No cohorts. No demo days. No six-month waiting lists. You come in when you're ready and we start building the week after the term sheet.
This is exactly what happens from the moment you reach out to the moment your MVP is live and your seed round is in motion.
No deck required. We want to hear the problem in your own words — how you encountered it, how badly it needs solving, and why software is the right fix. We're listening for genuine domain depth, not a polished pitch. If you've spent 10+ years inside a vertical and you've built up a specific, stubborn thesis about why it's broken, that's the call we want to have.
If the call lands well, we run a structured two-week discovery sprint together. This is not a formality — it's a live pressure test. We run 10 to 15 structured calls with real buyers in your vertical. We're testing whether the problem is real, whether people will pay, and whether the positioning you've brought resonates with the people who matter. You learn more in these two weeks than most founders learn in six months of "stealth mode." We both leave with enough information to decide whether we want to build together.
If both sides want to proceed after the sprint, we sign. The terms are straightforward: you keep majority equity from day one, there's no reverse vesting, and the engagement period is fixed at one quarter. We take a minority stake sized to the capital we put in and the work we do. The build starts the following Monday. There's no waiting list, no committee approval, no additional pitch rounds. If we've done the sprint together and both want to build, we move.
The build quarter is where Alder VC does its actual work. Our in-house engineering and design team builds your MVP — not an outsourced agency, not offshore contractors, not a vaporware demo. Real product, real users, real feedback loop. In parallel, we run the GTM playbook: we work with you to close your first design partner or paying customer, and we help you prepare the seed round materials and investor intros you'll need to raise immediately following the build. The goal at the end of the quarter is simple: MVP in market, one signed customer, seed raise in motion.
At the end of the quarter, here's what exists in the world that didn't exist before.
A production-deployed software product built by an in-house team. Not a mockup, not a landing page — a working product in the hands of real users.
At least one signed design partner or paying customer — real validation that someone will hand over money for what you've built.
A written GTM playbook with your ICP definition, outbound sequences, pricing structure, and the first 50 prospect conversations mapped out.
A pitch deck, data room, and a short list of warm VC introductions to seed investors who back vertical SaaS companies.
A recruiting pipeline for your first engineering or GTM hire, with screened candidates you can move on immediately after closing the seed.
Delaware C-Corp, cap table, IP assignment, employment agreements, and a QuickBooks setup that won't embarrass you in a Series A data room.
We can build with you, but we can't build for you. Here's what a successful Alder VC engagement requires from the founder side.
You cannot be part-time, consulting on the side, or "exploring options." The build quarter requires your full attention. We won't start unless you've left your job.
You need enough relationships in your vertical to get 10+ qualified buyer calls in two weeks. Cold introductions don't count — we need your actual network.
We move fast. Pricing decisions, customer conversations, and product trade-offs happen weekly. If you need three weeks to make a call, we are not the right fit.
Your domain expertise is your edge. But you are likely new to building software companies. We'll push back on product decisions, pricing, and positioning — you need to be open to that.
Two paragraphs about the problem you know better than anyone. That's all we need to start.
Pitch us