How to Move a Deal Without the Mandate
Lessons from Itxaso Del Palacio, General Partner at Notion Capital
Hey, Cristina here! 👋
Welcome back to my corner of the internet, where I try to make venture capital feel less intimidating and a lot more interesting.
This week’s post is for all the investors like me who are in the VC game but don’t yet have the mandate to sign a term sheet. You might not be the one who can officially green-light an investment (yet), but you can still set things in motion, shape the path a deal takes, and build the momentum that makes a “yes” almost inevitable.
Think of it like moving a heavy piece of furniture: you might not be the one deciding where it goes, but if you’re the one who gets it unstuck and halfway across the room, suddenly everyone else is ready to help push it the rest of the way.
TL;DR: You don’t need the final say to influence the outcome. The most effective junior investors know how to build sponsorship, anticipate objections, and create momentum before a deal ever hits the formal agenda.Last May, I attended a session with Itxaso Del Palacio, General Partner at Notion Capital. For context, Notion Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on investing in software companies across Europe, particularly in the SaaS and cloud computing markets. The firm has made over 100 investments to date and has backed companies like GoCardless, Paddle, and Unbabel.
She was amazing and delivered what was essentially a masterclass for junior investors on the tips and tricks to move a deal forward in venture, especially when you’re not the one holding the mandate.
The Pre-Game is Everything
Most junior investors think the real action happens in the formal team meeting (that was me before the session). Nope. By the time you’re around that conference table pitching to partners, the deal is basically already won or lost.
The magic happens in the hallway conversations, the coffee chats, the quick "hey, can I run something by you?" moments.
Here’s what Itxaso recommends:
Talk to 1–2 partners in advance.
Quietly remove early doubts (“That market’s too small,” “We’ve seen this before”) before they harden into no’s.
Build an informal deal team with a partner who’s curious and open.
Think about it like this: you don't want to walk into that room cold. You don't want to be the person saying "so here's this cool company I found" while partners are hearing about the market or business model for the first time because that's how deals stall or die.
Instead, walk in with a partner already nodding along, already invested in the company. You want someone who’ll back you when the skeptical questions start flying.
By the time the meeting starts, your deal should already have a champion in the room.
If you’ve done the pre-game right, you’re now in a position to make your sponsor look like the smartest person in the room and that’s exactly where you want them.
Make the Sponsor Look Brilliant
This is the part a lot of junior investors skip because they think getting a sponsor is the win and it’s not. The win is making that sponsor feel confident, credible, and ready to fight for the deal with you.
Once you’ve got your sponsor on board:
Arm them with sharp, founder-aware talking points.
Anticipate and answer the pushback they’ll get from others.
Give them the facts they can deliver with confidence.
Next, they’ll want to meet the founders themselves and that’s your sweet spot. Let them build their own conviction because you can’t force someone to sponsor a deal, but you can create the conditions where they want to.
When your sponsor looks sharp and prepared, the deal looks stronger too and they’ll remember who helped make that happen.
Write the Memo That Moves People
By this stage, you’ve got two things working in your favor:
A sponsor who’s curious.
A deal that already has a bit of momentum
Now it’s time to turn that energy into something tangible, the investment memo.
This is your moment to really shine, because here you prove you’ve done the work. Your investment memo isn't just a document, it's where you get to lay out not just what the company does, but why it matters, why now, and why this team can win. It is where you can debunk your assumptions. e.g. a founder may say that the market is big when in reality, the market may not be as big as the founder states and they may not be willing to pay $10k for a product in the manufacturing industry
Your memo should:
Test the company’s story and see if it holds up.
Point out any weak spots.
Be clear on the real market size and what customers would actually pay.
Show you can spot the difference between a great storyteller and someone who can really win the market.
Include how much you’d invest and what % equity that would mean, basically your appetite for the deal.
A good memo makes it much easier for your sponsor to fight for the deal when you’re not in the room.
The goal isn’t to oversell, it’s to make saying “yes” feel like the natural next step.
I’ve actually written a whole post on how to write a strong investment memo if you want to dive deeper, you can check it out here.
The Investment Matrix tool
One of Itxaso’s simple but powerful tips is to use an investment matrix for every deal:
🟢 Green: Things that make you want to move forward.
🟡 Yellow: Things you have questions about.
🔴 Red: Things that would make you walk away.
It’s simple, but powerful. It forces you to balance conviction with reality, and it shows partners you’re not just bringing unfiltered excitement, you’ve thought about the risks too.
The Reality Check on “Great Teams”
Another thing Itxaso said that stuck with me: saying “the team is good” is meaningless unless you can explain why. Every founder will seem impressive in a pitch. They’re salespeople and they’re selling you as much as their company.
Your job is to figure out what actually makes them able to win:
Do they see the problem in a unique way?
Do they have an advantage no one else does?
Can they attract the best people to work with them?
Get specific. That’s how you move from sounding like a fan to sounding like the person who really understands the deal.
Why This Matters
You don’t have to be the one signing the checks to move deals forward. What you do need is to:
Do the work.
Think curious and carefully.
Come prepared with real conviction backed by real analysis.
Every conversation, data point, and follow-up you control is a chance to get the deal rolling faster and smoother toward the people who do have the mandate.
When you do that consistently, something interesting happens: partners start coming to you. They start asking what you think. They start trusting your judgment.
And that's when you realize you've been creating gravity all along.
Try this: This week, pick one opportunity you believe in. Map out who in your firm needs to be excited about it and start moving that deal forward, one conversation at a time.
About the author
Thanks for reading to the end! I’m Cristina — a feminist, community builder, problem solver, and people connector focused on driving investments and innovation where gender and climate meet.
If you’re interested in Nature Tech, Gender, Climate, or the intersection of these areas, let’s connect on LinkedIn.