Chapter 5 · After the Check

Follow-ons, Reserves & Pro-rata Basics

When a portfolio company raises its next round, the fund has a decision to make: put more in, hold steady, or pass. Those calls are shaped by pro-rata rights, reserve strategy, and fund-level portfolio construction. This one keeps it light. What pro-rata is, why firms hold reserves, how the basic math of a follow-on decision works. You won't be making the call yourself yet, but you'll be in the room when someone does.