SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DocSend, a
secure document sharing platform and Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) company,
released new data analysis based on its Pitch Deck Interest metrics
showing that startup founder and investor activity continued to
post year-over-year (YoY) gains in the third quarter of 2021. At
the same time, the data also shows that the amount of time
investors spent reviewing pitch decks hit a record low.
Through its Pitch Deck Interest, DocSend tracks activity and
engagement on pitch decks (shared via DocSend) to analyze
investors' hunger for deals and founders' quest for capital. Its
metrics analyzes the following:
- Founder links created: How many pitch decks founders are
sending out to investors
- Investor deck interactions: The number of pitch decks investors
are reviewing from founders
- Investor time spent: How long investors spend reading pitch
decks
The overall supply of founders seeking funding – measured via
pitch deck link creation per founder – increased 26% year-over-year
in Q3. Pitch deck interactions from VCs is an indicator of demand
in the market and increased 25% year-over-year in Q3. Despite a
return to travel during the summer vacation months, investor
activity continued to outpace engagement metrics from 2020 and
previous years.
Growth in founder activity and investor interest has been steady
over the last year after the initial pandemic slump in March 2020. Pitch Deck Interest data for the
first nine months of 2021 show that the market remains strong, with
founder links created up 34% and pitch deck interactions up 41%
year-over-year for this time period.
With record-breaking deal dollars going into funding startups
this year, VCs are pouring over pitch decks at breakneck speed to
keep up: time spent on deck was down to 2 minutes, 44 seconds, a
decrease of 2.5% since Q2 2021 and down 4.5% from a year ago.
The year-over-year comparison of investors' time spent on decks
shows a consistent push to get through pitches faster, with the
average time continuing to tick down. The year-to-date (YTD)
comparison shows a more dramatic decline, down 12.3% from 3 minutes
and 10 seconds in 2020 to 2 minutes and 47 seconds in 2021.
DocSend's analysis shows that the time spent on deck metric has
been fairly constant on a weekly basis for years, so the quarterly
and yearly decreases are notable. During Q3, time spent saw a
record low of 2 minutes and 36 seconds, and the average was down
from Q2's average of 2 minutes and 46 seconds.
"While 2020 showed dramatic increases in fundraising activity,
the consistent gains in investor engagement and founder pitches so
far this year are clear signs of stable growth in the fundraising
landscape," said Russ Heddleston,
DocSend Co-Founder and Head of Commercial, DocSend at Dropbox. "Yet
despite the fundraising fervor of the current venture capital
market, early stage startups can't be complacent with their pitch
decks. With only 2 minutes and 44 seconds on average to capture an
investor's interest, startups need to be proficient in
communicating their value proposition and business fundamentals
more than ever."
Key Leading Indicators of VC Fundraising Activity
The Pitch Deck Interest metrics are part of the DocSend Startup
Index (DSI) and measure activity via three key indicators of
founder and investor engagement. The insights help startup founders
better understand fundraising conditions, especially in the
recovering yet still volatile COVID-19 landscape. The DSI
anonymizes, aggregates and compiles Pitch Deck Interest metrics in
real-time and reports on changes on a weekly basis and is a leading
indicator of future deal flow and fundings.
There are three core metrics. First, a "link" refers to the
unique URL a founder creates with DocSend to share their pitch deck
with investors. Each investor should get a unique presentation with
the most pertinent and up-to-date information, so every time a
founder sends a new pitch, they generate a new link.
- Founder links created - the average number of pitch deck
links each founder is creating on the DocSend platform, which
serves as a proxy for supply of startups seeking funding. A "link"
refers to the unique URL a founder creates with DocSend to share
their pitch deck with investors. Each investor should get a unique
presentation with the most pertinent and up-to-date information.
When the average number of links increases, it means that founders
are sending their decks out to more investors.
- Investor deck interactions - the average number of
investor interactions for each pitch deck link created by founders
on the DocSend platform, which can serve as a proxy for demand for
investments. The higher the interaction metric, the more often
decks are viewed, shared and revisited by potential investors.
- Investor time spent - the average time spent per pitch
deck by potential investors. This metric offers a look at how long
VCs are spending reviewing deals. More time spent per deck could
mean investors are more closely scrutinizing deals.
DocSend releases quarterly analyses via the Pitch Deck Interest
metrics to track and predict the investment landscape and better
inform founders about the volatility or stability of the venture
capital environment.
Follow Russ Heddleston on Twitter
for a synopsis of each week's fundraising data.
About DocSend
DocSend enables companies to share
business-critical documents with ease and get real-time actionable
feedback. With DocSend's security and control, startup founders,
investors, executives, and business development professionals can
build business partnerships that have a lasting impact. Over 24,000
customers of all sizes use DocSend today. Learn more at
docsend.com.
About Dropbox
Dropbox is the one place to keep life
organized and keep work moving. With more than 700 million
registered users across 180 countries, we're on a mission to design
a more enlightened way of working. Dropbox is headquartered in
San Francisco, CA, and has offices
around the world. For more information on our mission and products,
visit http://dropbox.com.
Media Contact:
Carol
Boyko
104 West for DocSend
carol.boyko@104west.com
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SOURCE DocSend