Blog

Fundraising advice drawn from real investor screenings: what investors look for, why they pass, and what to fix.

• Pitch deck examples: 5 real decks that raised, scored like an investor
  Five pitch deck examples founders published themselves, LinkedIn, Front, Airbnb, Buffer and Uber, scored like an investor. Only two clear the bar.
• How to find a startup mentor: why your first investor conversation is one
  What a startup mentor actually does, where founders really find one, and why an early stage investor's first look is a mentoring conversation. No deck needed.
• How to validate a startup idea before you build a pitch deck
  Startup idea validation the way an investor's first screen does it: evidence someone else can check, sourced versus claimed, and what to publish first.
• How to get pre seed investors with an idea and no deck
  What pre seed investors actually fund, what a partner checks first, the honest substitutes for numbers you lack, and how to earn a first look with no deck.
• I have an idea for an app. What investors want to see before a meeting
  The one pager for investors that replaces a deck at idea stage: eleven lines, what makes each one believable, and what to build with an idea but no money.
• Pitch deck checklist: 25 checks before you hit send
  A pre send pitch deck checklist from real investor screening: 25 yes or no checks on the one liner, market, numbers, team and the ask, with a worked case.
• Pre seed pitch deck: what investors expect before you have numbers
  What a pre seed pitch deck needs before the proof exists: the sections investors read most, what counts as traction without revenue, which slides carry it.
• The 10 slide pitch deck: what each slide has to do
  The 10 slide pitch deck format with each slide's job stated the way a screening analyst puts it, what gets cut from longer decks, and why order matters.
• Best AI pitch deck review tools in 2026, compared honestly
  Nine AI pitch deck review tools compared on cost, what you upload, what you get back, and what happens after the score. Checked on each vendor's own site.
• How to make a pitch deck investors will actually read
  How to make a pitch deck, slide by slide, from measured investor behavior: the 10 slides that matter, what funded decks did differently, one rule each.
• How long do investors spend on a pitch deck? Under two minutes.
  Pitch deck statistics from real research: investors read a deck for 1 minute 56 seconds. Which slides get attention and what funded decks did differently.
• How long does it take to raise a startup round? The real numbers.
  Startup fundraising statistics with sources: 71 investors contacted, 46 meetings, 12 weeks to raise a pre seed round, and 1 deal funded per 100 considered.
• How to meet investors: why startup meetups beat cold emails
  How to meet investors in person at startup events like TruesDays in Prague: working the room, the 10 minute pitch, and the follow up that earns a meeting.
• How to find the right investors for your startup
  Every fund has a thesis: sector, geography, stage, ticket size, expertise. How to find investors that already fit your startup and build a short list.
• Investors will Google your startup before they ever reply
  Investor due diligence starts with a search. How VCs verify pitch deck claims against public sources, why inflated TAM slides backfire, and how to pass.
• How to pitch an AI startup: what investors actually want to see
  AI powered is not a moat. What counts as defensibility for AI startups, why inference costs belong in unit economics, and how to pitch AI to investors.
• 7 pitch deck red flags that make investors pass
  The most common pitch deck mistakes from real investor screenings: inconsistent asks, missing unit economics, no compliance story, claims without evidence.
• What investors look for in a pitch deck: the five expert reads
  What do investors look for in a pitch deck? An operations, technical, finance, legal and growth read. What each one checks and how to answer it.