If you're a founder trying to fundraise, you're probably sending out dozens (or hundreds) of cold emails to investors.

And then... a miracle! Someone replies. They want to set up a meeting.

Time to shift from outreach mode to pitch mode. Let's talk about how to prepare for this important first call.

What pre-seed investors care about

At the pre-seed stage, there's not much to "diligence."

You've probably got insights from customer discovery, maybe some initial traction, and a pretty ugly first draft of the product.

You're not expected to have 5 years of month-over-month financial projections (although a simple data room is encouraged).

Rather, pre-seed investors are looking at these 5 components of your business:

1. Team
2. Problem
3. Solution
4. Market
5. Traction

These are the pillars that will form the foundation of your conversation with the investor. Let's break them down.

Pillar 1: Team

Since your product is just an MVP and your traction is basically zero, investors care a lot about your team.

Your job is to prove that your team is uniquely positioned to dominate in your industry.

Investors want to see teams that have relevant skills, deep knowledge of the industry, and a history of working together.

By “history of working together” we don’t mean “you met at a hackathon and built an app together in 4 hours”.

Successful co-founder will work alongside one another for 10+ years. So investors want to see that you’ve got a strong foundation with your co-founder.

To showcase your team’s winning formula, be prepared to talk about:

• the skills each co-founder brings to the table
• personal experience that makes you passionate and/or experts in this industry
• products you’ve shipped with your team, proving a history of working together successfully

Investors are betting on you as much as your idea. Make them believe in your ability to execute, learn constantly, pivot when necessary, and keep trudging forward when it gets hard.

Pillar 2: Problem

When it comes to the problem you're solving, investors want to see that you're obsessed with it. That solving this problem is your mission.

This is where customer discovery comes in.

Did you talk to hundreds of potential customers? Great! Did you uncover surprising insights about the problem that others have missed? Even better.

The goal here is to position yourself as a "missionary" founder – someone driven by a desire to make a change – rather than a "mercenary" just in it for the money.

Investors lurrrve founders who are on a mission.

Here’s how to convey this obsession:

1. Share specific stories from your customer discovery process
2. Highlight insights you've uncovered
3. Explain why this problem matters to you personally
4. Highlight how solving this problem aligns with a larger mission or vision

Passion is contagious. If you can get investors to feel as excited about the problem as you are, that’s huge.

Pillar 3: Solution

At the pre-seed stage, your product doesn't need to be perfect. In fact, a perfect product might be too late for many pre-seed investors.

Investors are looking for a thoughtful MVP (minimum viable product) and your vision for growth.

They want to see that your solution is 10x differentiated from current solutions. And they want to see that your solution is sticky – that customer retention is something you’re thinking about from day 1.

So, how do you nail this part?

1. Explain your MVP thought process
2. Outline your product roadmap (it’s ok if this is high-level)
3. Talk about your ideal customer for this MVP
4. Highlight anything about this product that gives you an edge

If you want to read more about the “solution” part of the pitch, this article dives deeper.

Pillar 4: Market

We just wrote about this last week – the market opportunity.

As a refresher, investors want big markets.

Your job is to convince investors that you can generate a 100x return on their investment. We’re talking TAM and SAM in the billions.

So, how do you make your market size compelling?

1. Present clear, well-researched data on your Total Addressable Market (TAM)
2. Share your wedge into the market + plan to expand
3. Highlight market trends that are working in your favor
4. Draw parallels to other successful companies in adjacent markets

Remember, investors need to believe that if everything goes right, this could be a billion-dollar company. Make them see that vision.

Pillar 5: Traction / GTM

Almost done, friends. Let's talk traction and GTM strategy. Even if you're pre-revenue, investors want to see that you have a clear plan for getting your product into customers' hands.

As my pal and teammate Eric Bahn says, “A great founding team is as excited, if not more excited, about selling and distributing their product as they are about building a great product.”

This is where many technical founders stumble. Building a great product is only half the battle – you need to be equally passionate about getting it to market.

Here’s what we recommend:

1. Talk about the channels you’ve experimented with and the CAC for each one
2. Highlight early traction – are users actually using the product? Are they sticking around? What feedback are you getting?
3. Demonstrate your understanding of the sales cycle
4. Show that your team can execute on distribution

You know you can nail distribution. Make sure the investor knows it, too.

One last piece of advice

One last piece of advice: keep it short. Less is often more in these conversations.

This might sound hard, but the goal is to keep your responses as simple and concise as possible, while comprehensively answering the question.

Ugh, Kera! That’s absurd. How can you be both comprehensive and concise?

I know, friends. The key is to practice your pitch relentlessly. Know your key points and metrics inside and out so you can answer confidently and succinctly.

And then, finally, close out the meeting with a clear ask and next steps.

You don't need to close the deal in one meeting – you just need to open the door for further conversation.

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