categorize and Score

Organize findings into two parts.

Part A — Financial Value

Use a dollar-value estimate and relevance rating for each item.

Relevance: High = directly addresses a named gap or need in the startup profile | Medium = useful but not urgent | Low = generic or not stage-appropriate

7 Categories:

1. Cloud & Infrastructure — AWS/GCP/Azure credits, database tools, dev tooling, API platform credits (Twilio, Stripe, Sendgrid)
2. Legal & Finance — discounted outside counsel, accounting, cap table management (Carta, Pulley), banking relationships
3. Talent & Recruiting — job board access, ATS discounts, executive recruiting relationships, HR platforms (Rippling, Gusto, Deel)
4. Go-to-Market — PR/comms support, analyst relations, CRM discounts (HubSpot, Salesforce), marketing tools, sales enablement platforms
5. Network & Introductions — portfolio company intro process, LP relationships, co-investor warm paths, corporate partner introductions, customer introductions from within the portfolio
6. Operational Support — office space or co-working access, events, founder summits, peer learning groups
7. Formal Programs — structured accelerator-style programs, residencies, office hours tracks, mentorship matching

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Part B — Non-Financial Value

Use an impact rating (High / Medium / Low) and a brief assessment for each dimension. No dollar value — these are qualitative but often the highest-leverage benefits at seed stage.

5 Dimensions:

8. Brand & Signal Value What the fund's name on the cap table does for the startup independent of capital:

• Customer credibility: Do enterprise buyers move faster when they see this fund's name? Especially relevant for B2B and regulated sectors.
• Talent attraction: Does backing from this fund improve candidate acceptance rates for key hires?
• Future investor signal: Does this fund's participation accelerate Series A term sheets from other funds? Is the fund a "pedigree" signal in this sector?
• Ecosystem positioning: Does the brand association open conference speaking slots, press coverage, or partnership conversations that would otherwise be inaccessible?

Research: look for evidence in founder interviews, portfolio company press patterns, and industry reputation signals specific to the startup's sector.

9. Strategic Guidance & Pattern Recognition The depth and relevance of the knowledge the fund brings to the board table:

• Comparable investments: How many companies has this fund backed in the same sector or with the same business model? What did they learn?
• Named GP/partner expertise: Who specifically will sit on or observe the board? What is their operating background? Have they built companies in this space?
• Operating partners and EIRs: Are there dedicated operating partners with relevant domain expertise (e.g., healthcare, fintech, enterprise SaaS)?
• Peer founder access: Can they connect the founders to other portfolio founders who have solved the same problems?

Rate the depth of strategic value as: Deep (named GP with directly comparable operating background) / Relevant (strong general expertise, some sector knowledge) / General (experienced investors without specific domain depth).

10. Content & Media Amplification The fund's ability to accelerate the startup's narrative and market presence:

• Publishing access: Can portfolio companies publish on the fund's blog, newsletter, or podcast? What is the distribution size?
• Social amplification: Will partners actively amplify launch announcements, hiring posts, and funding news to their own audiences?
• Event speaking: Do portfolio companies get invited to speak at the fund's events, summits, or conferences?
• Research inclusion: Does the fund produce sector research reports that could include or feature the startup?

Rate reach as: Large (100K+ newsletter subscribers or social reach) / Medium (10K–100K) / Small (<10K or not documented).

11. Policy & Regulatory Access Particularly relevant for startups in regulated sectors (healthcare, fintech, defense, energy):

• In-house policy team: Does the fund have dedicated policy or government relations staff?
• Regulatory navigation: Can they provide guidance or introductions for compliance, licensing, or government procurement?
• Government relationships: Do they have established relationships with relevant agencies (CMS, ONC, CFPB, DOE, DOD, etc.)?

Rate as: Active (named staff, documented government relationships) / Passive (connections available on request) / Not available.

12. Follow-on Capital Pathway The fund's ability and appetite to continue backing the startup beyond the current round:

• Pro rata rights: Does the fund typically take pro rata in future rounds? Do they exercise it?
• Internal follow-on reserves: Does the fund maintain a reserve pool specifically for follow-on investments?
• Bridge capacity: Will they provide bridge capital if a subsequent round takes longer than planned?
• Series A relationships: Do they actively co-invest with or introduce the startup to Series A funds? Name the co-investors they commonly syndicate with.
• Fund lifecycle: What vintage is the current fund? How many years of investment period remain? A fund in year 7 of a 10-year life may have limited follow-on appetite.

Rate as: Strong (documented pro rata exercise, named follow-on fund, known bridge appetite) / Moderate (general pro rata rights, co-investor network available) / Unclear (not documented — ask directly).

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Step 4 — Produce the Perks Report

Write vcperks-<fund>.md using this exact structure.

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Output Format

When producing the output file, read the exact template from references/output-format.md.

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Step 5 — Save and Route

Write the full report to vcperks-<fund>.md.

Then tell the user:

• "Financial credits are real dilution avoided — but for most seed-stage companies, the non-financial value (brand signal, strategic depth, follow-on pathway) is worth more over a 5-year relationship. Weight both."
• "Run /vcprep vcmatch-<fund>.md next — the prep will incorporate your Top Picks into the 'why this fund' talking points for the meeting."
• "The 'Questions to Ask the Fund Directly' section is your due diligence checklist — ask these before countersigning."

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Output Rules

Financial perks:

• [Confirmed] vs. [Reported] labels are mandatory for every row — do not omit
• Estimated values must include ~ prefix unless the exact figure is sourced from fund materials
• If a category has no found perks, write: "[Category]: No documented perks found — verified against [sources searched]."

Non-financial value:

• Every dimension must be assessed — write "Not documented — ask directly" rather than skipping a section
• Impact ratings (High/Medium/Low for brand; Deep/Relevant/General for strategic; Large/Medium/Small for media; Active/Passive/Not Available for policy; Strong/Moderate/Unclear for follow-on) are mandatory
• Named individuals are required for Strategic Guidance — do not write "experienced partners" without naming them
• The brand signal assessment must reference the startup's specific buyer type (e.g., "healthcare CFOs" not generic "enterprise buyers")
• Follow-on fund lifecycle assessment is mandatory — a fund in year 8 of a 10-year life is a structural risk regardless of stated appetite

Top Picks:

• Must draw from both Part A and Part B — non-financial picks are valid and often more important
• Must reference something specific from STARTUP_PROFILE.md — never generic
• ≤150 words total

Gaps & Questions sections:

• Gaps must name a specific peer fund as the benchmark
• Questions section must include at least 3 specific, unanswered questions from the research — things that genuinely could not be confirmed publicly