Investor pitch playbook

What an investor pitch meeting is for

A first investor meeting has one job: to earn a second meeting. You need to say plainly what the company does, show the numbers that prove it’s working, and leave most of the time for their questions. This playbook keeps your part to about 15 minutes and gives the rest to the conversation.

The structure follows advice Y Combinator gives founders and the pitch outline Sequoia Capital has published. From YC: say what the company does in the first sentence, in plain words, lead with traction, and answer the question you were asked. From Sequoia’s outline: the problem, why now, the market, competition, the business model and the team. Sizing the market bottom up, from the number of possible customers times the price, is what many investors ask for instead of a percentage of a large number.

Two rules run through it. Never say there’s no competition, and never guess or inflate a number, including how much interest there is in the round. “I don’t know yet, here’s how I’ll find out” is a better answer than a figure you’ll have to correct.

The investor pitch playbook

Words in [Capitalised brackets] are for you to fill in before the call. Words in [lowercase brackets] are filled from the call itself. Copy it to use anywhere, including in Aside.

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How to coach me

• Keep my answers short. If I go past a minute on one answer, tell me to land it with the number.
• When they ask something, I answer it directly first, then add detail. Flag it if I’m dodging.
• If I make a claim without a number, cue the number from my facts.
• Let it become a conversation: if I’ve pitched for five minutes without a question from them, tell me to ask one.
• Before it ends, make sure I’ve asked about their process and agreed a next step.

The flow

1. Open (2 min)
   • “How much time do we have? I’ll give a quick overview, then leave most of it for your questions.”
   • “Before I start, what made you want to take the meeting?” or “What are you most focused on right now?”
   • Listen for: their thesis and what they’ve already read. Tie back to it later.
2. What we do (1 min). Say it in the first sentence, in plain words.
   • “[Company] does [what] for [whom].”
   • Then one concrete example: [A real customer and what they use it for].
3. Problem and why now (3 min)
   • “[Who] struggles with [the problem]. Today they [the workaround], which costs them [the cost].”
   • “Why now: [what changed that makes this possible or urgent now].”
4. Traction (3 min). The part that matters most. Strongest number first.
   • “[Key metric: revenue, users or usage], growing [X% a month].”
   • [Best proof: retention, a well-known customer, a pilot converting, a waitlist].
5. Why us, and how it gets big (3 min)
   • Why us: “[What we know or have done that makes us the people to build this].”
   • Market, bottom up: “[Number of possible customers] × [price a year] = [market size].”
   • Competition: “[Who else], and what we see that they don’t: [your insight].” Never say there’s no competition.
   • Model: [How we make money, and the price].
6. Their questions (most of the meeting)
   • Answer the question asked in one or two sentences, then stop.
   • Don’t know? “I don’t know yet. Here’s how I’ll find out: …” Never guess a number.
   • Listen for: what they keep coming back to. That’s their worry; address it head on.
7. The ask and next steps (3 min)
   • “We’re raising [round size] to get to [the milestone it buys] over [months]. [Who’s committed so far, or where the round stands].”
   • “Is there anything that worries you about us so far?” Answer it while I’m in the room.
   • “What does your process look like from here? Who else would we need to meet?”
   • Agree a concrete next step with a date: a partner meeting, a data room, a follow-up call.

Questions they’ll ask

• “How big can this get?” → The bottom-up market, then what comes next: [The next market or product].
• “Why hasn’t anyone done this?” → Why now: what changed.
• “Who are your competitors?” → Name them. “What we do differently is [your insight].”
• “Why are you the right team?” → [Founder-market fit: experience, insight or access others don’t have].
• “How did you get your first customers? Is it repeatable?” → [The channel, with numbers].
• “What’s your burn and runway?” → [Monthly burn], [months of runway].
• “What will you do with the money?” → [Key hires and milestones].
• “Who else is in the round?” → [Committed investors, or where things honestly stand]. Never inflate interest.
• “What’s the valuation?” → “[The terms, if set, e.g. a SAFE at a cap].” Not set: “We’re focused on finding the right lead; we’ll let that set the terms.”
• “What’s the biggest risk?” → Name one real risk and what I’m doing about it.
• “What’s missing from the team?” → [The key hire you need next].

Facts to have ready

• [The round: amount, instrument, terms if set]
• [Metrics: revenue, growth rate, users, retention]
• [Burn and runway]
• [Team: founders and what each did before]

Use it in Aside

Investor pitch is one of the starter playbooks in the Aside app. Click New playbook, pick Investor pitch, and fill in the round, your metrics, burn and runway, the team and your answers to the hard questions. Then name it in the plan for each investor meeting.

During the meeting, live guidance reads the whole playbook. The coach might tell you to land an answer with the number after a minute, cue the number from your facts when you make a claim without one, or prompt you to ask a question if you’ve pitched for five minutes without one. Before the end it checks you’ve asked about their process and agreed a next step.

A connected AI app like Claude can turn your deck’s talk track into this playbook, then write a plan for each meeting on your calendar with what you know about the fund and the partner. See Connect AI apps and Aside for founders.

Free guides 2 calls a week with a playbook; every call is on the paid plan, $48 a month or $456 a year. New accounts get 14 days of it free, no card needed.