UzCombinator
UZ
EN
Startup School
Curriculum0/19
Module 1
Idea and problem
  1. 1What a startup is, and how it differs from a small business4 min
  2. 2Finding a real problem4 min
  3. 3Judging an idea: market, timing and team4 min
  4. 4Co-founders and the team4 min
Module 2
Customers and validation
  1. 5How to run a customer interview5 min
  2. 6Who your first users are4 min
  3. 7Testing demand cheaply5 min
Module 3
Building the MVP
  1. 8What an MVP is, and what it is not4 min
  2. 9Building fast: code, no-code and ready-made tools4 min
  3. 10Launching and collecting feedback4 min
  4. 11Signs of product-market fit4 min
Module 4
Growth and metrics
  1. 12Choosing the metric that matters4 min
  2. 13Unit economics: CAC, LTV and margin4 min
  3. 14Your first growth channels4 min
  4. 15Keeping your users4 min
Module 5
Fundraising and pitching
  1. 16Do you need funding? Stages and sources4 min
  2. 17Building a pitch deck4 min
  3. 18Meeting investors4 min
  4. 19Terms and valuation basics4 min
Module 5Lesson 184 min

Meeting investors

Fundraising and pitching
Preparing for the meeting, answering hard questions and agreeing on next steps.
A meeting with an investor is not an exam; it is a two-way conversation. The investor learns about your company, and you work out whether they are the right partner for you. An investor becomes part of your company for years, so the choice is yours too.

Preparation

  • Research the investor. What stage and what sector do they invest in? How much do they usually put in? Is there a company like yours, or a competitor, in their portfolio?
  • Know your numbers by heart: customers, revenue, growth rate, monthly spend, how many months your money will last. Hunting through a spreadsheet for a number undermines trust.
  • If you can, get an introduction. A recommendation from someone the investor knows is far stronger than a cold email.
  • Practise your one-sentence description and a two-minute story: the problem, the solution, what you have achieved so far and the next step.

How the meeting goes

Open with a short story and move to conversation quickly. Many investors would rather ask questions than listen to the deck from start to finish. Questions are a good sign: they show the investor is interested.
Answer questions directly. Give the short answer first, then detail if needed. If you do not know, say "I don't know, I'll find out and get back to you", and then do get back to them. Stating a guess as a fact is risky: the investor will check it later.

Hard questions

Questions like these come up in many meetings. Prepare answers in advance:
  • Why are you the ones who can solve this problem?
  • What happens if a big company builds the same thing?
  • Why might customers leave you?
  • How did you find your first hundred customers, and how will you find the next thousand?
  • What will the investment be spent on, and what result will it lead to?
  • How is equity split between the co-founders, and is everyone working full-time?
Do not hide your weaknesses. Every startup has problems, and an experienced investor will find them anyway. If you name a problem yourself and show how you are dealing with it, trust goes up.

After the meeting

  • Within a day, send a short thank-you note and attach whatever you promised.
  • Pin down the next step: another meeting, documents, calls with customers, or a no.
  • Keep a spreadsheet of every investor conversation: who, when, at what stage.
  • Talk to several investors in parallel. Waiting months for one investor drags the process out and weakens your position in negotiations.

Do not stop running the company

Fundraising takes a lot of time and pulls founders away from their main work. But if growth stalls during exactly this period, investors notice. If possible, let one founder handle investors while the others focus on the product and customers. Give the process a clear deadline.

Check the investor too

Just as the investor gathers information about you, you should learn about them. Talk to founders of companies they have backed: how did the investor behave in hard times, did they help, how quickly did they make decisions? And before signing anything, be sure to go through the terms with a lawyer.

Hearing no

Many meetings end in a no, and that is normal. A no does not mean your company is bad: the investor may focus on a different sector or stage, or the timing may simply be wrong. Politely ask why, keep a record of objections that repeat, and answer them up front in later conversations.

Online meetings

Many meetings happen over video call, especially with investors abroad. Test your connection, camera and microphone beforehand, choose a quiet place and practise sharing your screen. Send the deck before the meeting, but be ready for the investor not to have opened it. Leave your phone number in advance so you can continue by phone if the internet drops.

Try this

Write answers to each of the hard questions above and practise them with someone who does not know your company well. Make a list of ten investors you would like to talk to, and write one sentence for each on why they in particular are a good fit for you.