7 questions reported in Accel interviews, organised by the group that asks them. Every question carries a model answer and graded feedback on your own attempt.
Questions
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Hard
Model builds
Built in the spreadsheet grid
Reference calls, technical diligence, term sheets and preference stacks. 4 questions
A foundational diligence exercise for a VC analyst or associate.
You have a 30-minute reference call with a startup's customer. How do you structure it, and which answers would concern you?
A board-level portfolio case tests whether you can separate a capability gap from a difficult quarter before recommending a leadership change.
A Series B company's VP Sales has missed plan for two quarters. The CEO asks whether the board should push for a replacement before the next fundraise. How do you make the recommendation?
A board-level portfolio case involving founder incentives, governance and an unusually large secondary request.
A Series C company is raising $60m primary capital at a $500m pre-money valuation. The founder asks to sell $15m of personal shares in the same round. Growth is strong, but the company has missed two…
A VC portfolio-diligence case where an associate must use scarce founder and finance-team access to decide whether a bridge round funds a financeable business.
You are diligencing a proposed $12m Series A bridge for RelayOps, a workflow-software portfolio company. The investment committee meets tomorrow, management can answer only a limited number of…
Cohort economics, CAC payback, net revenue retention and burn multiple. 2 questions
A first-round growth-investing question on the quality of recurring revenue.
A SaaS company begins the year with $10m of ARR from existing customers, loses $1m to churn and contraction, and gains $2m of expansion. Calculate gross revenue retention and net revenue retention.…
A partnership-level case that tests capital allocation discipline after an initial growth investment.
You own 8% of a portfolio company. It proposes a new round to fund international expansion, and you can invest pro rata to maintain ownership. How do you decide whether to follow on?
Founder assessment, market sizing from first principles and ownership maths. 1 question
Tests offer-ready judgement on an emotionally difficult follow-on decision.
A seed portfolio company has 7 months of cash left. It missed its revenue plan, but retention among its best customer segment is 115% and it can raise a flat round only with existing investors…
Write your answer, get it graded on technical accuracy, completeness and communication, and see exactly which mechanic you missed.
Company tags reflect where a question type is commonly reported in interviews. They are not sourced from, endorsed by, or affiliated with Accel.