Setting Up Investor Meetings

As an investor and founder who has been on both sides of the table, I've witnessed countless first-time entrepreneurs stumble during investor meetings. Here's my straightforward guide to nailing your first investor meeting: 1. Do your homework on investors. Research their portfolio, investment thesis, and recent deals. Value your time and avoid pitching to investors who never invest in your sector or stage. 2. Perfect your elevator pitch. You need a clear, compelling 30-second explanation of what your company does. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. 3. Know your numbers thoroughly. Revenue projections, burn rate, market size, and key metrics should be at your fingertips. Nothing undermines credibility faster than fumbling with basic figures. 4. Focus on the problem first. Start with the pain point you're addressing, not your solution. Investors need to understand why this matters before they care about how you solve it. 5. Bring evidence, not promises. Present traction, early customers, patents, or prototype results. Concrete proof points are more significant than future projections. 6. Listen more than you talk. Pay attention to investors' questions and concerns. Their feedback often reveals what is most important to them. 7. Be honest about risks. Address potential challenges upfront. Trying to conceal weaknesses makes you appear naive or dishonest. Show how you plan to mitigate risks. 8. Keep your deck concise. Limit it to 10-15 slides maximum. Focus on what matters: problem, solution, business model, team, and financials. 9. Have a clear ask. Know exactly how much you're raising, what it's for, and your planned milestones. Be prepared to discuss valuation and terms. 10. Build a personal connection. Good investors invest in people, not just ideas. Show your passion, demonstrate your team's expertise, and be authentic in your interactions. What's the most valuable lesson you've learned from your own fundraising journey? #startups #venturecapital #fundraising #entrepreneurship #investors #pitch

Most founders walk into investor meetings trying to be liked. They pitch. They answer. They perform. And then they’re surprised six months later when the investor disappears or becomes a problem. That’s because they forgot something critical: This is not a job interview. It’s a 7–10 year partnership decision. You’re not there to impress the investor. You’re there to decide if they belong on your cap table. So here’s how to actually interview investors and figure out who’s worth giving equity to. (1) Ask how they behave when things go wrong Not if. When. Ask: → “Can you tell me about a portfolio company that struggled and how you supported them?” If the answer is vague, heroic, or somehow ends with “we replaced the CEO”… noted. You’re looking for pattern recognition, not war stories. (2) Ask where they are most helpful in practice Every investor claims they’re “founder-friendly.” Cute. Ask: → “What do founders come to you for most between rounds?” If they can’t answer quickly, they’re probably not being used. (3) Ask how they make decisions internally This one saves months of silent suffering. Ask: → “Who actually needs to be convinced for follow-on or support?” If the answer is “it depends” without clarity, congrats, you’ve met a committee ghost. (4) Ask about time, not just money Capital is easy. Attention is scarce. Ask: → “How many boards are you on right now, and how do you prioritize founders?” If they dodge this, you already have your answer. (5) Ask what  bad founders do on their cap table This reveals more than any reference call. Ask: → “What behaviors make you lose conviction in a founder?” Listen carefully. You’re hearing the rules of the relationship before signing the contract. >> Wild thought << you are allowed to ask all of this. So before your next meeting, ask yourself: Are you pitching for approval… or evaluating a future partner? -- Sending this from the slopes overhearing how an investor just bragged about "just being an easy check" for founders RED FLAG!

