What are investors actually looking for in when reviewing pitch’s?
I just read a great piece from TechCrunch’s Dominic-Madori Davis covering what top VCs actually want to see in pitch decks.
Three investors – Jyoti Bansal (founder-turned-investor), Medha Agarwal (Defy), and Jennifer Neundorfer (January Ventures) – shared their unfiltered thoughts at TechCrunch Disrupt.
The biggest takeaway? Cut the buzzword BS. Agarwal nailed it when she said the more a founder mentions “AI” in their pitch, the less AI they’re probably actually using.
The truly innovative companies weave it naturally into their story rather than beating you over the head with it.
Bansal broke down what investors are really looking for into three core questions:
1. Is the market big enough? Does this have billion-dollar potential?
2. Why YOU? What makes this founding team uniquely positioned to win when 20 other companies will try solving the same problem?
3. Where’s the proof? Show me customer traction, revenue, feedback – some kind of validation.
What resonated most with me from the 25+ years I’ve spent in recruiting: be honest about your competition. Agarwal said some founders lost credibility with her simply by leaving competitors off their slides.
In executive search, I see the same thing – trying to pretend competition doesn’t exist only damages trust.
Bottom line from Bansal that every founder (and frankly every business owner) should remember: “Focus on building your product.”
Three investors – Jyoti Bansal (founder-turned-investor), Medha Agarwal (Defy), and Jennifer Neundorfer (January Ventures) – shared their unfiltered thoughts at TechCrunch Disrupt.
The biggest takeaway? Cut the buzzword BS. Agarwal nailed it when she said the more a founder mentions “AI” in their pitch, the less AI they’re probably actually using.
The truly innovative companies weave it naturally into their story rather than beating you over the head with it.
Bansal broke down what investors are really looking for into three core questions:
1. Is the market big enough? Does this have billion-dollar potential?
2. Why YOU? What makes this founding team uniquely positioned to win when 20 other companies will try solving the same problem?
3. Where’s the proof? Show me customer traction, revenue, feedback – some kind of validation.
What resonated most with me from the 25+ years I’ve spent in recruiting: be honest about your competition. Agarwal said some founders lost credibility with her simply by leaving competitors off their slides.
In executive search, I see the same thing – trying to pretend competition doesn’t exist only damages trust.
Bottom line from Bansal that every founder (and frankly every business owner) should remember: “Focus on building your product.”
Article credit: Dominic-Madori Davis, TechCrunch
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