Industry
Attio for VC
A CRM that models how a venture fund actually runs. Custom objects for Portfolio companies and LPs. Deal-flow pipeline with partner vote and pass reasons. Sourcing automation from inbound, events, and scouts. Built from live implementations for Outlander, Graduate, Prudence, and Anorak.
This is for you if
You run a fund and deal flow is split across Airtable, Notion, and Gmail
Your partnership cannot answer 'how many deals did we source last quarter' without a spreadsheet
Portfolio companies report in a Google Sheet nobody keeps up to date
LP relationships happen between fundraises and get forgotten in between
Scouts send you deals through email threads that die in inboxes
You pay for three tools (CRM, portfolio tracker, LP tracker) and still cannot see the fund in one view
What standard CRMs miss
Venture runs on entities and relationships that a contact/company/deal model was never designed for.
A venture deal is not a sales deal
Sales deals close in weeks with a purchase order. Venture deals close in months with term sheets and partner votes. Using a default CRM pipeline collapses both into the same shape and the numbers stop being trustworthy.
Portfolio and pipeline are different workflows
Sourcing cares about filters and stage fit. Portfolio cares about health, runway, and next raise. Forcing both through one company record means one workflow gets neglected.
LPs are their own book of business
LPs have commitments, capital calls, distributions, and a reporting cadence. Treating them as contacts loses the structure that makes the next fundraise easier.
The network is a first-class asset
Co-investors, angels, scouts, and operators send you deals, follow on in rounds, and take calls about future funds. A flat contact list cannot map who sends what or who is owed an intro.
Your data model
Five objects connected through real relationships. Companies as the universe. Deals as one-check-per-deal. Portfolio companies with the post-investment workflow. LPs as their own book of business. People as the link across contexts.
Companies
The universe. Sourced, Evaluating, Portfolio, Passed, Alumni. Filterable by thesis, stage, and category.
- Relationship status (Sourced, Evaluating, Portfolio, Passed, Alumni)
- Business stage (Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, B+)
- Current ARR, last-round valuation, runway estimate
- Category tags (vertical SaaS, AI infra, marketplace, etc.)
- Deck link, data room link, one-pager
Deals
One deal per check. Follow-ons are new deals. Partner vote and champion tracked on the record.
- Stage (Sourced, Screened, Evaluating, Diligence, Partner Vote, Term Sheet, Closed/Passed)
- Round size, allocation requested, allocation received
- Pre-money valuation, lead investor status
- Partner owner, partner champion, IC date
- Pass reason (multi-select, not free text)
Portfolio companies
Custom object created when a Deal closes Won. Holds the fund's position and the post-investment workflow.
- Initial check, total invested, ownership %
- Board seat, observer seat, board cadence
- Current ARR, runway, last update date
- Follow-on status, reserve allocated
- Quarterly update notes and links
LPs
Custom object for limited partners with commitment, cadence, and relationship history.
- Commitment size, prior fund commitments
- Capital called, distributions paid
- Reporting cadence preference
- Last partner interaction, next-touch date
- Referrer, relationship strength
People
Founders, co-investors, LP contacts, angels, scouts, operators. One record linked across contexts.
- Role in the ecosystem (founder, co-investor, scout, LP, operator)
- Warm-intro strength, intro source
- Last partner conversation
- Linked Companies, Deals, Portfolio companies, LPs
How deal flow moves
Eight stages from sourcing to wire sent or passed. Every stage has a clear exit criterion. Pass reasons are structured, not free text.
Stage 1
Sourced
Inbound, outbound, scout, event, referral
Stage 2
Screened
First partner meeting taken
Stage 3
Evaluating
Second meeting, preliminary memo drafted
Stage 4
Diligence
References, market work, memo finalized
Stage 5
Partner Vote
Investment committee decision
Stage 6
Term Sheet
Negotiation and lead status confirmed
Stage 7
Closed / Invested
Wire sent, portfolio record created
Stage 8
Passed
Reason logged, follow-the-founder enabled
Pipeline views
Pre-built views that match how a partnership talks about the fund on Monday morning. By stage, by horizon, by portfolio health, by LP touch.
