“How can I make this pitch better?” A founder asked me that this week. It’s something I almost never hear — and something every founder needs to ask.

When you raise a round of funding, you might meet 100 investors. You have two choices:

A) Give the same pitch to everyone and wonder why people keep passing.
B) Improve the pitch each time, making fundraising easier every day.

At the end of every pitch, ask for feedback. As each investor gives you ideas to make the pitch better, you get closer and closer to a perfect pitch.

How This Played Out In a Real Meeting

Let’s go back to my meeting this week.

On Tuesday, I met with a great SaaS founder. We talked about his vision for the company and the awesome team he’d built. Next, I asked for a demo.

Instead of taking me into the product itself, he showed me a Figma. I asked if we could see the live system, but he wasn’t able to show me that.

I furrowed my brow a bit, made a note to myself, and we moved on…

At the end of the meeting, this canny founder asked, “How can I make this pitch better?” So I told him…

“I think you guys have a great start. But I’d like to see a demo of the live system. Seeing a Figma isn’t the same. When investors can see the platform in action, it helps them build conviction that you’ve got something awesome here.”

And let me tell ya, this guy was smart. He didn’t argue with me. He thought about what I said and thanked me for my candid input.

This is a fella who is going to improve fast.

Making Those Moneybags Work for You

I don’t care who you are, most of the investors you meet with are going to pass on your company. So you may as well get something out of the meeting, right?

At the end, ask them this question, in exactly these words:

“Can you please give me your most unfiltered feedback on this pitch? I want to step up my game.”

Even if you ask for feedback, investors will default to polite platitudes. We don’t want to make anyone mad and hurt our reputation.

By asking the question exactly this way, you’re giving them permission to be brutal. And brutal is what you want.

Brutal helps you learn.

Take note of every piece of feedback. Try to work it into your pitch to make it better.

Wrap-Up

Lets say you do 100 investor meetings.

Meeting #1 might suck. But if you keep triangulating toward a better pitch each time, pitch #10 will be a lot better. #50 will be a banger.

And before you know it, you’ll have millions in the bank.

It’s hard to hear negative feedback. And for investors, it’s hard to give it.

But it’s necessary. Happy talk doesn’t help anyone get better.

Embrace that criticism. Every ounce of it helps you!

What have you learned from your investor meetings?

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