Most founders pitch ProductsThe good ones pitch ROIs

A platform for first-time founders to learn how VCs think & evaluate startups so they can raise faster on better terms

Trusted by operators of leading VCs and startups

READERS & FOUNDERS FROMY COMBINATORTECHSTARSANTLER500 GLOBALFOUNDER INSTITUTESTARTUP BOOTCAMPAWS ACTIVATESEQUOIA SURGEON DECKENTREPRENEUR FIRSTPLUG AND PLAY

03 · Instruments

Templates teach you to copy. Instruments teach you to think.

See all instruments

Live01

Fundraising

Investor X-Ray

Rank 39,000+ investors against your brief, then open the deep read on any fund.

Member

Live02

Fundraising

VC Readiness Score

Bloomberg style scorecard across the eight criteria partners weigh at IC.

Open

Live03

Fundraising

Investor Fit Finder

Filtered by stage, sector and check size. See your top shortlist in under a minute.

Open

Live04

Fundraising

Lead Investor Radar

Funds that actually lead rounds at your stage, ranked by conviction.

Member

Live05

Fundraising

Round Architect

Design your round with a mix of leads, co leads and follow on capital.

Open

Live06

Validation

PMF Pressure Test

Twenty IC questions, run against your pitch. Verdict in sixty seconds.

Member

Live07

Financial

Valuation Calculator

Pre seed and seed ranges, modelled on real comparables.

Member

Browse the full archive

Track record

1,200+ founders mentored

US · SEA · Africa · Europe

Read the full thesis

01 · The author

Built by an ex-VC & Founder, who has read the room from both sides.

I am Sayanee Bhowmik, an EX-VC & Founder. Spent half a decade, across prominent funds & accelerators globally, including Founder Institute, & Startup Bootcamp.

As a founder, I didn't speak VC language.

As a VC, I missed good companies because they didn't either.

The VC Lens is my attempt to solve what I call the "VC Language Problem".

A structured account of how investors evaluate companies, paired with the instruments to act on it — so that founders raise faster and VCs bet on genuine companies.

"Tools are commodities. The lens is the moat."

STARTUP BOOTCAMP

FOUNDER INSTITUTE

1200+ FOUNDERS

12 cohorts

06 · MEMBERSHIP

One membership. No tiers.

A single, unified pass to every tool, every report breakdown, every working session — No Upsells.

$15/ month

Or $150 / year — two months free.

Start membership

CANCEL ANY TIME. HOSTED ON SUBSTACK

What's included

01
The Friday briefing
A weekly VC-written dispatch on what partners actually said in this week's IC.
02
The full instrument set
Every member-tagged tool unlocked — cap table, valuation, readiness score, investor lists.
03
The premium archive
Long-form essays and deal teardowns kept off the public feed.
04
Monthly working sessions
Small-group live workshops with an industry expert. Bring your deck, leave with redlines.
05
$12k+ in startup credits
A vetted stack of partner discounts. Most members recover the cost in month one.
06
Office hours & AMAs
Async questions answered by an industry expert plus rotating guest VCs.

See full membership details

04 · The lens

Notes from the other side of the table.

All editions

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05 · The room

Operators who learned to read the table — in their own words.

Founders at a VC Lens working session — INDIA WORKING SESSION, 2025TVL ARCHIVE

"The VC Lens reframed how I read my own deck. Cold inbox to term sheet in seven weeks."

Maya R.

Founder, fintech · Lagos

"It is the only weekly briefing I read end-to-end. A partner-level brain on retainer."

Daniel O.

Founder, climate · Berlin

"Real founders, real numbers, no theatre. The workshops sharpened my model materially."

Priya S.

Founder, B2B SaaS · Singapore

4.9 / 5: Member rating
92%: Annual renewal
60+: Cities
1,200+: Founders mentored

07 · The briefing

The Friday brief from inside a VC's inbox.

One sharp insight. One instrument. One teardown. No filler.

Part 01 · Free dispatch

Get the Friday brief in your inbox.

Every Friday. No filler. Unsubscribe in one click.

Hosted on Substack

Part 02 · Membership

Every issue. Every instrument. $15/month.

Unlock member-only teardowns, tools, credits & office hours.

Become a member

Cancel any time

Read past issues

Most founders pitch ProductsThe good ones pitch ROIs

Templates teach you to copy. Instruments teach you to think.

Investor X-Ray

VC Readiness Score

Investor Fit Finder

Lead Investor Radar

Round Architect

PMF Pressure Test

Valuation Calculator

Built by an ex-VC & Founder, who has read the room from both sides.

One membership. No tiers.

The Friday briefing

The full instrument set

The premium archive

Monthly working sessions

$12k+ in startup credits

Office hours & AMAs

Notes from the other side of the table.

Operators who learned to read the table — in their own words.

The Friday brief from inside a VC's inbox.

Get the Friday brief in your inbox.

Every issue. Every instrument. $15/month.

Templates teach you to copy. Instruments teach you to think.

Investor X-Ray

VC Readiness Score

Investor Fit Finder

Lead Investor Radar

Round Architect

PMF Pressure Test

Valuation Calculator

Built by an ex-VC & Founder, who has read the room from both sides.

One membership. No tiers.

The Friday briefing

The full instrument set

The premium archive

Monthly working sessions

$12k+ in startup credits

Office hours & AMAs

Notes from the other side of the table.

Operators who learned to read the table — in their own words.

The Friday brief from inside a VC's inbox.

Get the Friday brief in your inbox.

Every issue. Every instrument. $15/month.