Many founders, investment bankers, and M&A teams initially consider setting up a data room in google drive because Google Drive is free, familiar, and easy to use. While Google Drive offers basic file sharing, it lacks the professional-level security, analytics, and permissions required for due diligence or investor sharing.

This guide walks you step-by-step through setting up a data room in google drive, its limitations, and why professional data room platforms like DeelTrix are a better choice for high-stake deals.

---

1. What Does Setting Up a Data Room in Google Drive Mean?

Setting up a data room in google drive means organizing confidential documents into structured folders and sharing them with investors, advisors, and internal teams. It works for:

• Early-stage fundraising
• Simple document sharing
• Team collaboration
• Lite due diligence

However, when setting up a data room in google drive, users often realize Google Drive does not support granular permissions, watermarking, page-level analytics, or audit trails.

---

2. Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a Data Room in Google Drive

If you’re setting up a data room in google drive, follow these steps:

Step 1: Create a Master Folder

Start by creating a main folder named “Company Data Room” or your project name.

Step 2: Build a Clean Folder Structure

When setting up a data room in google drive, structure matters more than anything.
Suggested folders:

• Company Overview
• Financials
• Legal
• Team
• Product & Tech
• Traction
• Market Research
• Investor Documents

Step 3: Upload Documents in Logical Order

Use PDF for final versions. Use read-only where possible.

Step 4: Set Permissions Carefully

A crucial step when setting up a data room in google drive is restricting document access.
However, Drive only offers:

• Viewer
• Commenter
• Editor

It cannot:

• Block downloads
• Apply watermarks
• Track time spent per document

Step 5: Share Folder with Investors

When setting up a data room in google drive, ensure you never use “Anyone with link.”
Share only with emails of trusted investors.

Step 6: Monitor Activity

Google Drive shows only basic activity logs—making it limited for due diligence.

---

3. Pros & Cons of Setting Up a Data Room in Google Drive

✔ Pros

• Free
• Easy to use
• Quick to set up
• Works well for small teams

✘ Cons

When setting up a data room in google drive, founders quickly face limitations:

• No analytics (no “who viewed / for how long”)
• No dynamic watermarking
• No expiry per user
• No granular permissions
• No audit trail
• No branded experience
• No secure viewer

For serious investors, these limitations reduce trust and slow down due diligence.

---

4. Why Google Drive Isn’t a True Data Room

Even after setting up a data room in google drive, you still lack:

• Document view security
• User tracking
• NDA automation
• Page-level analytics
• Real-time engagement insights

This is why startups eventually shift from setting up a data room in google drive to professional, purpose-built data room software.

---

5. Best Alternative to Setting Up a Data Room in Google Drive – DeelTrix

If your goal is to attract investors, protect sensitive documents, and track engagement, DeelTrix is built exactly for that. It solves every limitation of setting up a data room in google drive.

---

DeelTrix Feature Comparison (Professional Data Room)

Feature / Capability	DeelTrix
Purpose-Built for Fundraising, M&A & Due Diligence	✅ Designed specifically for deal workflows
Granular Document Permissions	✅ View, download block, expiry, watermark
Data Room Structure	✅ Hierarchical folders & multiple parallel rooms
Real-Time Analytics	✅ Tracks who viewed, what page, how long
Collaboration Tools	✅ Q&A, Comments
Multi-User Roles	✅ Admin, Viewer, Contributor
Dynamic Watermarking	✅ Enabled
One Click Update	✅ Notify all room users instantly
Document Support	✅ PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX & more
Custom Branding	✅ Your own logo & theme
Secure Viewing	✅ Download block, view-only, watermark
Notifications	✅ Alerts for views, downloads, comments
Compliance & Audit Trail	✅ Full logs, GDPR-compliant
Trial	✅ Yes
Pricing	✅ Startup-friendly, no per-page or per-room fees

---

6. When to Stop Setting Up a Data Room in Google Drive and Upgrade

You should stop setting up a data room in google drive immediately if:

• You’re sharing cap table, financials, term sheets
• Investors request view tracking
• You need confidentiality
• You want to avoid data leaks
• You need a professional audit trail

Serious fundraising demands more than Google Drive can provide.

---

7. Final Verdict: Should You Be Setting Up a Data Room in Google Drive?

You can start with setting up a data room in google drive, but it’s only suitable for:

• Early-stage documents
• Basic file sharing
• Temporary collaboration
• Non-sensitive information

For investor-ready, secure, audit-proof document sharing, a professional platform like DeelTrix is the much stronger choice.

If your goal is to protect documents, track investor interest, and manage true due diligence, then after setting up a data room in google drive, your next step should be upgrading to DeelTrix.