Partner Monday view
Deals awaiting partner action + portco missed updates + LP overdue
Inbound (last 7 days)
Source = Inbound OR Event, created in last 7 days
Active diligence
Stage = Evaluating or Diligence, partner owner = me
IC this week
Stage = Partner Vote, IC date within 7 days
Term sheet out
Stage = Term Sheet, signed = false
Follow-the-founder
Pass reason = Too Early, reminder date within 30 days
Portfolio health
Portfolio company runway < 9 months OR last update > 45 days
Follow-on candidates
Portfolio raising next round in next 6 months
LPs overdue
No interaction in 90+ days
Automations that pay for the setup
Sourcing without manual entry. Portfolio updates without chasing founders. LP cadence without a partner remembering. Network relationships that stay warm between deals.
Inbound email to Person and Company
An email from a founder or co-investor creates or updates records without duplication. Source tagged Inbound. Domain matched against the existing company universe.
Scout submission to deal flow
Scouts submit via Typeform or a firm email alias. A workflow creates the Company and Deal, routes to the right partner based on stage or category, notifies the Slack channel.
Deal stage change opens IC thread
When a deal hits Partner Vote, a Slack thread opens in the IC channel with the memo link, partner champion, and round terms pre-filled.
Closed-Won creates portfolio record
A deal closing Won spawns a Portfolio Company record with inherited fields: check size, ownership, board seat. Board cadence defaults from the check size.
Quarterly update reminders
Every portfolio company gets a scheduled task on its reporting cadence. Missed updates surface on the partner dashboard within 48 hours.
Follow-the-founder reminders
Pass reason Too Early creates a task 6 months out. No founder disappears because the timing was wrong on the first conversation.
LP touch cadence
Any LP with no interaction in 90 days surfaces on the partner's Monday view. Next fundraise starts warm.
Co-investor decay flag
Any co-investor with no interaction in 180 days gets flagged for an intro. The network stays active between deals.
Dashboards the partnership actually opens
Two dashboards cover most of the work. One for the partner's Monday. One for the LPAC.
Partner Monday view
Pipeline by stage. Deals awaiting partner action. Portfolio companies that missed their update. LPs overdue a touch. Five minutes of review, the week starts.
Fund-level dashboard
Total deals sourced vs evaluated vs invested by quarter. Pass reasons by category. Portfolio health. Follow-on pipeline against reserve. The dashboard the managing partner shows the LPAC.
Portfolio tracking without a second tool
For seed and early-stage funds, Attio holds everything a GP actually looks at on a portfolio company. Deeper metrics can sync from Visible or a Google Sheet when the fund wants them.
Current ARR, MRR, or revenue proxy
Runway and burn multiple
Headcount and recent hires
Last raise amount, valuation, and date
Next raise timing estimate
Board cadence and last board meeting
Key risks flagged by the GP
Recent wins and customer logos
Full write-up
How venture funds run deal flow, portfolio, and LPs in one workspace
The data model, the pipeline, the automations, and the traps that break standard CRMs for investors. Drawn from implementations for Outlander VC, Graduate VC, Prudence VC, and Anorak VC.
Read the article →FAQ
Is Attio a real CRM for a venture fund?
Yes, when the custom objects are set up properly. Portfolio companies and LPs get their own objects with their own workflows, not forced into the default Deals and Contacts model. The funds we have worked with (Outlander, Graduate, Prudence, Anorak) all run their full fund operation in Attio.
Do I still need Affinity, Visible, or a portfolio tracker?
Attio handles deal flow, portfolio tracking, and LP relations for most seed and early-stage funds. For deeper metrics tracking or automated portfolio data collection, Attio integrates with Visible or a Google Sheet. The relationship data and the follow-on pipeline stay in Attio.
How do you handle deal-flow velocity without the CRM slowing partners down?
Partners on the road open the deal on mobile, update status in 20 seconds, add a note, close the tab. Most inbox and scout sourcing is automated so the partner never types a record from scratch. The CRM only asks for judgment, not data entry.
Can we track LP relations in the same workspace?
Yes. LPs are a custom object with commitment size, capital called, distributions, cadence preference, and last touch. A scheduled workflow surfaces LPs overdue for an interaction. The next fundraise starts from a warm list, not a cold rebuild.
What about co-investors and the broader network?
Co-investors, angels, scouts, and operators live as People with a role field. A decay flag surfaces relationships that have gone quiet for 180 days. The fund's network becomes a managed asset instead of a partner's memory.
How long does a VC setup take?
About 7 to 10 working days once the partnership agrees on pipeline stages and custom object fields. The tool is rarely the blocker. The decision on what a deal-stage definition means takes the longest.
Ready when you are.
Two ways in. Pick the friction that fits.