12 questions investors really ask, an investor patience meter, and a score at the end. Three minutes of practice – and a few laughs at classic founder mistakes.
Investor meetings usually fail not because of the idea, but because of poor preparation. Experienced investors see hundreds of founders a year and can tell within minutes whether they are interested. They look at the team (“why you?”), the market and competition, the business model, and how much you are raising and why.
At Pre-Seed it is fine to have no revenue yet, but you must know who the customer is, which problem you solve and why now. At Seed, investors look for early signs of product-market fit and first data. At Series A there is no room for guesses: customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, burn rate and a clean cap table.
Go deeper: What investors are really testing in a meeting, The art of approaching investors, and the runway calculator – to know when to start fundraising.
