Definition
Deal-by-Deal Syndicate
A syndicate where investors opt into each opportunity separately, with no committed capital.
Deal-by-deal describes the funding model that distinguishes a syndicate from a fund: nothing is committed in advance, and each opportunity is offered and funded on its own terms through its own vehicle. For investors, the appeal is control, since they see the specific company before deciding, and can pass without penalty. For the lead, the trade-off is certainty: there is no capital to draw on, so every deal is a fresh raise against a deadline, and demand is unknown until commitments land. This is why leads gauge interest before committing to an allocation, and why the operational cost of a deal-by-deal model falls almost entirely on speed of execution rather than on capital formation.