Can I use my partner's deals as my track record?
Short answer
Many sponsors show their partner's deals by presenting them as the partner's and saying what their own role was in each one. Investors want to know who sourced, ran and closed the deal. A partner's record can help you win trust, but it does not replace your own. Many sponsors talk to a securities attorney about how to word this.
Label it as theirs, and say what you did
I would never present a partner's deals as if they were solely mine. Investors will ask who found the deal, who ran it and who closed it. If your answer does not match your slide, you lose the room.
The cleanest way is two lists. One is the team's record, with your partner's deals named as theirs. The other is your own record, with only the work you did yourself. Many sponsors talk to a securities attorney about how to describe past performance before it goes in a deck.
A developer describes bringing in experienced partners to do deals larger than their own history supported.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
Why a partner's record still helps
At Family Office Club we often see this in joint ventures and co-GP deals. A sponsor with a thinner history brings in a partner who has the history. The developer in the clip says investors are not going to hand someone ten million dollars who has no track record. So they brought in a builder who had done this for a couple of decades, plus a local developer with 40 years in Nashville.
That is the trade. You may give away more of the deal, but you get an experienced team in front of investors. The same developer says they offered equity to get that team together. Of their 12 deals, five used a co-GP structure.
Your own part still has to be real. Maybe you controlled the deal, put the package together or brought the investors. Say that plainly. It is a fair description of what you contributed.
What investors weigh when your record is thin
Track record matters a great deal to the people writing checks. Here is how I put it when someone asked about raising money for a startup.
"If the founders and the inventors have a track record of creating a business, scaling it, and having an exit, then that makes it more likely they're going to raise the money by far."
If you do not have that record, I would build proof in smaller steps. Find a strong anchor investor from the industry. Get something working. Show some revenue. Then grow it.
Investors on a panel explain what they look at when a founder is green, including team and transferable skills.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
The panel in that clip stressed the team and the skills you bring from other work. One investor said that when a founder is new, what they are really backing is that person's credibility. A partner with a real record is part of that credibility, as long as you are honest about who did what.
- List each deal with the partner's name and your role.
- Keep the team record and your own record separate.
- Be ready to explain every line in a call.
What I have said on this at our events
When you show a track record, make it tangible and make it honest. I have asked managers why they charge an industry standard fee, and when I ask how many deals they have done, the answer is sometimes two. That is not an industry standard record, so the fee does not fit it. If you borrow a partner's deals, do not use them to justify terms your own history cannot support. Put real, countable items in front of investors, such as deals completed or months of dividends paid on time, and keep your own numbers separate from your partner's.
"I ask them, oh, well, why do you choose that fee structure? They said, oh, well, that's industry standard. And I say, well, how many deals have you done? And they'll say, well, two. So they're not really industry standard track record, but they're trying to charge industry standard fees, you know, and many times, if investors feel like they're more aligned, it'll make them lean forward."
"It should be something that almost no one else can say and it should involve tangible things. If your strength is your track record or your experience or number of years or number of deals or number of investors served, or number of months you've made your dividend payments on time to investors, you should include some tangible items."
Facts from this talk
- One developer in the joint venture webinar had 12 deals, and five of them used a co-GP structure.
- That developer's first co-GP deal was a 77 unit residential mixed use building close to downtown Nashville.
- To fill a track record gap, the developer brought in a builder with a couple of decades of experience and a Nashville developer with 40 years in the market.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Joint Venture & Co-GP Webinar - How to Close Deals with Peers & Partners in the Family Office Club, Joint Venture & Co-GP Webinar - How to Close Deals with Peers & Partners in the Family Office Club, Family Office Club Hot Seat Webinar Featuring Live Strategy Sessions with Investors & Founders, The Best Pitches These Investors Ever Saw - And What Every Green Founder Should Know. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around track record presentation, co-GP deal structures and investor marketing materials. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Next moves
- List every deal your partner closed and write down exactly what you did on each one.
- Split your materials into a team track record and your own track record.
- Ask your partner how they feel about you referencing their deals, and consider getting that in writing.
- Consider talking to a securities attorney about the wording before you send it to investors.
- Practice a short answer to who sourced, ran and closed each deal.
Follow-up questions
Should I offer equity to bring in a partner with a track record?
The developer in our joint venture webinar did exactly that to assemble an experienced team. You may give away more of the deal, so many sponsors talk to an attorney about how to structure the terms.
What if I have no deals of my own yet?
Be direct about it and show what you have, such as your team, your skills from other work and any proof you can build in small steps. Investors respond better to honesty than to inflated claims.
Does a bigger first deal help my credibility?
The developer in the clip said investors are not going to hand ten million dollars to someone with no track record, so they brought in experienced people on the sponsor side.
Related questions
- How do I calculate IRR for my track record?Line up every dated cash flow for each deal.
- How do I show traction to investors with only one deal?Treat one deal as the first step of your momentum.
- How do I present track record from a previous firm?Show what you personally did at the previous firm, with your exact role and results you can document.
- What track record can I claim as a deal team member?Many sponsors describe the part of a deal they personally did, in the role they actually held.
Work through it with the dilution calculator. See all track record and credibility resources.