Let’s talk about a mistake we see founders make all the time: spending too much time building out the product before they pitch a VC.

This is specifically true for software companies.

See, most VCs know that building a software product is doable without vast amounts of money or resources. Tools like Webflow, AWS, and Replit make it possible for almost anyone to build a software product, website, or app.

So a fully built out product is not the thing that VCs want to see. When it comes to your product, here’s what pre-seed investors care about:

1. The MVP (and the strategy behind it)
2. The personas you’re targeting (and how you picked them)
3. Your long term vision for the product

Let’s break these down.

BTW: If you prefer to watch the video on this topic, you can catch the Uncapped Notes episode here.

Step 1: The MVP

MVP stands for “Minimum Viable Product.”

This is the rough draft of your product. An ugly version with limited functionality. Probably held together with duct tape and instant noodles.

When investors see your MVP, they won’t judge you for not having a fully flushed out platform complete with sparkles and color palettes. Instead, they’ll want to understand how you decided which features to build first.

Maybe you’re building a sales enablement tool and your MVP includes a content management system.

Be ready to explain why you started with this feature. What insights did you uncover in your customer discovery that led you to prioritize the CMS over, say, call analysis?

Investors will use your MVP – and the features you’re starting with – to better understand how you’re thinking about the biz.

And by “biz” I mean everything related to your company. Your customers, the problem set, growth strategy… everything.

It’s not essential that they agree with 100% of your decisions, but they want to be able to follow your logic.

Step 2: The Ideal Persona

Now, let's talk about personas. At the early stage, you should have 1 or 2 personas that you’re targeting as early customers.

For our sales enablement tool, the persona might be "account executive at a Fortune 500 tech company."

Be ready to talk about this persona on a granular level. What are the biggest problems they face, what tools are they currently using to solve this problem, and what is wrong with the current solution?

If you nail this, you’ll show VCs that you’ve done the customer discovery needed to acquire your early customers.

And before you ask, no. More personas is not better. Not yet, anyway.

This is where many founders trip up: they try to be everything to everyone right out of the gate.

Don't fall into this trap. Instead, dig deep into your chosen personas. Know their hopes, dreams, and what keeps them up at night.

When you can articulate this clearly, VCs will see that you have the potential to increase your customers’ LTV (lifetime value) through retention and upselling.

Step 3: Your long term vision

The final piece of telling investors about your product is to show them your vision for world domination (or, you know… significant market share).

VCs want to see that your current MVP is the launchpad for something bigger.

They don’t need a month-by-month plan about what features you plan to add over the next 5 years.

But they do want to see some logic as to what key milestones need to be reached in order to scale to hundreds of millions (or even billions) in ARR, with a massive user base.

Think of it like a game of chess. Your MVP is your opening move, but VCs want to see that you're thinking several moves ahead. What evolution needs to happen to attract more personas? What adjacent markets could you enter? What’s needed to get to a 100x exit potential?

No pressure 😊.

It might be time to rethink your ‘solution’ pitch

The key to pitching your solution to VCs isn't about having the most polished product.

It's about explaining WHY you chose to start with your current MVP, WHY you are targeting those one or two personas, and how you plan on growing in the future.

Stop obsessing over building out every shiny feature. Instead, focus on crafting a narrative that shows you understand your market, your users, and your path to growth.

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