| name | fundraise-closing-mechanics |
| description | Use after a term sheet is signed and the founder needs to get to wired money. Triggers on "how do I close the round", "what happens after the term sheet", "confirmatory diligence", "closing documents", "when does the money arrive", "how long to close", "wire the funds". Manages the path from handshake to cash without deals dying in the home stretch. |
Fundraise Closing Mechanics
A term sheet is a non-binding promise; rounds still die between signing and
funding. The home stretch is where founder attention drains, diligence surprises
surface, and momentum quietly leaks. This skill drives the deal to wired funds.
When to use this skill
Use it the moment a term sheet is signed (and [[term-sheet-negotiation]] is
done), running against the data room from [[data-room-builder]].
The path from signed term sheet to cash
- Confirmatory diligence — the investor verifies what you claimed: metrics,
contracts, cap table, IP, legal. Your prepared data room makes this days, not
weeks. Surprises here re-open price; there should be none if
[[fundraise-readiness-audit]] was honest.
- Legal documentation — counsel drafts the definitive docs: stock purchase
agreement, amended charter, investor rights agreement, voting agreement, board
consents. Terms flow from the term sheet; the fights should already be over.
- Signatures and conditions — satisfy closing conditions (e.g. IP
assignments, board/stockholder approvals), then countersign.
- Wire and confirmation — funds hit the account; shares issue; the cap table
updates ([[cap-table-manager]]).
Keep momentum through the stretch
- Treat closing like the final stage of the pipeline, not a victory lap.
Same-day responses on diligence requests keep the clock from slipping.
- Designate one owner (often the lead founder + lawyer) for every open item with
a date. A dropped IP assignment can stall a wire for weeks.
- Hold the data room reconciled and current; a number that drifted since the
term sheet invites a re-trade.
- For a multi-party round, the lead closes first; collect angels/smaller checks
on the lead's papers to avoid herding everyone in parallel.
Watch for re-trades
- A "discovered" problem in diligence is sometimes a genuine issue and sometimes
a lever to re-price. Knowing your data room cold lets you tell the difference
and hold the line.
- If the company's metrics genuinely changed, get ahead of it honestly before
they find it.
After the wire
- Issue shares and update the cap table of record.
- Send a closing announcement and your first post-raise investor update
([[investor-update-writer]]); set the board cadence ([[board-management]]).
- File and organize all executed docs into the data room for the next round.
Anti-patterns
- Going quiet after the term sheet and letting diligence drift for weeks.
- A diligence surprise that contradicts the deck and re-opens price.
- No single owner for closing conditions, so items rot.
- Forgetting that the round is not done until the money is in the bank.
Deliverable
A closing checklist from signed term sheet to wired funds — diligence requests
with owners and dates, the definitive-docs list, closing conditions to satisfy,
and the post-close actions (share issuance, cap-table update, first update, board
setup) — built to keep the deal moving to cash.
