Key Takeaways
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Stale data cost: A fund cannot act on portfolio insights buried in a spreadsheet with uncertain version control or a slide deck prepared months ago, however accurate the underlying numbers are.
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Valuation validation: Current portfolio data lets a fund validate markups and markdowns during a valuation exercise or an audit, which is a use of portfolio insight separate from investor support.
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Next fund fundraising: A fund demonstrates portfolio traction to LPs while raising a subsequent fund, so portfolio reporting feeds the firm's own fundraise rather than only serving the fund's existing investors.
If your portfolio data is patched together in an excel file with questionable version control or is buried in a slide deck prepared six months ago, your team is likely missing the opportunity to take action on important portfolio insights.
Up-to-date, accurate portfolio insights help venture capital investors:
- Provide better portfolio support
- Make data-driven investment decisions
- Validate markups and markdowns during evaluation exercises or an audit
- Demonstrate traction to LPs while fundraising for future funds
…but only if the insights are accessible.
Visible’s dashboards help venture capital investors visualize and explain the journey companies are on in a way that actually resonates.
Learn more about leveraging dashboards in Visible.
About the Guide
This guide demonstrates how venture capital investors can turn their portfolio data into actionable, accessible insights. The guide also includes examples of three different flexible dashboard types in Visible.
Topics covered include:
- Portfolio data collection best practices
- Creating dashboards for internal portfolio reviews (Flexible dashboards)
- Identifying cross-portfolio insights (Portfolio metric dashboards)
- Sharing portfolio insights with Limited Partners (One pagers)
Visible has helped over 350+ venture capital funds streamline the way they collect, analyze, and report on core metrics from their portfolio companies on a regular basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do venture capital investors use portfolio dashboards for?
Venture funds use portfolio dashboards for internal portfolio reviews, for finding patterns that only show up across the whole portfolio, and for showing performance to LPs. Each of those audiences needs a different view of the same underlying data, so one fixed report does not serve all three.
What is the difference between a portfolio review view and an LP facing summary?
A portfolio review view serves the fund's own team and carries the detail needed to discuss individual companies, while an LP facing summary reports at the portfolio level. Building both from one data set means the fund is not rebuilding the same numbers for each audience.
How should a venture fund present portfolio performance so the picture is clear?
A venture fund should present performance visually, so the path a company is on reads at a glance instead of being reconstructed from rows in a file. The trajectory over time explains a markup, a markdown or a concern better than the current period number on its own.
