A tight prep checklist for the hour before an investor meeting — what to research, what to rehearse, and what to leave alone.
The hour before an investor meeting is worth more than the previous week of deck polish. Here's the checklist that actually moves outcomes.
Read their last three blog posts or tweets, look at the last five investments they personally led, and note the one thesis they keep coming back to. Firm-wide research is table stakes; partner-specific research is the differentiator.
Pick one investment from this partner and be able to talk about it substantively — why it fit their thesis, how it's doing. This one detail signals you actually did the work.
The rest of the meeting is improvisation. The opening is not. Say the first 90 seconds out loud, standing up, three times before the call. Nothing else moves outcomes as much.
A meeting where you only answer questions is a bad meeting. Come with three real questions about their thesis, their portfolio construction, or how they add value. Ask them if the flow allows.
Not the deck — a one-pager with the numbers investors will ask for. ARR, growth rate, retention, burn, runway, prior round terms. If you can pull the answer up in 3 seconds instead of 30, you look calibrated.
Video on, lighting decent, a clean background, wired ethernet if possible, deck shared and ready before you dial in. Never lose the first two minutes to 'can you see my screen.'
The single most common bad prep move is a last-hour deck edit. Version 4.2 at 9am with a fresh eye is worse than version 4.1 you know cold. Leave the deck alone.
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