I get hundreds of founder messages meant for someone else. Most founders understand ICP. Very few understand IIP.   These founders have no idea who I am and what our fund invests in. And yet, they send their deck and insist on the meeting.   The moment they define their Ideal Investor Persona, random outreach turns into relevant conversations.   Your IIP is your ICP for fundraising.   You already know how this works on the customer side.   A good founder does not try to sell to everyone. They define the ideal customer first.   Who has the problem? Who has the budget? Who needs this now? Who buys fast? Who gets the most value?    IIP is the same, but for investors.   Who invests at your stage? Who backs your sector? Who writes checks your size? Who leads versus follows? Who invests in your geography? Who already believes in your market? Who is likely to understand your story without needing a long education?   And if you skip this step, you get what I see every week:   A fintech founder pitching a climate fund. A pre-seed startup emailing growth investors. A B2B software company is sending cold notes to consumer specialists.   A founder asking for a meeting without even checking whether we invest in their stage, market, or model. That is not a fundraising strategy. That is list spam.   Save this if you want better investor meetings with fewer messages:   1. Start with the stage If you are raising pre-seed, build for pre-seed investors. Not seed tourists. Not Series A names you admire.   2. Filter by sector Your best investor already understands the space. They should not need a full lesson on why the market matters.   3. Match check size A perfect brand name fund is still a bad fit if their typical check is far above or below your round. 4. Know fund behavior Some investors lead. Some follow. Some move fast. Some take months. Your IIP should match the kind of process you need. 5. Check geography Some funds care deeply about the region. Others invest globally. Do not guess. 6. Study portfolio pattern Look at what they funded before. Adjacent wins are a signal. Direct conflicts are a warning. 7. Research the person, not just the logo The partner matters. What do they post? What themes do they care about? What have they backed personally? 8. Use tools to build a smarter list FounderStack, OpenVC, Crunchbase, PitchBook, Foundersuite, Harmonic, and Visible can help you filter investors instead of guessing. 9. Write outreach that proves fit The best first message is not “Can I pitch?” It is “You invest in X, you backed Y, and we fit your thesis because of Z.” 10. Cut your list down A smaller list with real fit beats a giant list built on hope. It turns random fundraising into a focused process. ♻️ Repost to help founders in your network. 🖊️ Subscribe to Fundable Notes on Substack to access more guidance, fundraising tools, and frameworks, powered by the proprietary Fundables OS™ - the link is in the comments.  

You don't need to build a massive data room to start fundraising. It's a huge waste of your time and needlessly delays you getting started. Investors don't need to see your articles of incorporation on the first date. Giving them everything at once is overwhelming and needlessly leaks your info early. Here’s the systematic approach I teach: The Progressive Data Room. You drip-feed information based on investor engagement. These aren't set in stone below and will vary if the investor asks for some things earlier. The key is to protect your most important information until they have shown real signs of interest such as multiple meetings or a term sheet. → Stage 1 (Initial Interest): The Teaser Your teaser deck or executive summary. That's it. Think of it like a 30-second TV commercial. Your goal here is to get the first meeting. → Stage 2 (Post-First Meeting): The Validation They're interested and want more. Now you share core materials. • Financial model (3–5 year forecast) • Strategic roadmap • Product demo video • Team bios and roles • Detailed market analysis • User research or insight backing the problem • Competitor analysis • Testimonials, pilots, or case studies • LOIs, MOUs, pilot agreements • Anonymised customer list (only if requested) • Press coverage or PR (nice to have) • Risks and mitigations (nice to have) → Stage 3 (Deep Due Diligence): The Full Works They're serious and talking terms. Now, you open up or complete the full data room: • Cap table modelling spreadsheet (current and future rounds) • Term sheet (if applicable) • Corporate and legal documents: – Articles of Association – Shareholder Agreement – Share register – Previous investment documents such as SAFEs or convertibles • Historical profit and loss statements (management accounts) • Annual accounts • Key contracts and IP assignments • Registered patents (if any) • Customer lists Treat your data room like a conversation, not a document dump. It protects your company information and gives you more time  to pull together documents as momentum builds. 👋 I’m Sutin Yang, SeedLegals Angel Investor of the Year 2025, 5 years experience leading accelerators, former entrepreneur, and ex-JPMorgan investor with 12 years’ experience. 📌 Follow me for more useful fundraising tips and stories.

