Thunder: Revolutionizing the Investment Banking Landscape for Early-Stage Ventures

What is Thunder and What Problem Does it Solve?

What is Thunder?

Thunder is a tech-enabled investment bank focused on early-stage ventures, aiming to make it easier for founders to raise capital and for VCs to vet, catalog, and analyze deal flow faster with the help of AI.

Jason Kirby, the CEO of Thunder, explains that fundraising is a full-time job that distracts founders from building and creating value in their companies. Thunder uses AI to laser-focus on the three to ten VCs who are most likely to be interested in a specific startup, saving founders from the time-consuming shotgun approach of pitching to a hundred investors.

Why Does Thunder Need to Exist?

The problem Thunder addresses is twofold. For founders, it’s about minimizing the time spent with the wrong investors. Many investors might express initial interest but are not serious about the opportunity, leaving founders hanging and wasting valuable time. For VCs, especially those without extensive networks, it’s about accessing high-quality deal flow and streamlining the process of analyzing potential investments.

How Does Thunder Benefit VCs?

Thunder’s technology is designed to benefit both established VCs and new fund managers. While well-established VCs may not have a deal flow problem, emerging fund managers often do. Thunder provides access to early-stage deals that might otherwise be outside their network. For VCs overwhelmed by too much deal flow, Thunder acts as an analyst, highlighting the best opportunities and saving substantial time.

How Does Thunder Match Founders and VCs?

What Makes Thunder’s Approach Unique?

Thunder differentiates itself by going beyond simple checklists. The platform integrates both automated processes and human relationships to tailor the deal flow specifically to what each VC is looking for. Thunder's AI technology considers various nuances, such as whether a VC is more interested in the team or the idea, and the specifics of different sectors.

How Does Thunder’s Rating System Work?

Thunder has a three-tier rating system comprising a company success score, an investor score, and a compatibility score. These scores collectively contribute to a simplified match score. The company success score considers variables like the stage and sector of the company, and its traction. The investor score assesses the likelihood of an investor's interest based on factors like fund size and check size. The compatibility score incorporates nuanced criteria specific to each VC.

What Technology Powers Thunder’s Ratings?

Thunder’s rating system involves complex algorithms developed by their chief data scientist, Matt, a PhD from Columbia University. The model integrates first-party and third-party data, including historical data from platforms like Crunchbase, to identify trends and predict the success of companies.

What are the Key Value Propositions for Non-Big Brand VCs?

How Does Thunder Help Smaller VCs?

Thunder provides smaller VCs, who might not have extensive networks or branding, access to high-quality deal flow from diverse and emerging founders. Jason Kirby shares his personal experience of struggling to access the right VCs when he was a founder in San Diego. Thunder acts as a warm intro partner, matching these founders with suitable VCs, ensuring they get the necessary capital to grow their companies.

How Does Thunder Prevent Spam?

Thunder avoids the spam problem by vetting deals before presenting them to VCs. This ensures that only a few highly relevant deals are sent to each VC per month. The platform uses a double opt-in system, where both founders and VCs must agree to an introduction, ensuring mutual interest and preventing unnecessary follow-ups.

How Does Thunder Facilitate LP-GP Connections?

How Does Thunder’s New Product Help LPs and GPs?

Thunder is expanding its platform to include LPs (Limited Partners), allowing high-net-worth individuals and family offices to connect with General Partners (GPs) raising funds. This new functionality matches LPs with GPs based on specific criteria, such as fund type and check size, streamlining the investment process.

What is the Value for LPs?

For LPs, especially those new to the market or without extensive networks, Thunder provides access to a variety of funds that align with their investment strategies. This helps LPs find suitable GPs to manage their capital, especially in a market with increasing wealth generation among younger investors.

What Can Early Adopters Expect in the Future?

What is Thunder’s Roadmap for the Next Six Months?

Thunder is focusing on optimizing its deal sourcing and vetting processes. In the next three to six months, the platform will expand its GP to LP functionality and scale up its operations. Thunder plans to integrate third-party connections, allowing founders to auto-populate their monthly traction updates, providing trending data over time.

How Will Thunder Evolve?

Thunder will continue to refine its algorithms and data collection methods, ensuring that the matches it makes are increasingly accurate and relevant. The platform aims to close dozens of deals between companies and VCs, leveraging the insights gained over the last six months to improve its processes and outcomes.

FAQs

What is Thunder?

Thunder is a tech-enabled investment bank focused on early-stage ventures, using AI to streamline the fundraising process for founders and the deal analysis process for VCs.

How Does Thunder’s Rating System Work?

Thunder uses a three-tier rating system, including a company success score, an investor score, and a compatibility score, to create a simplified match score for each deal.

How Does Thunder Prevent Spam?

Thunder vets deals before presenting them to VCs, sending only a few highly relevant deals per month. The platform also uses a double opt-in system to ensure mutual interest.

What is the New LP-GP Functionality?

Thunder’s new product connects LPs with GPs based on specific criteria, streamlining the investment process and providing LPs access to suitable funds.

How Will Thunder Evolve in the Next Six Months?

Thunder will focus on optimizing deal sourcing and vetting, expanding its GP to LP functionality, and integrating third-party connections to auto-populate traction updates.

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