Venture capital · Outlander VC
Affinity to Attio migration for a VC fund: Commitments, LPs, a startup application pipeline, and Specter enrichment
Outlander VC ran on Affinity. The team (Tony, AJ, and Abbie) wanted Attio so the fund could be modelled the way they actually work: commitments and LPs as first-class objects, fund stages as lists, inbound applications as a real pipeline, and outbound running inside the same tool.
Affinity
Migrated from
2
Custom objects
6
Fund-stage lists
15
Workflows
2
Outbound sequences
Specter, PitchBook
Integrations
The problem
Affinity covers the standard CRM model for VC, but it does not let the team shape objects around their own thesis. Commitments lived inside deal notes. LP relationships were tracked as contacts with tags. Inbound startup applications came in through forms and sat in inboxes.
The partners also wanted a single tool for sourcing, enrichment, LP comms, and outbound. That meant Specter and PitchBook data had to flow into the same workspace, and outbound sequences had to run on the same records the partners were already working from.
Objectives
- •Move the fund off Affinity into Attio without losing deal history, LP relationships, or commitments.
- •Model the work of a VC fund in Attio: commitments, LPs, portfolio companies, founders, and partners.
- •Give partners list views per fund stage and a separate flow for investor updates.
- •Build a pipeline for inbound startup applications so nothing sits in an inbox.
- •Enrich the database automatically through Specter and keep PitchBook data flowing in on a regular cadence.
- •Run outbound from inside Attio with a sequence, not a separate sales tool.
The data model
Two custom objects (Commitments and LPs) on top of the standard Companies and People. Commitments link to Companies and LPs, so the fund can answer questions like “how much have we committed in this sector this year” and “which LPs are backing this deal” from the records themselves, not from a spreadsheet on the side.
Commitments
Custom object that tracks every commitment the fund makes to a portfolio company. One record per commitment, linked to a Company and the LPs backing it.
- Linked Company
- Linked LPs
- Commitment amount
- Round, stage, and date
- Status (committed, wired, closed)
- Linked partner
LPs
Custom object for limited partners. Keeps LP identity, capital commitments, and update cadence separate from operating contacts.
- LP type (individual, family office, institutional)
- Capital committed and called
- Linked Commitments
- Reporting cadence
- Primary contact on People
Companies
Portfolio and prospective companies. The standard object, extended with VC-specific attributes.
- Round stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A+)
- Pipeline stage (sourced, screened, partner review, term sheet, DD, committed, passed)
- Sector and thesis fit
- Sourcing channel (inbound, referral, PitchBook, Specter)
- Specter enrichment fields
- Linked Commitments
People
Founders, co-investors, LPs, and operating contacts. One person record, multiple relationships.
- Role (founder, LP contact, co-investor)
- Linked Company
- Linked LP record
- Source
- Last touch
Lists and pipelines
Fund stage lists
Separate lists of Companies per pipeline stage so partners see only what is at their stage. Sourced, screened, partner review, term sheet, due diligence, and committed.
Investor updates list
One list dedicated to LP communication. Tracks who has received the latest update, who has open questions, and what the next touch should be.
Startup application pipeline
Inbound applications land in a structured pipeline with screening, partner review, and pass or progress stages. Nothing gets stuck in an inbox.
Integrations
Specter enrichment
Specter pushes company and founder signals into Attio. Companies are matched on domain, and Specter fields populate on the Company record so partners see growth, headcount, and funding signals without leaving Attio.
Recurring PitchBook CSV import
Drafted a CSV template that maps PitchBook columns to Attio attributes for Companies and Commitments. The team runs the import on a recurring cadence and new records flow in cleanly, with no manual reformatting.
Workflows we built
Fifteen workflows automate the fund’s day-to-day. The five doing the most work:
Create Commitment when a Company is committed
When a Company’s pipeline stage moves to Committed, a Commitment record is created automatically, linked to the Company, the partner who led it, and any LPs backing it.
Route startup applications by stage and sector
New applications are tagged by stage and sector, then pushed to the right pipeline-stage list and assigned to the partner covering that sector.
LP update reminders
Scheduled workflow that flags LPs who have not received an update in the agreed cadence, and creates a task for the partner who owns the relationship.
Specter signal alerts
When Specter pushes a meaningful growth signal on a portfolio or prospect company, a notification fires in Slack and a task is created on the Company record.
Outbound sequences
Two Attio sequences for founder outreach. Founders from the startup application pipeline and Specter-sourced companies are added into a sequence, with stop conditions on reply or meeting booked, and a workflow that updates the Company stage on reply.
Outcomes for the fund
- •Around 20 hours a month of CRM operations are off the partners’ plates, run by automated workflows instead of by hand.
- •Deal flow into the pipeline is up roughly 15%, as inbound applications and outbound sourcing feed the same records.
- •Commitments and LPs are 2 custom objects built for how the fund actually invests, so partners answer “how much have we committed in this sector this year” or “which LPs back this deal” from the records in seconds, with no spreadsheet to rebuild.
- •The move off Affinity lost nothing. Every deal, LP relationship, and commitment came across.
- •6 fund-stage lists mean each partner reviews only the deals at their own stage, so partner meetings move faster and nothing gets re-litigated.
- •15 workflows handle the busywork: routing inbound applications, creating commitments, flagging overdue LP updates, and surfacing Specter signals, so the team works exceptions instead of doing data entry.
- •2 outbound sequences run founder outreach inside Attio on the same records as sourcing and pipeline, so outbound is not a disconnected tool.
- •2 enrichment integrations, Specter and PitchBook, feed the database on a recurring cadence, so company and founder data stays current with no manual reformatting.
Running a fund on Affinity?
If you want commitments, LPs, and inbound applications modelled properly, I can move you to Attio without losing your history.
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