End to Gloomy Startup Landscape as Investors Prepare For Dealmaking, According to DocSend Mid-Year Metrics Analysis

Founders eagerly seek capital while investors gear up to use dry powder

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The venture capital landscape is emerging from doom and gloom according to Q2 2024 investor activity metrics, which are above all previous years tracked — up 21.7% year-over-year (YoY) from 2023 — exceeding 2021's activity, which led to record-breaking funding.

DocSend, a secure document sharing platform and Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) company, today released a data analysis of its Pitch Deck Interest (PDI) metrics showing 2024 investor pitch deck engagement rose after global startup funding hit a five-year low. The analysis shows VCs are confident in the marketplace and founders (activity up 10.8% YoY) may finally be able to get the funding they need.

Emerging From Doom and Gloom: Q2 2024 Funding Revival

Following 2023's significant drop in startup funding, both founder and investor activity rose in Q2 2024. Year-to-date metrics show investor pitch deck interactions rose 19.2% and founder links created increased 10% from 2023. The increasing funding opportunities are thanks in part to new technologies like AI and macroeconomic factors such as potential interest rate cuts. In May, venture funding reached $31 billion dollars, up 29% YoY with AI leading as the sector that raised the most funding, according to Crunchbase.

"DocSend's PDI metrics are forward-looking indicators of deals to come, so with high investor activity levels, we hope to see these VCs making deals at the end of the year into next year," said Justin Izzo, senior data and trends analyst at Dropbox DocSend. "It is the most opportune time to fundraise in years. However, potential interest rate cuts and current events, like the election, may impact whether the heightened activity turns into tangible deals."

Both founder and investor activity are showing sustained momentum quarter-over-quarter, with founder links created rising 5.6% and investor deck interactions up 1.1%.

Investor and Founder Activity Soars Past 2021 Metrics

In H1 2024, investor activity levels were consistently above all previous tracked years by DocSend (2018 to 2024). An increased amount of investment dollars poured into early-stage startups in 2021, pressuring VCs to move faster in the fundraising process and encouraging founders to amplify pitching and funding efforts.

From a YoY perspective, investor deck engagement increased by 7.7% from 2021 and founder links created were up a staggering 28.4%. As 2024 metrics mostly sit above 2021's robust activity, founders are taking advantage of VC's recent enthusiasm.

Key Leading Indicators of 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 the 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.

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 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. For more information on our mission and products, visit dropbox.com.

Media Contact:
Carol Boyko
104 West for Dropbox DocSend
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SOURCE DocSend