How do you pitch to investors?

“I pitch the way Jeff Jordan taught me: tell the vision, show the progress, and name the two things you still have to prove. Investors are paid to be cynical, so if they catch you hiding one weakness they assume you are hiding three.”

“I’ve watched thousands of student pitches, and the ones that land money are never the ones with the slickest deck. They’re the ones where the founder can answer why this problem, why me, and why now in about 90 seconds, then turn the meeting into a conversation instead of a monologue.”

“Don't practice on mediocre investors. They ask the wrong questions, so you rehearse answers that won't matter when a top investor dials into the two or three things that actually drive the decision.”

“Most early-stage companies don't have enough traction for traction to be the lead story, so the pitch has to be a believable narrative about the future that hangs together. I spend a lot of time with our founders translating the story they want to tell into a story investors can repeat in their own heads.”

“I don't pitch much anymore, but I sat through over 500 pitch meetings my first year at Founders Fund, and the ones that landed started with the quest, not the spreadsheet. The founder had to make me believe the world was worse if they didn't exist.”

“I pitch investors by telling a story about how the company changes the world, using Joseph Campbell's hero's journey more than Schumpeter's disruption. I also make sure to show the non-obvious truth I see in the market, especially if the business is in an unusual space.”

“When I listen to a pitch, I care less about the single moat people were coached to recite and more about whether they can map out everything that has to be true for the company to win over seven to ten years. I want to see the founder who does not know how thick the wall is and runs at it anyway, because that willingness to take risks is what changes markets.”

“I don't want a one-line email that makes me guess, and I don't think most VCs do either. A 30-second Loom or a tight Notion memo that shows you did five minutes of homework on why we're a fit saves everyone time, including you.”

“I don't want founders to tell my story; I want them to tell theirs. The pitches that land are the ones where I walk out wanting to get on that person's team, not just the idea.”

“I don't think there's a generic playbook anymore. In AI especially, the best pitches I've seen lately are live demos and viral product moments, not polished decks. Show the thing working, then explain why you're the team that will ship it fastest.”