Name the uncertainty the round will address
Start with a concrete question: which important uncertainty will this capital help resolve? It might concern payment, a component's readiness for a pilot or delivery in a second setting. Calling the round seed financing does not explain what the company will learn or achieve.
Geoff Ralston's YC fundraising guide connects an amount raised to a credible plan. His presentation guide treats a short pitch as an invitation to further discussion. Jimhang's evidence pack below applies those principles without importing the articles' 2016 prices or financing conditions.
Source：A Guide to Seed Fundraising · A Guide to Demo Day Presentations
Give the reader a checkable structure
An initial deck should explain the product, customer, progress, team and use of funds. Detailed tests, customer evidence and financial assumptions can sit in organized follow-up material. Every material number needs a date, definition and responsible owner so the deck, spreadsheet and spoken pitch do not tell different stories.
| Document | Question answered | Common ambiguity |
|---|---|---|
| One-page overview | For whom, doing what, at which stage? | Technology labels replacing a product explanation |
| Progress and evidence | What supports the current assessment? | Combining interest, pilots, orders and receipts |
| Use of funds | What observable result does spending enable? | Hiring counts without expected outputs |
| Risks and dependencies | What could require a different plan? | Treating pending approvals as certain |
Build the amount from the work plan
Separate operating expenditure from one-off work, then consider available cash and the timing of receipts. A hardware plan needs to show materials, prototyping, testing, transport and after-sales cash requirements. An invoice, a contract and money in the bank describe different stages. Unconfirmed grants and partnership income belong in assumptions.
Prepare a base plan and a smaller plan, showing what each achieves and when another decision becomes necessary. Explain contingency through identified delivery and supply risks. For cross-border teams, use a consistent reporting currency while preserving original amounts, conversion dates and the exchange-rate basis.
Keep one factual record across languages
English copy need not mirror every Chinese sentence. Customer counts, revenue definitions, team roles and funding purposes must nevertheless agree. University projects should distinguish the institution, research group and startup company. State which resources are secured and which permissions still need confirmation. An alumni connection does not establish university endorsement.
Maintain a small internal terminology sheet for paid pilots, non-binding expressions of interest and received payments. A Hong Kong angel fund and an overseas seed investor may need different explanatory detail, but they should encounter the same evidence. Adapt the explanation without changing the underlying facts.
Use a follow-up conversation as the test
Ask someone unfamiliar with the project to describe the customer, what has already been demonstrated and what the round will enable. Their misunderstandings identify where the pitch needs work. Remove unnecessary abbreviations and make future targets visibly distinct from completed results.
A first approach to Jimhang Capital can start with a readable Chinese or English summary or deck, followed by appropriate evidence during discussion. Prepare sensitive customer and technical information separately rather than publishing it on an open page. A useful evidence pack clarifies what to examine next; its value does not depend on its length.
Leave with a concrete work product
- Describe the round's central validation question in one sentence.
- Attach dates, definitions and source records to material numbers.
- Separate the base plan, smaller plan and unconfirmed assumptions.
- Check bilingual consistency of roles, amounts and project stage.