What you need to know about your startup(at a minimum) before pitching an Angel Investor or VC!

1. Team

2. Share an overview of your professional backgrounds.

3. What’s the story of how the founding team met?

4. How long have you been working together, and in what capacities?

5. What unique strengths does each founder bring to the company?

6. How do you divide responsibilities today?

   
   

2. Problem

• What specific problem are you setting out to solve?

• How significant or widespread is this problem?

• What underlying factors cause it to persist?

• Who experiences this problem most acutely?

  
  

3. Solution / Product

• How do people currently address or work around this problem?

• What solution are you building, and how does it improve on existing approaches?

• What core features define your product today?

• What differentiators or advantages does your solution have?

  
  

4. Market & Timing

• Why is this the right moment to pursue this opportunity?

• What has changed in technology, behavior, regulation, or market dynamics to make this viable now?

• Why hasn’t this approach been successfully implemented before?

• How large is the market you’re targeting?

  
  

5. Customer, Go-To-Market, & Unit Economics

Customer & Segmentation

• Who is your ideal customer?

• Who uses the product, and who makes the buying decision?

• What does a typical day look like for these users?

Pricing & Value

• What are customers paying today for comparable solutions?

• What pricing do you believe you can command in the future?

• What factors drive customers to choose your solution?

Acquisition & Channels

• How are you acquiring customers right now?

• Which channels do you expect to rely on as you scale?

• What is your current customer acquisition cost (CAC), and how does it vary by channel?

Economics & Delivery

• What is your cost of goods sold (COGs) today?

• How do you anticipate your costs changing over time?

• What does your sales cycle look like so far?

• How frequently does your product team engage with current or prospective customers, and through what processes?

6. Competition

• What alternatives or substitutes exist today?

• How does your solution stand out from those options?

• What gives you an advantage that competitors would find difficult to replicate?

  
  

7. Traction

• What does your user activity, retention, or churn look like, if available?

• What early signals point to product-market fit?

• What milestones or KPIs do you track most closely?

  
  

8. Fundraising & Forward Plans

• How much capital have you raised so far, and on what terms?

• Who are your current investors?

• How much are you looking to raise in this round?

• What key milestones do you expect to hit with this new capital?

• How do you plan to allocate the funds?

• Where are you in the fundraising process today?

• Have any terms for this round been established? If so, what are they?

• What is your current burn rate?

• What is your top strategic priority for the next 3–6 months?