Stop preparing perfect answers for your next VC meeting. That's not what they care about. I've sat through hundreds of investor calls. And here's what I've learned... VCs are not looking for perfect answers. They want to see how you THINK. The founders who raise are rarely the ones with every answer ready. They're the ones who stay calm and think out loud. Most founders mess this up. They hear a tough question, get defensive, and try to argue a perfect future. The room turns cold. The VC keeps circling back to the same worry. The meeting ends without a follow-up. Here's what actually works... → Acknowledge first, defend never. If a VC asks, "Won't OpenAI just build this?"  Don't fight it. Say "Fair point. They could build almost anything." That one line disarms them. → Walk them through your thinking, not your conclusion. Three clear reasons beat one magic answer. Focus. Data. Go-to-market. Pick what fits your business. → Be honest about uncertainty. "I don't have a crystal ball, but here's how I'm betting" sounds stronger than a forecast you cannot back. → Stop trying to win the question. Start sharing your reasoning. VCs already know early-stage is risky. They are not betting on certainty. They are betting on a founder who thinks clearly when things get hard. If you have an investor meeting coming up and want to pressure-test your answers, DM me or book a call- https://lnkd.in/dXgRWT9y What's the toughest question a VC has ever asked you? 🔁 Repost for a founder spending too much time on slides  🔔 Follow Nidhi Kaushal for honest fundraising advice #vc #investors #founders

Last year, I worked with 50+ companies raising pre-seed or seed rounds. Everyone obsesses over the pitch deck. Not nearly enough people focus on the actual fundraising process. Process is a lot less sexy than pitching, but how well you run it can make a massive difference in outcomes. Here’s what I see the strongest founders do: → Be intentional about timing There's no magic number where if you hit X, you're guaranteed to raise Y. What matters is momentum. Ideally, you’re going out after a few months of compounding progress. If the business will look materially better in a couple months, and you can stomach the burn, it’s often worth waiting. → Build a real target investor list 100+ names and then tier it (1, 2, 3) Your 1s are the investors you want most on the cap table. Use 2s and 3s to warm up and pressure-test the pitch before going to your 1s. Figure out where you have warm intros vs. where you’ll go cold before you start outreach. → Create all materials upfront Have your data room ready before you send a single email. Financial model, pipeline, customer discovery, everything you know you’ll be asked for. Speed matters in a fundraise. You don’t want to create everything on the fly while momentum is building. → Anticipate the hard questions You probably have an idea of where investors will dig in. And you definitely know the questions you don’t want to get. Write them down. Build a simple FAQ with long-form answers. It’ll make you sharper in the room and gives you something thoughtful to send to investors who are really leaning in. → Write a strong blurb This becomes the backbone for intros, forwardables, and cold emails. The goal is to  clearly explain what you do, why it matters, and the momentum. Make it easy for an investor to say yes to a first call. → Time-bound your first meetings Once outreach starts, aim to stack first calls into a 1–2 week window. Most founders skip the list-building, start outreach immediately, and take meetings whenever they come in. That kills urgency because everyone is at a different point. Start outreach a couple weeks before you take meetings and schedule in advance so you can run a tight process. A tight process won’t save a business without velocity or venture-scale potential. But when those ingredients are there, process is often the difference between an okay fundraise and a great one. What else would you add?

