6 questions reported in Sapphire Ventures interviews, organised by the group that asks them. Every question carries a model answer and graded feedback on your own attempt.
Questions
Easy · Medium
Hard
Model builds
Built in the spreadsheet grid
Cohort economics, CAC payback, net revenue retention and burn multiple. 4 questions
A simple calculation that reveals whether the candidate knows how to use a common growth-company heuristic.
A software company is growing revenue 32% year over year and has a -14% EBITDA margin. What is its Rule of 40 score? Does it pass the test?
Tests whether a candidate can distinguish true product-led expansion from a flattering customer story.
A company says it has a land-and-expand sales motion: customers start with a small team and later buy enterprise-wide licences. What evidence would you require before believing it?
A modelling-screen exercise testing whether a candidate can distinguish top-line growth from the economics produced by that growth.
A software company grows revenue from $24m to $36m while gross margin rises from 60% to 70%. Calculate prior-year gross profit, current-year gross profit, and the incremental gross profit. Why is this…
A practical diligence case for assessing whether a management plan is fundable.
Management forecasts ARR to grow from $20m to $40m next year. How would you test whether the forecast is credible?
Reference calls, technical diligence, term sheets and preference stacks. 2 questions
Portfolio reviews reveal whether candidates can recognise when a clean-looking metric is misleading.
A founder reports net revenue retention of 118%, but finance calculates 104%. How do you resolve the difference before using the metric in a board meeting?
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…
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 Sapphire Ventures.