Fly's investment process
We try to make investment decisions with urgency, depth and clear ownership. Once founders are raising and we engage, our process has three stages and can move from a first call to a decision within days.
1. Building Initial Conviction
Typical timeline: 1-3 days
This usually involves:
A first call
Written follow-up questions
A longer second call
Reading technical materials, research papers or other relevant documents
The goal at this stage is not to complete due diligence. It is to decide whether there is something exceptional that we want to pursue.
2. The Onsite
Typical timeline: 2-3 days
At least two Fly partners are involved by the Onsite. The core of this stage is a two- to three-hour working session between the founders and the partners leading the investment.
The Onsite is not another pitch meeting. We focus on the two or three questions that matter most, go several layers deep and work through them together. We want to build real investment conviction and understand how it feels to work with each other.
In parallel, we may test our understanding through reference calls, technical experts or people who know the market.
3. The Investment Decision
Typical timeline: 1-3 days
If the partners leading the process have conviction, they sponsor the investment with the full Fly team.
The final step is a 60-minute meeting with all Fly partners. Founders usually have around 15 uninterrupted minutes to tell the company story in their own way, followed by questions from the team.
Afterwards, we discuss and vote internally. We aim to provide a final answer within 24 hours. If the answer is yes, we issue our standard term sheet and move towards a handshake and closing as quickly as possible.
You can find our standard term sheet templates here: Fly Ventures Term Sheet