DocSend Q1 Pitch Deck Interest Data Shows Investor Engagement Waning Amidst Macroeconomic Uncertainty

After record year of fundraising for startups, the tables start to turn with more founders pitching to an increasingly cautious investor base

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DocSend, a secure document sharing platform and Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) company released new data analysis based on its Pitch Deck Interest metrics showing founder and investor pitch deck activity continued to increase year-over-year (YoY). But additional data also shows that momentum has cooled in comparison with 2021's record fundraising activity.

DocSend Pitch Deck Interest: Weekly trends on fundraising activity

VC engagement with startup pitch decks, a proxy for demand for startup investments, rose 14% YoY. Comparing Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, founders increased the average number of pitch decks sent to investors by 17%. Despite the increase in fundraising activity, the trendline for investor demand at the start of 2022 has steadily decreased throughout the quarter, dipping below 2021 levels.

At the same time, the number of founders fundraising, a proxy for supply of startups seeking funding, is going up: there was a 10% increase in founder pitch deck links created in Q1. For the first time since 2020, founder supply is outpacing investor interest (or demand), indicating a distinct shift in the market.

Further evidence that the pace is slowing is reflected in the data analyzing the quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) change in the Pitch Deck Interest metrics. When comparing Q4 2021 to Q1 2022, investor deck interactions decreased by 3% while the average number of pitch deck links created by founders rose by 10%, increasing at a faster pace than it has in a year.

Regardless of all these shifts, time spent on deck has remained fairly stable: investors are speeding through pitch decks at an average rate of two minutes and 42 seconds. This is slightly slower than Q4 2021 but still faster than a year ago. In short, founders have a small window of time to make an impression.

"While venture-backed startups raised $621 billion in 2021, more than any other year on record, we are seeing VCs pace themselves so far this year amidst economic uncertainty," said Russ Heddleston, DocSend co-founder and head of commercial, DocSend at Dropbox. "With macroeconomic factors like inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical volatility impacting public markets, we predict that VCs will moderate their investing until markets stabilize. But with founders still eager to raise money heading into Q2, we expect a return to a more traditional fundraising environment with VCs conducting more due diligence."

Key Leading Indicators of VC Fundraising Activity

There are three core metrics unique to DocSend for tracking investors' hunger for deals and founders' quest for capital.

• Founder links created - the average number of pitch deck links each founder is creating via DocSend. This serves as a proxy for supply of startups seeking funding. A "link" refers to the unique URL a founder creates using DocSend to share their pitch deck with investors. 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. This serves 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 30,000 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 
[email protected] 

SOURCE DocSend