Here’s how we raised 3.000.000€ from angels that were early in Meta, Airbnb, etc. in 11 days (and were oversubscribed to 6m). We used a 3-step plan. Because everyone loves 3-step plans. ➖ The Groundwork ➖ Pick a kickoff date. Set up Calendly or cal. Keep calls to 30 minutes. All co-founders push for intros, but only one person takes the calls. Use Docsend to see who’s actually looking at your deck. Write a blurb your friends can forward to investors. It is more important than the actual deck! Create a standard SAFE or CLA. Avoid unusual terms. You can’t negotiate with every angel, so you must set fair rules. Include future pooling rights. Without them your cap table will be screwed beyond repair later. ➖ Step 1 ➖ 14 days before kickoff, ask friends for intros. This is the most important part. Fight for every intro. Important: do not request the intros immediately. Your friends should deliver them 5 days before kickoff. Their messages should create FOMO. In the best case, you never approach an investor directly. We received 80 intros. Around half of them wanted to talk to us. ➖ Step 2 ➖ 7 days before kickoff, talk to investors you trust. People you 100% want on your cap table. Give them the chance to invest before others. It shows gratitude. It creates exclusivity. It sets the tone for the actual raise. We secured 1.000.000€ in commitments before kickoff. ➖ Step 3 ➖ If you orchestrate it well, you start your fundraising week with a full calendar and commitments from day 1. Once people know you’re raising, more and more people will slide into your DMs. Set a deadline. If you feel confident, set it for Friday of the same week. If not, Friday of the week after. The deadline is everything. No exceptions. If investors feel they can wait, you lose them. Everyone wants to see more commitments first. If your calendar is not full, block time slots. Empty space signals weakness. Then work. Really work. Show super high energy on every call. Remember: you only have 30 minutes to convince a stranger to give you a large amount of money. Calls from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eat during calls. Admin from 10 p.m. to midnight. Repeat. If you are not doing 16+ calls per day, you will not make it. ➖ The Signing ➖ Use Docusign for the contracts. Give everyone 48 hours to sign. Oversubscribe slightly. We targeted 2.5 million and closed 3.2 million. With many angels there is always the risk one cancels at the last second. We lost a 200k check in the final hours. Aaand then you are done :-) Take two days off. You’ll need them. Trust me.  Then back to building. Btw: we're hiring at fonio.ai 🫶🏼

A founder has 38 VC meetings scheduled this week. They come out of the first meeting and think "oh shit, we're not ready for... ...the rest of our meetings this week" I see this problem way too often. Talented founder, lots of potential, and able to secure lots of VC meetings. => but they haven't prepped for all the questions VCs might ask ...so they scramble. Of those 38 VC meetings, the first 8 on day 1 end up being practice // the next 7 on day 2 they're getting into their stride // and by the 10 scheduled for day 3 they're feeling more confident. But can you see the problem here? This founder has essentially burned one or two dozen VC meetings because they weren't prepped. => and when you pack dozens of VC meetings into a single week (which is normally a good thing!) you end up on your back foot trying to prepare, if you weren't ready at the start. SO HOW DO YOU FIX THIS? The key is two-fold: 1. Do 2-4 "sneak-peek" VC meetings a few weeks before your official kick-off. These should be real VC meetings - i.e. don't tell the VC they're for practice - so that you know how your pitch lands and what questions VCs might ask. 2. Prep a thorough internal Q&A doc of all the (especially thorny) questions that VCs might throw your way in a meeting. Remember, don't just practice your pitch - you should also practice your response to investor questions. Once you do those two things, you'll have greater confidence headed into a kick-off week with 38 VC meetings. ...and maybe you'll even get a term sheet from the first one or two dozen VCs you talk to, as opposed to burning those meetings. ______________ Hi, I'm Jorian Hoover, a startup fundraising sparring partner who's helped 40+ founders raise over $160M. For more startup fundraising guides, how-to's, and insights delivered regularly to your inbox, subscribe to my "Into the Ring" newsletter at https://lnkd.in/ezj_zYXz

