TCV interview questions

Tests whether a candidate can interrogate the metrics in a SaaS growth-company dashboard.

Define ARR, bookings and recognised revenue. A company reports strong bookings but weak revenue growth. What would you ask next?

Used to test whether a growth investor can separate headline growth from capital efficiency.

A company burned $18m of cash over the last twelve months and increased ARR from $30m to $42m. Calculate its burn multiple. What would you investigate before using it to make an investment decision?

A first-round growth-investing question on how a financing changes the company versus its existing shareholders.

What is the difference between primary and secondary capital in a growth-stage financing? When might you support a secondary sale?

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?

A common opening question for candidates moving from early-stage venture into growth investing.

How does a growth-stage investor underwrite a company differently from a seed or Series A investor?

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 growth-investing case asks the analyst to decide whether management's pipeline and revenue dashboards can support an investment-committee forecast.

Management says it can add $18m of new ARR next year and provides a CRM export showing $54m of pipeline. Outline the workflow you would use to decide whether the pipeline supports the plan.

Growth investors frequently see concentration hidden inside impressive enterprise ARR growth.

A company has $25m of ARR and its largest customer contributes $7m. The customer has a two-year contract but can terminate for material service failures. How do you underwrite the risk?

Tests whether a candidate can connect company quality, public-market evidence and an underwriting return.

How would you value a growth-stage software company with $30m of ARR, 60% growth and 115% NRR?

An investment-committee exercise for testing whether the candidate can make a growth thesis falsifiable.

You are recommending a growth investment in a vertical-software company. What does a useful downside case look like, and how would it change your cheque size or terms?

Growth equity and late-stage VC interviews centre on this analysis.

A SaaS company is growing revenue 80% year over year and burning $40m a year. What metrics do you need to know whether this is a good business, and what would make you pass?

Growth investors underwrite the go-to-market engine, not just the product.

A company spends $40m on sales and marketing and adds $25m of new ARR. Is that good? What else do you need to know?

The single most informative chart in growth-stage diligence.

A company shows you cohort retention curves. What are you looking for, and what would make you walk away?

A late-round investing case tests whether the candidate sees how term-sheet economics change returns when the exit is below plan.

A new investor pays $25m for 25% of a company. In a $60m exit, compare its proceeds under (a) 1x non-participating preferred and (b) 1x participating preferred. What term and decision issues would you…

A growth-stage diligence simulation where asking low-value questions consumes scarce meeting time.

A vertical-software company reports 125% net retention and asks for a $600m valuation. You have only three management questions and three customer-reference questions. Spend them on evidence that can…

A foundational diligence question for software and subscription businesses.

A company reports $30m of ARR. What would you need to know before treating that figure as high-quality recurring revenue?

A cash-efficiency follow-up common in later-stage software diligence.

What is burn multiple? A company burned $18m of cash to add $12m of net new ARR last year. What does that tell you?

A common software-investing shorthand that interviewers use to test judgement about growth and profitability.

Explain the Rule of 40. A SaaS company grows 32% and has an EBITDA margin of negative 12%: how would you use the result?

Growth investors live or die on the terms, because they cannot control the outcome.

You're investing $80m for 25% of a founder-controlled company. What protections do you negotiate, and which matter most?

The attribution exercise a growth fund runs at investment committee.

You invest at 8.0x revenue in a company with $50m revenue growing 40% a year. You hold five years and exit at 6.0x revenue. What return do you make, and where does it come from?