The Realm of Low Expectations
February 20, 2026
As a startup investor, I've seen many careers develop over the last 20 years and one of the worst patterns I see is: low expectations.
If you’re fortunate enough to be generating strong demand before demo day — you don’t need much to complete the fundraising process, but it certainly helps if these materials are great.
I like to have 2 versions, one is long form that you pitch in a meeting and the other is a teaser, which is maybe 4 slides taken from the longer version that you send when asked for a deck via email.
Even if you’re not sending your deck, a concise paragraph highlighting your team, traction, and vision will help you get meetings and generate more excitement.
Every startup has strengths and weaknesses, so be prepared to answer the hard questions. Create a document of the repeating, tough questions and roleplay the answers. This will help you get the very best investors.
Best of luck out there.