I've helped dozens of startups raise capital. Here's the most important thing I've learned: Fundraising isn’t about your pitch. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. Want to show VCs you can run your startup? Your first chance: running a tight fundraising process. That means you... - Prepare intelligently. - Follow up quickly. - Negotiate wisely. Think about the fundraising funnel holistically. Want to set yourself apart at every step? Here's my top tip for every stage of the journey: 1️⃣ PREPARE: Narrative first, pitch second. Your narrative = what you want to say 📓 Your pitch = how you say it 🗣️ A great narrative clearly communicates: → What your startup is → Strategic milestones for the next round → You have the right tactics to achieve them → You have great odds of executing them successfully Substance beats style every time. Get your narrative right, and the pitch becomes easy. 2️⃣ TARGET: Stop “spray & pray” outreach. Instead, ask yourself: “Which investors would already love my startup?” The answer: Investors who've previously backed startups similar to yours—same market, same business model, same GTM, same stage (but not competitors). ✅ Do this: Find investors from similar startups. ❌ Not this: Cold-emai every VC. Result? More meetings, less wasted effort, and closing capital quicker. 3️⃣ OUTREACH: You don’t need warm intros (seriously!) Investors WANT great deals. Your job is simple: Show them why you’re a compelling opportunity. 4 Pillars of a Killer Investor Email: • Brevity • Personalization • Relevance • Momentum Use them all and you'll book investor meetings without a warm intro. 4️⃣ PITCH: Investors don’t care about your goals. They care if you’ll hit them. Use the GAP Framework in every pitch: → Goals: where you’re headed → Accomplishments: what you've already achieved → Plan: exactly how you'll achieve your goals Balancing GAP demonstrates ambition and credibility. (Bonus tip: send follow up emails after 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 meeting with action items, document requests, etc. Create a checklist so you never drop the ball. Seems simple, but sets you apart.) 5️⃣ DILIGENCE: Answer the tough questions BEFORE they're asked. To win in diligence, anticipate investors’ questions ahead of time: "What do investors need to believe to fund my startup?" "How can I prove it?" Back every answer with data or trusted third-party validation. (Not just your opinion.) Be ready for anything they throw at you. 6️⃣ CLOSE: Act like a partner, not a negotiator. Many founders blow deals by negotiating like it’s a zero-sum game. Instead, frame every conversation as a win-win partnership. Align incentives faster, close faster... and get better terms. Just remember: fundraising is a funnel. Nail the process, and the money will follow. __ Was this helpful? 👍 like and ♻️ repost it to help other founders! Want help raising capital for your startup? DM me 📥 "RAISE CAPITAL" to see if I can help.

How to get a meeting with an investor when you have 0 warm intros? "Just get a warm intro." That's the advice every founder hears. But what if you don't have one? Here's how one founder exactly did and how he got a call with me: Step 1: He found me on LinkedIn He searched "investors [his industry]" and found my profile. Saw I'd invested in a similar company. He didn't message me yet. Step 2: He researched my portfolio Went to my website. Read about our portfolio companies. Found posts I'd written about the space. Now he understood my thesis. Step 3: He engaged with my content first Over 2 weeks, he commented on my LinkedIn posts. Not "Great post!" comments. Thoughtful takes that showed he understood the space. I noticed him. He was adding value, not pitching. Step 4: He sent the LinkedIn message After 2 weeks of engagement, he sent this: "Hi [Name], I've been following your posts on [topic] and noticed you invested in [Portfolio Company]. We're building in a similar space and seeing something unexpected: [Specific market insight that contradicts conventional wisdom]. Not raising right now, but thought you might find this interesting given your thesis. Happy to share more if useful." That's it. No deck attached. No "I'd love 15 minutes." No pitch. Just insight related to my existing interest. Why I responded: 1. He'd been on my radar (I'd seen his comments) 2. He referenced my specific portfolio/thesis 3. The insight was genuinely new to me 4. He positioned it as "sharing" not "asking" 5. "Not raising right now" = no pressure We got on a call. He shared what he was learning. I asked questions. No pitch. Step 5: He followed up with value (not asks) Every month for 3 months, he sent a short email update: "Quick update since we last talked: → Hit $50K MRR (up from $35K) → Launched in 2 new markets → Learned [interesting thing] about customer behavior Still not raising, but wanted to keep you in the loop." After 3 months, I felt like I knew his business. Step 6: When he was ready to raise Month 4: "Quick update: Hit $75K MRR, 20% month-over-month growth. Opening our round in January. Would love to share our deck if you're interested." So, here's the recap: • Research their portfolio/thesis first • Engage with their content 2-3 times • Send message with insight, not pitch • Build relationship over 3 months • Show progress through updates • Make the ask when you've earned attention Warm intros are better. They're faster. But if you don't have them, you can still build relationships. It just takes 3 months instead of 3 minutes. Start now! Even if you're not raising until Q2. By the time you raise, you won't be cold anymore. Want to raise faster? We're offering FREE calls to help founders prepare for their raise. Book your call here: https://lnkd.in/gccYuzfF We only have 5 slots this week.